People v. Sandoval-Candelaria

328 P.3d 193, 2011 WL 2186433, 2011 Colo. App. LEXIS 1040
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 26, 2011
DocketNo. 07CA0759
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 328 P.3d 193 (People v. Sandoval-Candelaria) 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. Sandoval-Candelaria, 328 P.3d 193, 2011 WL 2186433, 2011 Colo. App. LEXIS 1040 (Colo. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinions

Opinion by

Judge TAUBMAN.

Defendant, Robert Sandoval-Candelaria, appeals the judgment of conviction entered on a jury verdict finding him guilty of manslaughter. He also appeals his sentence. We affirm the judgment of conviction, vacate the sentence, and remand for resentencing.

I. Background

This case stems from the death of S.H., who was killed by a shotgun wound to the head at the home where she lived with Sandoval and their daughter. The parties dispute the relevant facts leading up to her death.

On the morning of her death, SH. arranged for her mother to purchase a small quantity of methamphetamine for Sandoval. The People assert that sometime after the mother delivered the drugs, SH. and Sandoval had several heated arguments, and that Sandoval ultimately went into his bedroom to retrieve a shotgun and shot S.H. in the head at point blank range. The theory of defense was that Sandoval's half-sister, Shante Lo[197]*197pez, shot S.H., and then confessed the crime to her friends Patrick Craine, Amber Trujillo and Daniel Gomez. At trial, Lopez testified that at the time of the shooting, she was at a house on South Hooker Street in Denver.

The People charged Sandoval with one count of first degree murder-after deliberation, for the shooting of S. H., and a jury convicted Sandoval of the lesser included offense of manslaughter. Subsequently, the trial court delayed the sentencing hearing from August 28, 2006 until March 6, 2007, when it sentenced Sandoval to twelve years in prison.

This appeal followed.

II. Residual Hearsay Exception

Sandoval contends that the trial court abused its discretion when it excluded as evidence a witness's transcribed police interview and thereby violated Sandoval's right to present a defense. We disagree.

A. Standard of Review

Exclusion of evidence is reviewed for an abuse of discretion. Golob v. People, 180 P.3d 1006, 1011 (Colo.2008). The right to present a defense is violated "only where the defendant was denied virtually his only means of effectively testing significant prosecution evidence." Krutsinger v. People, 219 P.3d 1054, 1062 (Colo.2009). Accordingly, where a defendant's right to present a defense is not implicated, reversal is required only if the error substantially influenced the verdict or affected the fairness of the proceedings. Id. at 1073.

B. Analysis

Prior to trial, Sandoval offered as evidence a transcript of a police interview with C.L., an unavailable witness, under the residual exception to hearsay. Sandoval sought to impeach Lopez's prior statements that she was at a party with C.L. at the time of the murder.

The trial court found that the evidence lacked sufficient cireamstantial guarantees of trustworthiness, commenting, "I can't imagine a statement that has [fewer] guarantees of trustworthiness.... [Ilf this came under the residual hearsay exception ... every statement would come in under that exception and that would swallow the rule."

Hearsay is inadmissible unless an exception or exclusion applies People v. Carlson, 72 P.3d 411, 420 (Colo.App.2003). Under the residual exception to the hearsay rule, the proponent must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the statement is supported by "cireumstantial guarantees of trustworthiness." CRE 807; see Vasquez v. People, 173 P.3d 1099, 1106 (Colo.2007). In considering the trustworthiness of a statement, courts should examine the nature and character of the statement, the relationship of the parties, the probable motivation of the declarant in making the statement, and the circumstances under which the statement was made. People v. Jensen, 55 P.3d 135, 139 (Colo.App.2001) (citing People v. Fuller, 788 P.2d 741, 744

The defense's theory was that Lopez killed SH., but at trial, Lopez testified that she was at a house on South Hooker Street at the time of the shooting. The defense sought to introduce the testimony of C.L., who was at the house on South Hooker Street during that night, and claimed that Lopez was not at the house at the time of the shooting.

Here, C.L.'s interview with the police officer was voluntary, not under oath, and began at approximately 1:22 a.m. Sandoval asserts that C.L. lacked bias or motive to lie about Lopez, because C.L. was not a suspect in the case and had a limited connection to Lopez. However, C.L.'s statement indicates his confusion regarding the timing of the shooting.

First, C.L. admitted that he was drunk during the day before the shooting. When the interviewing police officer asked C.L. to explain what happened, C.L. initially could not recall the day in question. Despite prompting from the officer, C.L. said, "No, I don't remember.... I don't remember what day it was, what exact day, I don't remember." The police officer asked, "Was it Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday?" and C.L. replied, "I don't remember what day it was. I think it was, like, Monday or...."

[198]*198Sandoval argues that despite C.L.'s initial confusion, he ultimately remembered that he was at the house on South Hooker Street on Sunday and Monday. However, the trial court's finding that his testimony lacked trustworthiness is not necessarily inconsistent with Sandoval's contention that C.L. was later able to confirm the particular dates in question. The fact that C.L. was confused and unclear regarding basic facts and dates for much of the interview with the police officer is sufficient to support the trial court's finding that his testimony lacked sufficient cirenmstantial guarantees of trustworthiness.

C.L. also could not accurately account for Lopez's presence on the night of the shooting. C.L. initially stated that Lopez arrived at the house on South Hooker Street on the night of the shooting, but did not spend the night, and then came back in the morning. When asked, "Did [Lopez] come back on Monday afternoon?" C.L. replied, "Yes ... I didn't see her then." C.L. later added that Lopez was in the house Monday evening, but "he] didn't see her there."

Because C.L. could not clearly recall the basic and crucial fact of the date and time Lopez was at the house on South Hooker Street, the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it concluded that C.L.'s testimony lacked sufficient cireumstantial guarantees of trustworthiness, and refused to admit C.L.'s police interview transeript under the residual exeeption to the hearsay rule.

III. CRE 404(b)

Sandoval contends that the trial court abused its discretion when it admitted evidence of his prior drug dealing, because such evidence is inadmissible under CRE 404(b). We disagree.

We review a trial court's ruling on an evidentiary issue for an abuse of disceretion. People v. Stewart, 55 P.3d 107, 122 (Colo.2002). A trial court abuses its disceretion if its ruling is manifestly arbitrary, unreasonable, or unfair. Id. (citing People v. Ibarra, 849 P.2d 33, 38 (Colo.1993)). The trial court has considerable discretion to de termine the relevancy, admissibility, probative value, and prejudicial impact of evidence. Ibarra, 849 P.2d at 38.

Where a defendant fails to object to the admission of evidence at trial, we review for plain error. People v. Miller, 113 P.3d 743, 745 (Colo.2005).

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

Related

People v. Relaford
2016 COA 99 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2016)
People v. Clark
2015 COA 44 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2015)
People v. Lacallo
2014 COA 78 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2014)
People v. Sandoval-Candelaria
2014 CO 21 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2014)
People v. Samson
2012 COA 167 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2012)
People v. Munoz-Casteneda
2012 COA 109 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2012)
People v. Krueger
2012 COA 80 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2012)
People v. Green
2012 COA 68 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2012)
People v. Davis
2012 COA 56 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2012)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
328 P.3d 193, 2011 WL 2186433, 2011 Colo. App. LEXIS 1040, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-sandoval-candelaria-coloctapp-2011.