People v. Oram

217 P.3d 883, 2009 Colo. App. LEXIS 82, 2009 WL 261508
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedFebruary 5, 2009
Docket07CA0023
StatusPublished
Cited by257 cases

This text of 217 P.3d 883 (People v. Oram) 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 v. Oram, 217 P.3d 883, 2009 Colo. App. LEXIS 82, 2009 WL 261508 (Colo. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinions

Opinion by

Judge TAUBMAN.

Defendant, Jason Richard Oram, appeals the judgment of conviction entered upon jury verdicts finding him guilty of second degree burglary and felony menacing. He contends his burglary conviction should be reversed based on his reliance on the common law bonding agent's privilege. We conclude there is a common law bonding agent's privilege in Colorado, but that it did not justify Oram's entry into the home at issue. Accordingly, we affirm.

I. Background

Oram and his codefendant, Devon Scott Weinstein, were "bounty hunters" or bond recovery agents (collectively agents). La-Donna's Bail Bonds (LaDonna's), a commercial bail bonds company, posted bond for John E. Vigil (Vigil) on a drug charge. Vigil completed a bond application and agreement for surety bail bond with LaDonna's. Vigil listed 1446 King Street in Denver as his address, but he did not live there. Further, Vigil listed that he was 58", 128 pounds, Hispanic, with brown eyes and hair, and that his birthday was February 2, 1948.

Vigil failed to appear for a scheduled court appearance, prompting Jefferson County to [887]*887issue an arrest warrant for him. A copy of the failure to appear notice was sent to La-Donna's, which the bond company considered a violation of Vigil's bond agreement. Thereafter, LaDonna's hired Oram and Weinstein to locate and apprehend Vigil.

On August 2, 2004, LaDonna's gave Oram and Weinstein a copy of its file on Vigil. The agents also obtained a copy of Vigil's file at the Jefferson County courthouse, where they confirmed that Vigil's arrest warrant was still active and that he was not in police custody. Also, at the courthouse, the agents unsuccessfully attempted to obtain Vigil's photograph.

Next, the agents tried but were unable to contact Vigil by telephone, using the phone numbers he had provided. At approximately 9 p.m. on August 2, the agents arrived at the King Street residence and began surveillance of the house and surrounding area. After an hour, they approached the front door. Oram testified that he and Weinstein had taser guns. Two occupants appeared at the door, G.V., the owner of the residence, and J.M., another resident. Also inside was a third resident, Z.V. Eugene Vigil, Vigil's brother, also resided at the residence, but was not home at the time.

G.V. testified that she reached for the door latch and as she did so, the door flew open and Weinstein swung her out onto the porch and put a gun to her head. J.M. provided similar testimony.

Weinstein asked GV. and J.M. for their names, and Oram testified that he thought the male occupant, J.M., answered "John." Weinstein entered the house, and Oram testified that he saw J.M. take an aggressive step toward Weinstein. Oram then foreed J.M. to the floor and handcuffed him. Oram claimed he did not have a clear view of J.M. in the darkness, but that his height and build matched Vigil's description. After Oram saw that J.M. was not old enough to be Vigil, and after Z.V. produced J.M.'s identification, the agents removed the handcuffs from J.M.

Eugene Vigil arrived at the house during the incident. The agents asked Eugene Vigil and the other occupants the whereabouts of Vigil. However, none of them knew Vigil's location. Eugene Vigil contacted the agents approximately one hour later and told them Vigil was in police custody in Denver.

The agents did not identify themselves as bounty hunters. The occupants testified that the agents had represented themselves as a police officer and a federal agent and that they were investigating a claim or a disturbance. The day after the incident, G.V. called the police when she became suspicious that Oram and Weinstein were not law enforcement officials.

At trial, the prosecution's motion for join-der to try Oram and Weinstein as codefen-dants was granted over Weinstein's objection. At the conclusion of the prosecution's case, the defense moved for a judgment of acquittal on the burglary charge. The trial court denied the motion. Weinstein did not testify at trial, while Oram did.

II. Sufficiency of the Evidence

Oram contends that his second degree burglary conviction should be vacated because there was insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt all the elements of the offense. Oram maintains that he was authorized as a bond recovery agent by statute, common law, and Vigil's bond agreement to enter the residence. We reject this contention and hold that the evidence was sufficient to support his convictions.

We must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution and determine whether it is substantial and sufficient to support a conclusion by a reasonable person that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt as to the elements of the charge. People v. Martinez, 165 P.3d 907, 913 (Colo.App.2007)

The credibility of the witnesses is solely within the province of the jury; the trial court may not determine what specific weight is given to pieces of evidence; a modicum of relevant evidence will not rationally support a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt; and the verdict may not be based on guessing, speculation, or conjecture. People v. Sprouse, 983 P.2d 771, 777-78 (Colo.1999). If there is evidence upon which one may reasonably infer that the elements of the [888]*888crime have been established, the evidence is substantial and sufficient. People v. Montano, 195 Colo. 420, 423, 578 P.2d 1053, 1055 (1978).

The second degree burglary statute provides:

A person commits second degree burglary, if the person knowingly breaks an entrance into, enters unlawfully in, or remains unlawfully after a lawful or unlawful entry in a building or occupied structure with intent to commit therein a crime against another person or property.

§ 18-4-208(1), C.R.8.2008.

In this case, the jury was provided with the following instruction 18,

The elements of the crime of Second Degree Burglary are:

(1) That the Defendant,
(2) in the City and County of Denver, State of Colorado, on or about August 2, 2004,
(3) knowingly
(4) unlawfully entered or remained unlawfully in, the dwelling of another,
(5) with intent to commit therein the crime of Menacing,
(6) without the affirmative defense in Instruction No. 16.
After considering all the evidence, if you decide the prosecution has proven each of the elements beyond a reasonable doubt, you should find the Defendant Guilty of Second Degree Burglary.
After considering all the evidence, if you decide the prosecution has failed to prove any one or more of the elements beyond a reasonable doubt, you should find the Defendant Not Guilty of Second Degree Burglary.

The affirmative defense instruction, discussed in part III below, provided that it was an affirmative defense to the charged crimes if the jurors found that Oram acted as a "reasonable bonding agent" in the cireum-stances surrounding the attempted arrest of Vigil.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
217 P.3d 883, 2009 Colo. App. LEXIS 82, 2009 WL 261508, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-oram-coloctapp-2009.