State of Washington v. Julian Miguel Juarez

Court of Appeals of Washington·Decided January 4, 2018·No. 34638-2·Unpublished

Opinion

FILED

JANUARY 4, 2018

In the Office of the Clerk of Court WA State Court of Appeals, Division III

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON DIVISION THREE

STATE OF WASHINGTON, )

) No. 34638-2-111 Respondent, )

)

v. )

)

JULIAN MIGUEL JUAREZ, ) UNPUBLISHED OPINION )

Appellant. )

FEARING, C.J. - The trial court, after a jury verdict, convicted Julian Juarez of three crimes: (1) violation of a protection order by reason of an assault, a felony, (2) felonious violation of a protection order by reason of multiple violations, and (3) second degree assault. All crimes stem from Julian Juarez's attack on the mother of his children, Eugenia Claudia Gutierrez, on the same day and at the same place. Julian Juarez's and the victim's children could observe the violence. The jury found the presence of the minor children and domestic violence to be aggravating circumstances. On appeal, Julian Juarez asks that we vacate one or more of his convictions, and he

claims error in sentencing. We grant him partial relief.

I

No. 34638-2-III State v. Juarez

FACTS

Julian Miguel Juarez and Eugenia Claudia Gutierrez bore two daughters. Between July 15, 2014 and beyond the present, a domestic violence no-contact order has prohibited and will prohibit Juarez from contacting Gutierrez. Despite the order, Juarez still maintained visitation rights with his daughters.

Julian Juarez's convictions derive from his confrontation with Eugenia Gutierrez on January 21, 2016. We lift the facts of the crimes from trial testimony.

Eugenia Gutierrez arranged to meet Julian Juarez's mother, Bertha Quintero, on January 21, so Quintero could transport the children to Julian Juarez for visitation. Gutierrez told Quintero that Juarez could not be present during the transfer. Gutierrez drove the girls to the designated location, a large parking lot near a grassy park and adjacent to a community college. The children sat strapped in forward-facing car seats in the backseat. Quintero arrived two minutes later and parked two spaces away from Gutierrez's car. An empty parking spot lay between the two cars.

As Eugenia Gutierrez exited her car, Julian Juarez hurriedly departed Bertha Quintero's car. The patriarchal Juarez demanded that Gutierrez explain her behavior to him. Juarez pushed Gutierrez toward her car and instructed her to enter the vehicle. Gutierrez shoved Juarez and instructed him to leave her alone. Juarez grabbed Gutierrez's hair with one hand to hold her still, and he punched her in the face with his

No. 34638-2-111 State v. Juarez

other hand. Juarez again demanded Gutierrez to enter her car. Gutierrez again refused, so Juarez punched her again.

Julian Juarez released his hold on Eugenia Gutierrez's hair and walked to the passenger side door of her car. Juarez opened the door with the expectation that Gutierrez would enter the vehicle. Gutierrez instead walked toward the grassy park in front of the car to retreat from Juarez. Gutierrez did not want her children, seated in the back seat of her car, to witness more violence. We do not know how long Gutierrez remained free from Juarez's grasp as she walked to the grass. Juarez followed Gutierrez to the grass. No testimony measured the distance from the car to the grass or how far Gutierrez walked from the car before Juarez attacked her in the grass.

Once on the grass, Julian Juarez grabbed Eugenia Gutierrez's hair, and she collapsed to the ground. Juarez dragged Gutierrez by her hair and struck her again. Bertha Quintero loudly inquired of her son about his conduct. Quintero commanded Juarez to cease his behavior, so the dutiful son returned to the car and Quintero drove away.

According to Eugenia Gutierrez, the children could view the confrontation.

Nevertheless, Gutierrez did not specifically state whether the children could see their father's behavior adjacent to the car, his behavior in the grass, or both.

Two witnesses, college student Melanie Merrill and postal carrier Christina Acevedo, watched the confrontation between Julian Juarez and Eugenia Gutierrez. While

No. 34638-2-III State v. Juarez

seated in her truck, Merrill heard Gutierrez yell at Juarez to stop. She espied Juarez push and punch Gutierrez. Merrill called 911. According to Merrill, Juarez punched Gutierrez three to five times as the two stood between the two cars. Juarez punched Gutierrez ten times on the grass. In between the two locations, Juarez chased Gutierrez.

While walking on her postal route, Christina Acevedo heard Eugenia Gutierrez holler: "help, call 911." Report of Proceedings (RP) (July 12, 2016) at 116. Acevedo peered in the direction from where the cry originated and saw Gutierrez and Juarez in the grass. She spotted Juarez holding Gutierrez's hair. Acevedo noted that Gutierrez could not escape the grip of her hair. Acevedo also called the police.

Eugenia Gutierrez suffered bumps on her head, a black eye, a bruised cheek, and a bump on the left side of her face. Responding officers photographed Gutierrez's wounds on the day of the assault. Gutierrez took photographs of her injuries two days after the altercation.

PROCEDURE

The State of Washington charged Julian Juarez with three offenses arising from his attack on Eugenia Gutierrez on January 21, 2016. Our appeal concerns in part the relationship between the three overlapping counts and whether the State could convict Juarez on all three charges. In count one, the State alleged assault in violation of a protection order whereby Juarez "intentionally assaulted" Eugenia Gutierrez. Clerk's Papers (CP) at 24. The State sought conviction of this first count as a class C felony. In

No. 34638-2-III State v. Juarez

count two, the State charged felony violation of a protection order with at least two preceding convictions for violating provisions of a court order. In count three, the State alleged second degree assault whereby Juarez, with the intent to commit the felony of unlawful imprisonment, intentionally assaulted Gutierrez.

The State of Washington sought a domestic violence sentence enhancement for each count based on an allegation that Julian Juarez committed each offense against a family or household member. The State also pled the aggravating sentencing factor that each offense occurred within the presence of the victim's or the offender's minor children. The State of Washington agreed in its information that it could not convict Julian Juarez on count one, assault in violation of a protection order, a class C felony, by only proving an assault that amounts to assault in the first or second degree.

At trial, Julian Juarez stipulated to two earlier violations of a no-contact order.

Throughout trial, conflicting testimony arose about the number of times Juarez struck Gutierrez.

Throughout trial and in closing argument, the State referred to the January 21 incident as "the" assault, "an" assault, and other various phrases that implied a continuous assaultive act. The State never separated, as discrete assaults, Julian Juarez's conduct near the cars from his comportment in the grass. When explaining the events that transpired, the State commented: "[a]ll the witnesses corroborate that the assault goes

No. 34638-2-III State v. Juarez

to this grassy area." RP (July 13, 2016) at 167. Eugenia Gutierrez measured the assault as lasting between five to ten minutes.

At the close of testimony, Julian Juarez moved for dismissal of the second degree assault count. This degree of assault requires an intent to commit a felony, which includes unlawful imprisonment. He argued that the State had not proved an unlawful restraint in part because he only asked Eugenia Gutierrez to talk with him and his directing Gutierrez into her car by force did not amount to a restraint. The State responded by contending evidence showed an unlawful restraint because Juarez dragged Gutierrez by the hair such that she could not escape his grasp. The trial court denied the motion to dismiss.

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