State Of Washington, V Michael Horner, Johnny Dunham & Lynita Garcia.

CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedApril 29, 2014
Docket43549-7
StatusUnpublished

This text of State Of Washington, V Michael Horner, Johnny Dunham & Lynita Garcia. (State Of Washington, V Michael Horner, Johnny Dunham & Lynita Garcia.) 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 Michael Horner, Johnny Dunham & Lynita Garcia., (Wash. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON

DIVISION II

STATE OF WASHINGTON No. 43549 -7 -II Consolidated with Nos. 43562 -4 -II, Respondent, 44390 -2 -II, 43654 -0 -II)

v.

MICHAEL LYN HORNER, UNPUBLISHED OPINION

Appellant.

STATE OF WASHINGTON,

Respondent,

JOHNNY EUGENE DUNHAM,

LYNITA WYNNE GARCIA,

Appellant. Consol. Nos. 43549 -7 -II / 43562 - -II / 44390 -2 -II / 43654 -0 -II 4

KIMBERLY OLGA COLE,

JOHANSON, J. — A jury found Kimberly O. Cole, Johnny E. Dunham, Lynita W. Garcia,

and Michael L. Horner guilty of second degree burglary, first degree trafficking in stolen 1 property, and third degree theft. They now appeal from their convictions. Horner, Dunham,

and Cole each challenge the constitutionality of our accomplice liability statute and the adequacy

of their charging information regarding their trafficking charges. Further, each appellant alleges

that the State committed prosecutorial misconduct relating to their second degree burglary

convictions or, in the alternative, that insufficient evidence supported those convictions.

Additionally, Garcia claims that the State failed to offer sufficient evidence to support her

convictions and Cole claims ineffective assistance of counsel.

We accept the State' s concession that insufficient evidence supports one of the alternative

means of committing second degree burglary. Accordingly, we reverse the burglary convictions, 2 and remand for retrial. We affirm the remaining convictions because our accomplice liability

1 On our own motion, we consolidate Cole' s appeal with the consolidated appeals of Dunham, Garcia, and Horner.

2 We granted Homer' s and Garcia' s motions to adopt Dunham' s argument that the State produced insufficient evidence on one of the alternative means of proving second degree burglary. Order Granting Motions to Adopt Argument of Co- Appellant, No. 43549 -7 -II Spindle, March 6, 2014).

2 Consol. Nos. 43549 -7 -II / 43562 -4 -II / 44390 - -II / 43654 - -1I 2 0

statute is constitutional, the charging documents were not deficient, sufficient evidence supports

Garcia' s remaining convictions, and Cole' s counsel provided effective assistance of counsel.

FACTS

In October 2011, Thurston County Sheriff' s Deputy Jason Casebolt responded to a 911

burglary call. The property owner had died and the now - acant property, including a home, v

detached barn, open carport, and storage container, had been subject to recent burglaries. The

deceased had collected scrap metal and equipment that attracted looters and metal scrappers to

the property. The main access driveway was gated, locked, and featured a no trespassing sign.

The property had a back road, which was also posted with a no trespassing sign, although it had

been knocked to the side. Upon arriving, Deputy Casebolt saw a man— later identified as the

911 caller, William White— sitting in his vehicle which was parked behind Horner' s vehicle,

preventing it from moving. White, the property' s caretaker, called 911 when he saw an unknown

vehicle with four individuals —later identified as Cole, Dunham, Garcia, and Horner - walking in

and around the carport and the opened storage container.

The night before this incident, White had staged certain items so he could see whether

items had been moved or taken. The next day, White noticed the no trespassing sign was no

longer where he had posted it the night before. White saw Horner walk out of the carport, turn

back toward the carport and throw something inside it. Horner immediately got in his truck and

started to back it up. At this time, White saw Dunham exit the storage container, and hurry to the

passenger side of Horner' s truck. To prevent Horner from leaving, White positioned his truck to

block Horner' s truck. White then saw Cole and Garcia walk out of the storage container towards

Horner' s truck; according to White, both women looked nervous, scared, and hurried. White

recognized several items from the property in Horner' s truck. Deputy Casebolt obtained a search

3 Consol. Nos. 43549 -7 -II / 43562 -4 -II / 44390 -2 -II / 43654 -0 -II

warrant for Horner' s truck and found scrap metal receipts with the appellants' names on them.

The State charged the defendants with second degree burglary, first degree trafficking in stolen

property, and third degree theft.

At trial, White testified that only he and realtors were authorized to be on the property.

Employees from two scrap metal recyclers testified that they recognized the appellants as metal

scrappers who had sold scrap metal for cash. Kimberly Knecht, the manager at Valley

Recycling, testified that after the incident, Garcia phoned Valley Recycling asking if the police

had called about her. Garcia wanted to know what the recycling center told the police.

Commercial Metal Recycle' s Michael Holman testified that Cole usually visited the recycle

center with Dunham. Additionally, Deputy Casebolt found Dunham' s, Garcia' s, and Horner' s

names on scrap metal recycling receipts in Horner' s truck.

Deputy Casebolt testified that a very nervous Cole explained to him that she was at the

deceased' s property because her friend had called her to go clean it up because it was in foreclosure. Deputy Casebolt said that Dunham and Horner told him they were just there to ride

along or help Cole Though Cole initially told Deputy Casebolt that they were at the property to

clean it for a foreclosure sale, Deputy Casebolt testified that foreclosure cleanup businesses

typically have business licenses, equipment, uniforms, keys, or other indicia of a legitimate

operation, which this group lacked.

Dunham, Garcia, and Horner all testified that they were at the property due to Cole' s

foreclosure clean - up bid. Dunham also admitted that he had seen the no trespassing sign posted

at the main entrance at the front of the property. Garcia testified that she never entered the

storage container and never picked anything up. Horner testified that the tools in his truck were

his own and not taken from the property. Cole did not testify.

4 Consol. Nos. 43549 -7 -II / 43562 -4 -II / 44390 -2 -I1 / 43654 -0 -II

The trial court instructed the jury that it could find the defendants guilty as principals or

accomplices.

During rebuttal closing, the prosecutor argued,

I' m going to ask you to convict all four of these defendants with burglary in the second degree. There is no question that they entered a building, any of them. The carport constitutes a building, the storage container constitutes a building, and the fenced area, that yard, it does constitute a building by definition. There' s nothing in your instructions that says the fencing must touch all the way around, it says fenced area and that' s it, and I submit to you that' s exactly what occurred here.

5 Report of Proceedings at 808 -09. The jury found the defendants guilty as charged. They now

appeal.

ANALYSIS

I. ACCOMPLICE LIABILITY STATUTE, RCW 9A.08. 020

Cole, Horner, and Dunham argue that Washington' s accomplice liability statute, RCW

9A.08.

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