Mascarenas v. State

2003 WY 124, 76 P.3d 1258, 2003 WL 22233564
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 30, 2003
Docket01-225
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 2003 WY 124 (Mascarenas v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mascarenas v. State, 2003 WY 124, 76 P.3d 1258, 2003 WL 22233564 (Wyo. 2003).

Opinion

HILL, Chief Justice.

[T1] Henry Mascarenas (Mascarenas) challenges his conviction for felony interference with a peace officer in violation of Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 6-5-204(b) (LexisNexis 2008) on the grounds that there was insufficient evidence that the police officer was engaged in the lawful performance of his official duties or that the officer suffered bodily injury. He also claims that the State failed to disclose material, exculpatory evidence in violation of Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963) and Kerns v. State, 920 P.2d 632 (Wyo.1996). We find *1260 sufficient evidence in the record to support the conviction and conclude that Mascarenas has failed to demonstrate a Brady violation. We affirm.

ISSUES

[42] Mascarenas states the following issues:

I. Was [Mascarenas's] arrest unlawful, as the police had no probable cause to arrest [him] (which was admitted by the charging officer); and as a result, was there insufficient evidence to con-viet [him]?
II. Was there insufficient [evidence] to convict [Masearenas] as the alleged victim/officer did not suffer "physical pain"?
IIL. Did the State fail to disclose exeulpato-ry evidence, warranting reversal?

The State condenses the issues into two:

I. Was the evidence presented by the State sufficient to support [Mascare-nas's] conviction?
II. Did the State fail to disclose material exculpatory evidence?

FACTS

[13] The main issue Mascarenas raises in this appeal is whether or not the evidence is sufficient to sustain his conviction for interference with a peace officer. When considering claims related to the sufficiency of the evidence, we review the record:

[assuming] that the evidence favoring the prevailing party is true, disregard the evidence favoring the unsuccessful party, and give the prevailing party the benefit of every favorable inference that we may reasonably draw from the evidence.

Howard v. State, 2002 WY 40, ¶ 29, 42 P.3d 483, 129 (Wyo.2002) (quoting Lucero v. State, 14 P.3d 920, 924 (Wyo.2000)). In assessing the sufficiency of the evidence, we neither reweigh the evidence nor re-examine the credibility of the witnesses. Curl v. State, 898 P.2d 369, 375 (Wyo.1995).

[14] On December 31, 2000, the Rawlins Police Department received a call from an unknown person that a fight between Mas-carenas and the bartender was in progress at the Wyoming Bar. The caller specifically identified Mascarenas by name. When the police arrived, there was shattered glass on the floor from a neon sign. It was later determined that the sign had broken when Mascarenas had stumbled into it while the bartender was unsuccessfully attempting to escort him from the premises. The officers spied Mascarenas standing by the bar engaged in a heated verbal argument with the bartender. Officer Davis asked the bartender what was going on and was told that Mascarenas had been asked to leave because of his intoxication but that he had refused to exit the premises.

[15] Officer Davis and Officer Grauber-ger asked Mascarenas to step outside and talk to them. Mascarenas ignored the officers and pulled away when Officer Davis attempted to grab his arm to escort him outside. Mascarenas then gripped the bar and refused to move. Two additional officers had arrived and they, along with Officer Grauberger, pried Mascarenas's fingers from the bar and took him to the floor to cuff his hands behind his back. At that point, Officer Davis informed Mascarenas that he was under arrest for "fighting in public."

[16] Officer Grauberger began to search Mascarenas for weapons. The officer placed Mascarenas's personal items, such as his cigarettes and wallet, on the floor as he proceeded with the search. This apparently upset Mascarenas who responded by stomping on his cigarettes and saying, "Here are my cigarettes, here are your balls," whereupon Mascarenas kneed Officer Grauberger in the groin. In response, the officers took Mas-carenas to the floor again and placed him in leg restraints.

[T7] Mascarenas was charged with one count of intentionally causing bodily injury to a peace officer engaged in the lawful performance of his official duties in violation of Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 6-5-204(b) (LexisNexis 2008). 1 After a trial, the jury returned a guilty verdict.

*1261 DISCUSSION

[18] Mascarenas challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting two elements of interference with a peace officer. In his initial claim, Masearenas contends that the evidence does not support a conclusion that the officer was engaged in the lawful performance of his official duties when Mas-carenas kneed him in the groin. Mascare-nas's argument is predicated on the contention that his arrest was not supported by probable cause. During the course of the encounter at the bar, Mascarenas was arrested when he refused to accompany the police officers outside for "fighting in public." The crime of "fighting in public" is defined at Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 6-6-101 (LexisNexis 2008) as:

A person commits a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than six (6) months, a fine of not more than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), or both, if, by agreement, he fights with one (1) or more persons in public.

Mascarenas points out that there was no evidence that there was any agreement between him and the bartender to fight in public. Accordingly, he contends that there was no probable cause to arrest him and that the actions taken by the police were not in the "lawful performance" of their duties.

[19] The State counters that Mascarenas unreasonably assumes that Officer Davis was referencing § 6-6-101 when the officer announced that Masearenas was under arrest for "fighting in public." The State argues that aspects of Mascarenas's conduct encompassed in the phrase, "fighting in public," could be construed to justify Mascarenas's arrest "for not only a variety of potential but unknown municipal offenses, but also for a number of statutory crimes." Later, the State suggests that Mascarenas's conduct supported probable cause for an arrest for: (1) simple battery in violation of Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 6-2-501(b) (LexisNexis 2008) 2 for unlawfully touching another in a rude, insolent or angry manner; (2) property destruction pursuant to Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 6-8-201(a) (LexisNexis 2003) 3 for knowingly defacing, injuring or destroying another's property without his consent; and (8) for breach of the peace in violation of Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 6-6-102(a) (LexisNexis 2008) 4 for disturbing the peace by using threatening, abusive or obscene language or violent actions.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

John Byron Mills v. The State of Wyoming
2023 WY 76 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2023)
Jorge F. Gonzalez-Chavarria v. The State of Wyoming
2019 WY 100 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2019)
United States v. Winder
926 F.3d 1251 (Tenth Circuit, 2019)
Maestas v. State
416 P.3d 777 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2018)
Davis v. State
2017 WY 147 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2017)
Flores v. State
2017 WY 120 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2017)
Matthew Scott Worley v. State
2017 WY 3 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2017)
Morris Eugene Grimes v. The State of Wyoming
2013 WY 84 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2013)
Michaels v. State ex. rel. Department of Transportation
2012 WY 33 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2012)
Michaels v. STATE EX REL. DEPT. OF TRANSP.
2012 WY 33 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2012)
Ken v. State
2011 WY 167 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2011)
Mickelson v. State
2008 WY 29 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2008)
Wilkening v. State
2007 WY 187 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2007)
Doolittle v. State
2007 WY 52 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2007)
Perritt v. State
2005 WY 121 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2005)
Burkhardt v. State
2005 WY 96 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2005)
Pacheco v. State
2004 WY 160 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2004)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2003 WY 124, 76 P.3d 1258, 2003 WL 22233564, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mascarenas-v-state-wyo-2003.