People Ex Rel. H.W., III

226 P.3d 1134, 2009 Colo. App. LEXIS 560, 2009 WL 1014241
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 16, 2009
DocketNo. 08CA0840
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 226 P.3d 1134 (People Ex Rel. H.W., III) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People Ex Rel. H.W., III, 226 P.3d 1134, 2009 Colo. App. LEXIS 560, 2009 WL 1014241 (Colo. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinion

Opinion by

Judge DAILEY.

H.W., III, a juvenile, appeals the judgment adjudicating him delinquent based on acts that, if committed by an adult, would constitute a class 4 felony of accessory to the crime of attempted murder. H.W. also appeals his placement in the Division of Youth Corree-tions (DYC). We reverse the judgment and remand with directions.

In their delinquency petition, the People alleged:

On or about June 15, 2007, [H.W.] unlawfully and feloniously rendered assistance to LAMONT NORRIS, with intent to hinder, delay, or prevent the discovery, detection, apprehension, prosecution, conviction, or punishment of LAMONT NORRIS for the commission of a crime, knowing that person was charged by pending information, indictment, or complaint with the crime of CRIMINAL ATTEMPT TO COMMIT MURDER IN THE FIRST DEGREE, 18-3-102(1)(a); 18-2-101, C.R.S., a class 1 or 2 felony; in violation of section 18-8-105(1), (8), C.R.S.

At trial, the prosecution presented the following evidence: (1) H.W. and a group of his friends approached the victim and a group of his friends outside a party; (2) one of the members in H.W.'s group, Lamont Norris, approached the victim and asked him if he knew where "the Crabs" (Le., slang for Crips) were; (8) when a friend of the victim tried to intervene to ward off any trouble, H.W. told the friend to "fall back" before something bad happened to him; (4) H.W. then turned to Norris, who had been nervously pacing back and forth, and told Norris to "do what you do"; (5) two people, including H.W., saw "sparks" or "flashes" come from Norris, at which point the victim was shot five times; (6) during the shooting, H.W. ran back to his car; (7) as HW. was about to pull away, Norris jumped into his car; (8) H.W. drove to another part of town, where he let Norris out of the car; and (9) H.W. was aware that Norris had been the shooter.

Following the close of the evidence, H.W. moved for a judgment of acquittal, arguing that the People had failed to establish that he had any knowledge that a crime had been [1137]*1137committed. The juvenile court denied H.W.'s motion.

During closing argument, H.W. argued that the People alleged only that, at the time of the offense, HW. knew that Norris was charged by pending information, indictment, or complaint, and that the prosecution had offered "absolutely no evidence whatsoever" to support that allegation.

The juvenile court specifically found that H.W. "knew that [Norris] had committed a crime" when he offered him assistance. The juvenile court did not make any finding as to whether, at the time of the offense, H.W. knew Norris was charged with a crime.

Based on its finding, the juvenile court adjudicated H.W. a delinquent for acts which, if committed by an adult, would constitute a class 4 felony and ordered H.W. to be placed in DYC for two years.

I. Variance Between the Petition and the Evidence

H.W. contends that the juvenile court erred when it denied his motion for acquittal because there was a "fatal variance" between the petition and the evidence presented at trial. The "fatal variance" to which H.W. alludes is that while the petition charged him with rendering assistance to Norris knowing that Norris was charged with a crime, the theory on which the prosecution proceeded, and upon which HW. was adjudicated, was that he rendered assistance to Norris knowing Norris had committed a crime. We agree that this variance requires reversal of H.W.'s adjudication.

A. Preserved Error

Initially, we reject the People's assertion that HW. has not preserved his "fatal variance" argument for appeal. As pointed out by the People, H.W. neither explicitly challenged the sufficiency of the petition, nor used the phrase "fatal variance," in the juvenile court. Nonetheless, during closing argument, he asserted that, although the People had charged him only with knowing that Norris was charged by pending information, indictment, or complaint, they had offered "absolutely no evidence whatsoever" to support that allegation.

In our view, H.W.'s closing argument essentially presented to the juvenile court the sum and substance of the argument he now makes on appeal. Consequently, we consider his argument properly preserved for appellate review. People v. Silva, 987 P.2d 909, 913 (Colo.App.1999).

B. Variance

A variance occurs when the charge contained in the charging instrument differs from the charge of which a defendant is convicted. People v. Rodriguez, 914 P.2d 230, 257 (Colo.1996). There are two types of variances:

(1) simple variance, which "occurs when the charging terms are unchanged, but the evidence at trial proves facts materially different from those alleged" in the charging instrument; and (2) constructive amendment, which changes an essential element of the charged offense and thereby alters the substance of the charging instrument.

Id. (citation omitted) (quoting United States v. Williamson, 53 F.3d 1500, 1512 (10th Cir. 1995)); see also People v. Huynh, 98 P.3d 907, 911 (Colo.App.2004).

Unlike simple variances, constructive amendments effectively subject a defendant to the risk of conviction for an offense that was not originally charged in the charging instrument. Rodriguez, 914 P.2d at 257; see People v. Jefferson, 934 P.2d 870, 872 (Colo.App.1996). Consequently, constructive amendments are per se reversible error, whereas simple variances are not reversible unless they prejudice a defendant's substantive rights. Huynh, 98 P.3d at 911.

Here, HW. was charged under section 18-8-105(1) and (8), C.R.S.2008. Section 18-8-105(1) sets forth the basic elements of the crime of accessory. It provides that "(al person is an accessory to crime if, with intent to hinder, delay, or prevent the discovery, detection, apprehension, prosecution, convietion, or punishment of another for the com[1138]*1138mission of a crime, he [or she] renders assistance to such person." |

Section 18-8-105(8) provides:
Being an accessory to crime is a class 4 felony if the offender knows that the person being assisted has committed, or has been convicted of, or is charged by pending information, indictment, or complaint with a crime, and if that crime is designated by this code as a class 1 or class 2 felony.

(Emphasis added.)

In their petition, the People alleged that, with respect to section 18-8-105(8), H.W. had "unlawfully and feloniously rendered assistance to [Norris] ... knowing that person was charged by pending information, indictment, or complaint with the crime of eriminal attempt to commit murder in the first degree" (emphasis added). The People did not, however, present any evidence on that theory. Instead, they presented evidence of, and asked that HW. be adjudicated a delinquent on, an alternative basis under section 18-8-105(8), that is, that he knew Norris had committed a crime when he drove him away from the seene of the shooting.

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People Ex Rel. Hw, III
226 P.3d 1134 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2009)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
226 P.3d 1134, 2009 Colo. App. LEXIS 560, 2009 WL 1014241, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-ex-rel-hw-iii-coloctapp-2009.