People ex rel. D.G.P.

570 P.2d 1293, 194 Colo. 238, 1977 Colo. LEXIS 680
CourtSupreme Court of Colorado
DecidedNovember 15, 1977
DocketNo. 27373
StatusPublished

This text of 570 P.2d 1293 (People ex rel. D.G.P.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People ex rel. D.G.P., 570 P.2d 1293, 194 Colo. 238, 1977 Colo. LEXIS 680 (Colo. 1977).

Opinion

MR. JUSTICE KELLEY

delivered the opinion of the Court.

On April 26, 1976, D.G.P. was adjudicated a juvenile delinquent. The delinquency petition alleged that the appellant had committed attempted first-degree criminal assault with intent to cause serious bodily injury to a police officer,1 and criminal trespass, both in the first2 and second3 degrees. The appellant’s motions to dismisss the attempted assault charge on the grounds that such a crime did not exist in Colorado, and his motion for a new trial, were denied.

The appellant contends, among other points, that the evidence, even when viewed in a light most favorable to the prosecution, is not sufficient to sustain findings of guilt for any of the conduct which is the subject of this appeal. We agree and reverse.

I.

Criminal Trespass

The appellant was arrested on February 7, 1976, when he was found sleeping in a furnished apartment which did not belong to him. The apartment building had two floors, with offices on the first level and two apartments on the second. Although the record is unclear on the point, it appears that the building is immediately adjacent to the street and probably had no yard. Access to the second floor is by means of a stairway leading from a door on the first level. The evidence indicates that this door during [241]*241the critical periods involved here was not locked, and the area surrounding the building was not enclosed by a fence nor posted with “No Trespassing” signs.4

The appellant entered the apartment, not by force, but with a key. The key had been given to the appellant’s brother by the last tenant of the apartment. The tenant, Gordon Stevens, testified that when he gave the appellant’s brother a key, he knew that the appellant’s brother would probably use the key to gain entry for himself and his friends. The appellant testified that he had visited the apartment with his brother on at least one occasion and had never been asked by Stevens to leave it.

Stevens had paid his rent on the furnished apartment to the landlord through January 20. He was arrested on or about January 20. Immediately thereafter, Stevens’ mother and his girl friend moved his possessions out of the apartment.

After Stevens vacated the apartment, the landlord noticed that beer cans and other debris were appearing in the apartment, but he could not find any signs of forced entry. He changed the lock on the door, but later discovered that the key to the previous lock would also open the new lock without using any force. Still, the landlord took no further affirmative action designed to give notice to trespassers.

Appellant testified that he used Stevens’ key on four occasions to enter the apartment after January 20. He testified that he had no knowl'edgé of Stevens’ arrest or incarceration, nor of the termination of his tenancy; that he recognized the furniture in the apartment as Stevens’.

On the basis of the above, the trial court held that the appellant entered the apartment without license, invitation or other privilege. Section 18-4-502, C.R.S. 1973; section 18-4-201(3), C.R.S. 1973. The evidence, however, indicates that the appellant entered the apartment with the implied permission of the one whom he believed to be the tenant. Inasmuch as the key fit the lock to the door and there was no change of conditions to indicate to appellant that he would be trespassing if he entered the apartment, we hold that the People’s evidence, as a matter of law, is not sufficient to prove that the appellant did enter or remain in the apartment unlawfully, as that term is used in the statute.

Similarly, the evidence is insufficient to support the charge of criminal trespass in the second degree, section 18-4-503, C.R.S. 1973. The main entrance to the building, as indicated above, was not locked; the area surrounding the building was not fenced; and there were no “No Trespassing” signs posted either in the yard, the building or the apartment.5 [242]*242The appellant’s key opened the apartment door. Thus, there is no evidence to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the appellant unlawfully entered or remained in premises “enclosed in a manner to exclude intruders or are fenced.” Section 18-4-503.

II.

Attempted Assault

In a trial to the court without a jury, the court found that the appellant attempted to assault a police officer with a deadly weapon (a gun), with intent to cause serious bodily injury. Section 18-3-202(l)(e), C.R.S. 1973. We hold that the evidence as to this offense also was insufficient, as a matter of law, to support this finding.

An appellant court may not upset a guilty verdict for the sole reason that, if it were the finder of fact, it would have reached a different conclusion. People v. Vigil, 180 Colo. 104, 502 P.2d 418 (1972). The evidence must be reviewed in a light most favorable to the prosecution and, in so doing, all inferences most favorable in support of the verdict must be drawn. People v. Trujillo, 190 Colo. 45, 543 P.2d 523 (1975). “However, no judicial obligation is more imperative than the accomplishment of justice in any particular case where the trial record, as here, does not reflect as an absolute that every evidentiary requirement for sustaining a guilty verdict was fulfilled.” People v. Emeson, 179 Colo. 308, 500 P.2d 368 (1972) (emphasis added).

Section 18-3-202(l)(e) requires evidence of the specific intent to do serious bodily harm.6 See People v. Walker, 189 Colo. 545, 542 P.2d 1283 (1975); People v. Prante, 177 Colo. 243, 493 P.2d 1083 (1972);7 see also Armijo v. People, 157 Colo. 217, 402 P.2d 79 (1965). Material elements of the offenses alleged in a delinquency petition must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Section 19-3-106(1), C.R.S. 1973 (1976 Supp.); see also D.W. v. District Court, 193 Colo. 194, 564 P.2d 949 (1977). The prosecution did not meet its burden in this case.

Police Officer Dale Tafoya was the prosecution’s sole witness with regard to the first-degree assault charge. At trial he gave the following version of the incident. He entered the apartment, found the appellant asleep on the bed and attempted to wake him. When Tafoya finally awakened him, the appellant turned his head, looked up, and rolled over on his back. At that time, Tafoya saw a gun on the appellant’s left side stuck in his belt. Tafoya said the appellant “rolled over pretty fast like and his hand came up with what I saw then was a gun.” (emphasis added) Simultane[243]*243ous with the appellant’s movement, Tafoya lunged for the gun. He got it after a struggle, and the appellant jumped out of bed and started to run until Tafoya held a gun on him.

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

Related

People v. Walker
542 P.2d 1283 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1975)
People v. Edwards
520 P.2d 1041 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1974)
People v. Mayfield
520 P.2d 748 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1974)
People v. Trujillo
543 P.2d 523 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1975)
People v. Vigil
502 P.2d 418 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1972)
People v. Prante
493 P.2d 1083 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1972)
People v. Gordon
498 P.2d 341 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1972)
People v. Emeson
500 P.2d 368 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1972)
Armijo v. People
402 P.2d 79 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1965)
People v. Black
523 P.2d 1402 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1974)
D.W. v. District Court
564 P.2d 949 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1977)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
570 P.2d 1293, 194 Colo. 238, 1977 Colo. LEXIS 680, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-ex-rel-dgp-colo-1977.