State Of Washington v. James A. Shea

CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedNovember 23, 2015
Docket73939-5
StatusUnpublished

This text of State Of Washington v. James A. Shea (State Of Washington v. James A. Shea) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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State Of Washington v. James A. Shea, (Wash. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON

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ro STATE OF WASHINGTON, ) NO. 73939-5-1 ro

Respondent, ) DIVISION ONE v.

JAMES A. SHEA, UNPUBLISHED OPINION

Appellant. ) FILED: November 23, 2015

Lau, J. — A jury convicted James Shea on one count of obstructing a law

enforcement officer, one count of hit and run with injury, and one count of possession of

methamphetamine. Shea appeals, arguing his conviction should be reversed because

(1) the State failed to present evidence that he made a false statement to support the

obstruction charge, (2) the trial court erred when it admitted evidence found in Shea's

wallet pursuant to an unconstitutional search, (3) the trial court erred when it admitted

self-incriminating statements, and (4) counsel's deficient performance denied him his

constitutional right to effective assistance of counsel. Finding no errors, we affirm

Shea's judgment and sentence. No. 73939-5-1/2

FACTS

On November 22, 2013, Office Robert Auderer was at Bob's Tavern in Shelton,

Washington. Officer Auderer was off-duty and wearing civilian clothing. He left the

tavern when he heard commotion outside. He noticed a yellow Mustang had struck a

pedestrian, Grant Manning. The front tire of the car was on top of Manning's foot. The

driver, later identified as James Shea, backed the car off Manning's foot and drove

away, despite bystanders shouting at him to stop. Manning suffered an injury to his foot

and knee. Manning required knee surgery due to the injury.

Officer Auderer followed Shea in his personal vehicle and called 911. Shea

parked outside of his residence. Officer Auderer parked nearby. As Shea was exiting

his car, Officer Auderer identified himself as a police officer and told Shea that he had

been involved in an accident and was not free to leave. Officer Auderer testified that he

"immediately was met with profanity." Report of Proceedings (RP) (March 27, 2014) at

140. Shea also said something to the effect of "I barely hit that guy. I barely hit him.

He wasn't even hurt." RP (March 27, 2014) at 154. Shea began rifling through his

pockets. Officer Auderer asked Shea multiple times to keep his hands out of his

pockets, but Shea persisted. As a safety precaution, Officer Auderer grabbed Shea by

the arm and led him away from his vehicle.

Around this time, three to five of Shea's friends arrived. Some came from inside

Shea's residence while others arrived in a car that had been following Shea. Shea's

friends surrounded Officer Auderer and questioned his actions. One individual

threatened Officer Auderer with physical violence. Officer Auderer described the scene

as "intense," explaining that Shea's friends "surrounded me while I'm still trying to hold

-2- No. 73939-5-1/3

onto [Shea] and keep his hands out of his pockets, [and] trying to tell dispatch where I

am." RP (March 27, 2014) at 141. Eventually, Officer Auderer was able to remove his

Shelton Police Department commission card, bearing a picture of his face, his

signature, and a badge declaring he was a Shelton Police Officer. Officer Auderer

showed his commission card to Shea and Shea's friends, and one of them exclaimed

that Officer Auderer "is a Shelton cop." RP (March 27, 2014) at 144.

Officer Auderer continued to try to restrain Shea, but Shea was uncooperative:

It was a constant tug of war with [Shea]. He—all I wanted him to do—the only thing I wanted Mr. Shea to do was to keep his hands where I could see him and wait for uniformed officers to get up there so we could complete the investigation, and he refused.

RP (March 27, 2014) at 144. Other officers arrived including Officer Backus. Officer

Backus was in uniform and driving a black and white patrol car with blue lights

activated. Officer Auderer then asked Shea to place his hands behind his back. Shea

continued to disobey Officer Auderer and Officer Backus' commands. During the

struggle, Shea attempted to empty his pockets. At one point, he removed his wallet and

threw it towards one of his friends.

After Officer Auderer and Officer Backus detained Shea, Officer Auderer

retrieved the wallet Shea had thrown. The wallet contained Shea's ID card. Officer

Auderer testified that a second ID, a driver's license, had been taken out of the wallet

and was on the ground nearby. The wallet also contained methamphetamine.

The State charged Shea with one count of possession of methamphetamine, one

count of hit and run with injury, and one count of obstructing a law enforcement officer.

The jury convicted Shea on all three counts. Shea appeals. No. 73939-5-1/4

ANALYSIS

Sufficiency of the Evidence

Shea contends the State failed to present sufficient evidence to prove the

obstruction charge beyond a reasonable doubt. He argues that to prove obstruction the

State must show that he made a false statement to police officers. We disagree.

In a criminal prosecution, the State must prove each element of the charged

crime beyond a reasonable doubt. In re Winship. 397 U.S. 358, 364, 90 S. Ct. 1068, 25

L.Ed. 2d. 368(1970).

The test for determining the sufficiency of the evidence is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, any rational trier of fact could have found guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. When the sufficiency of the evidence is challenged in a criminal case, all reasonable inferences from the evidence must be drawn in favor of the State and interpreted most strongly against the defendant. A claim of insufficiency admits the truth of the State's evidence and all inferences that reasonably can be drawn therefrom.

State v. Salinas. 119 Wn.2d 192, 201, 829 P.2d 1068 (1992) (internal citations omitted).

We defer to the factfinder on issues of conflicting testimony, witness credibility, and

persuasiveness of the evidence. State v. Thomas, 150 Wn.2d 821, 874-75, 83 P.3d

970 (2004).

Relying on State v. Williams. 171 Wn.2d 474, 251 P.3d 877 (2011), Shea argues

that a conviction for obstructing a law enforcement officer requires proof that he made a

false statement.1 Because the State failed to show that he made any false statement to

a police officer, there was insufficient evidence to support the obstruction charge.

1 We note that Shea also relies on an unpublished opinion from this court in violation of GR 14.1(a). We will not consider Shea's argument insofar as it relies on this citation.

-4- No. 73939-5-1/5

Shea's reliance on Williams is misplaced. Williams does not require evidence of

a false statement to prove obstruction. The court in Williams held that an obstruction

charge cannot be based solely on a defendant's false statement. Williams. 171 Wn.2d

at 486. In Williams, the defendant provided a false name when police officers asked

him to identify himself. Williams. 171 Wn.2d at 476. The court held that this false

statement alone could not support a conviction for obstruction:

In order to avoid constitutional infirmities, we require some conduct in addition to making false statements to support a conviction for obstructing an officer.

Williams, 171 Wn.2d at 486.

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