Alonso v. State

228 So. 3d 1093, 2016 WL 661274
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Alabama
DecidedFebruary 12, 2016
DocketCR-13-1546
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 228 So. 3d 1093 (Alonso v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Alonso v. State, 228 So. 3d 1093, 2016 WL 661274 (Ala. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

WINDOM, Presiding Judge.

Santiago Alonso appeals his convictions for first-degree human trafficking, see § 13A-6-152(a)(2), Ala.Code 1975; for selling, furnishing, or giving a controlled substance to a minor, see § 13A-12-215, Ala. Code 1975; and for first-degree unlawful possession of marijuana, see § 13A-12-213(a)(1), Ala.Code 1975. On June 18, 2014, the circuit court sentenced Alonso to 40 years in prison for his conviction for human trafficking, 10 years in prison for his conviction for furnishing a controlled substance to a minor, and 12 months of hard labor in the Houston County jail for his conviction for possession of marijuana. Alonso’s sentences for the drug convictions were ordered to run concurrently with each other and consecutively with his sentence for the human-trafficking conviction. On July 16, 2014, Alonso filed a pleading styled as a motion to set aside the judgment, motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict, and motion for a new trial. On July 17, 2014, Alonso filed a motion to reconsider his sentence, as well as an amended motion for a new trial. Following a hearing, the circuit court denied Al-onso’s motions.

In June 2013, Alonso saw K.R., who was then 17 years old and a runaway, while she was walking down a road in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and he stopped his vehicle to talk to her. Alonso asked K.R. if she liked to travel. K.R. responded that she did and got into the vehicle with Alonso. Al-onso then drove to a hotel where K.R. met Asia and Lady, who were also traveling with Alonso.1 Alonso, K.R., Asia, and Lady traveled to Memphis, Tennessee, where they stayed for several weeks.

While in Memphis, Alonso forced K.R. to prostitute herself for money and threatened her with a hammer he kept under the seat of his vehicle. On one- occasion, Alon-so struck K.R.' in the stomach after she refused to call him “[Djaddy” and refused to have unprotected sex with him. (R. 252.) After several weeks, Alonso, K.R., and Lady left Memphis and traveled to the Quality Inn hotel in Dothan, Alabama, where they stayed for approximately nine days.2

Once they • arrived in Dothan, Alonso continued to threaten K.R. and to force her to have sexual intercourse with men for money, giving all the proceeds to Alon-so. Alonso solicited customers for K.R. and Lady by posting their photographs on Backpage.com, a Web site for advertising items and services for sale. When the women were not working, Alonso would watch them at all times and would not allow them to leave the hotel premises. Once, K.R. asked to leave the hotel to find more business. Alonso allowed KR. to leave but threatened to kill her if she did not return. Alonso provided K.R. with drugs, and they smoked marijuana together while they were in Dothan.

[1098]*1098On the evening of August 7, 2013, K.R. left the Quality Inn because she feared for her life.. She did not have a cellular telephone or any money with her at the time. K.R. walked to the Guesthouse Inn on Ross Clark Circle, where she met Tabitha Williams and told Williams everything that had happened. The following morning, Williams contacted the police.

On August. 8, 2013, K,R. spoke with individuals at the Child Advocacy Center and the Dothan Police Department and told them that Alonso had forced her to have sex with men for money, had threatened her with a hammer he kept in his vehicle, and had forced her to use drugs. K.R. provided them with Alonso’s nickname, a detailed description of Alonso, and his vehicle, and his room numbers at the Quality Inn, Afterward, K,R. was taken to the hospital for an examination, where blood tests revealed the presence •• of cocaine and marijuana in her system. Based on the information obtained from K.R., law-enforcement officers conducted surveillance at the Quality Inn and applied, for search warrants for Alonso’s hotel rooms and his vehicle. After receiving confirmation that the search warrants had been obtained, Investigator Davis and Sgt, Martin observed Alonso walking down the stairs outside his hotel room. When the officers approached him, they saw Alonso drop something from his left hand. The item was later recovered and was determined to be marijuana. A search of Alon-so’s person led to the discovery and subsequent seizure .of . a cellular telephone and $2,000, which Alonso had concealed in his underwear.

During the execution of the search warrant, law-enforcement officers discovered additional marijuana and a second cellular telephone in the hotel room Alonso shared with Lady. Officers 'also found used condoms and lubricating gels in a second room that was used for “working.” Additionally, a hammer matching KR.’s description was found inside of Alonso’s vehicle. After the search concluded, Alonso was taken to the Dothan Police Department-, where he signed a waiver-of-rights form and gave a statement. ■

On appeal, Alonso argues: 1) that Alabama’s statute for first-degree human trafficking, § 13A-6-152, Ala.Code 1975, is unconstitutionally vague; 2) that the circuit court erred in admitting the electronic data seized from his cellular telephone; 3) that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction for human trafficking; 4) that the'State’s evidence was insufficient to support his conviction for furnishing a controlled substance to a minor; and 5) that he was denied effective assistance of trial counsel.

I.

Alonso first argues that Alabama’s statute for first-degree human trafficking, § 13A-6-152, Ala.Code 1975, is-unconstitutionally vague as applied to him.3 Specifically, he contends that Alabama’s human-trafficking statute is unconstitutionally yague as applied to him because it fails to provide any material guidance to law-enforcement officers or prosecutors regarding their charging decisions. He argues that, because § 13A-6-152, does not provide any guiding principles or factors to be considered when determining whether an individual should be charged with human trafficking in lieu of a lesser criminal offense, a defendant is vulnerable to the “personal predilections” of,the charging officers and that defendants are exposed to radically different punishment ranges. (Alonso’s brief, p. 42 (quoting Kolender v. Lawson, 461 U.S. 352, 357-58, 103 S.Ct. 1855, 75 L.Ed.2d 903 (1983)).

[1099]*1099Alonso’s argument, however, was not preserved for appellate review. It is well settled that:

“‘Review on appeal is restricted to questions and issues properly and timely raised at trial.’ Newsome v. State, 570 So.2d 703, 717 (Ala.Crim.App.1989). ‘An issue raised for the first time on appeal is not subject to appellate review because it has not been properly preserved and presented.’ Pate v. State, 601 So.2d 210, 213 (Ala.Crim.App.1992). ‘“[T]o preserve an issue for appellate review, it must be presented to the trial court by a timely and specific motion setting out the specific grounds in support thereof.” ’ McKinney v. State, 654 So.2d 95, 99 (Ala.Crim.App.1995) (citation omitted). ‘The statement of specific grounds of objection waives all grounds not specified, and the trial court will not be put in error on grounds not assigned at trial.’ Ex parte Frith, 526 So.2d 880, 882 (Ala. 1987). ‘The purpose of requiring a specific objection to preserve an issue for appellate review is 'to put the trial judge on notice of the alleged error, giving an opportunity to correct it before the case is submitted to the jury.’ Ex parte Works, 640 So.2d 1056, 1058 (Ala.1994).”

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228 So. 3d 1093, 2016 WL 661274, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/alonso-v-state-alacrimapp-2016.