State of Washington v. Nikolas F. Campbell

CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedSeptember 9, 2014
Docket30166-4
StatusUnpublished

This text of State of Washington v. Nikolas F. Campbell (State of Washington v. Nikolas F. Campbell) 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.

Bluebook
State of Washington v. Nikolas F. Campbell, (Wash. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

FILED

SEPT. 9,2014

In the Office of the Clerk of Court

W A State Court of Appeals, Division III

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON

DIVISION THREE

STATE OF WASHINGTON, ) No. 30166-4-III ) Respondent, ) ) v. ) UNPUBLISHED OPINION ) NIKOLAS FRANCIS GLENN )

CAMPBELL, )

)

Appellant. )

LAWRENCE-BERREY, J. Nikolas Campbell and another man allegedly entered a

woman's apartment, took some items, and left in her vehicle. The State charged Mr.

Campbell with one count of fIrst degree robbery with a deadly weapon enhancement, one

count oftheft of a motor vehicle, and one count of fIrst degree burglary with a deadly

weapon enhancement. Mr. Campbell was convicted by a jury, sentenced, and he then

appealed.

Among other errors, he contends that (I) the charging information impermissibly

varied from the jury instructions, (2) the State failed to prove the deadly weapon element

of fIrst degree robbery, fIrst degree burglary, and the deadly weapon enhancements, and No. 30166-4-111 State v. Campbell

(3) the trial court erred, for sentencing purposes, in not considering the first degree

robbery and the first degree burglary as encompassing the same criminal conduct. We

determine that the charging document, as a whole, provided fair notice to Mr. Campbell

of the allegations he faced, and reject Mr. Campbell's first argument. We also determine

that the undisputed evidence showed that either Mr. Campbell or his accomplice was

armed with a firearm, which is a deadly weapon and, therefore, reject Mr. Campbell's

second argument. We also determine that the burglary anti-merger statute, among other

reasons, supports the trial court's decision of treating the offenses separate for sentencing

purposes. We therefore affirm the convictions and the sentence and remand for

correction of a scrivener's error.

FACTS

On April 7, 2010, two men kicked open the door of Debra Vargas's apartment.

Ms. Vargas was home at the time. Also in the apartment was Ms. Vargas's son, James

Stethem, who was sleeping in a separate room. Mr. Stethem awoke to find one of the

men carrying items out of the apartment. Mr. Stethem saw that both men were masked,

and that one of the men was carrying a gun. The man with the gun told Mr. Stethem to

tum away. The man without the gun took Mr. Stethem's portable DVD player and his

No. 30166-4-111 State v. Campbell

mom's laptop. The men drove away in Ms. Vargas's van. Ms. Vargas called 911.

According to her, one man had a gun and the other had a pipe.

In the same apartment complex lived Ms. Vargas's niece, Christina Morales. The

night before the robbery, Mr. Campbell, Michael Rice, and Cecelia Circo were visiting

Jerami Wilson at Ms. Morales's apartment. Mr. Campbell told Mr. Wilson that he had a

gun. Mr. Wilson saw a black handle in Mr. Campbell's waistline and saw something

shaking in Mr. CampbeH's pants that he suspected was a gun. Mr. Wilson saw a pipe in

Mr. Rice's back pocket. Mr. Rice asked if Mr. Wilson was interested in helping "get

back" at Ms. Morales's aunt. Report of Proceedings (RP) at 139-40. Mr. Wilson

remembered a laptop being mentioned in the conversation and that it could be worth the

same amount of money that Ms. Vargas owed Ms. Morales.

Eventually, Mr. Wilson went to bed. He did not see the group leave. He awoke to

find law enforcement in Ms. Morales's apartment. The apartment was in disarray. Law

enforcement asked Mr. Wilson ifhe knew the apartment was robbed. Missing from the

apartment was Ms. Morales's collection of three Chuckyl dolls as well as other items.

During the police investigation of the incident, Mr. Wilson was shown a photograph of

I "Chucky" is a fictional character from the 1988 horror movie "Child's Play." http://www.imdb.com/tltle/tt0094862/ .

No.30166-4-III State v. Campbell

the pipe found in Ms. Vargas's apartment and identified the pipe as the same pipe carried

by Mr. Rice.

Law enforcement found a Chucky doll outside Ms. Vargas's apartment. Ms.

Morales identified the doll as one from her collection. Law enforcement concluded that

someone broke into Ms. Vargas's apartment, based on a footprint outside Ms. Vargas's

door and damage to the door frame and door. Ms. Vargas's landlord saw Mr. Campbell

and Mr. Rice going between the apartments of Ms. Vargas and Ms. Morales on the night

of the incident.

Ms. Circo remembered that on the night of the incident, Mr. Campbell and Mr.

Rice were in Ms. Morales's apartment. Mr. Campbell had a silver gun. She did not see

Mr. Rice with a pipe. Ms. Circo fell asleep at the apartment. She awoke to find Mr.

Campbell pointing a gun at her, telling her to get into a van. Ms. Circo complied, and Mr.

Rice drove to Portland. While in the van, Ms. Circo noticed a Chucky doll tied to Mr.

Campbell. The van was recovered by law enforcement in Portland.

The State charged Mr. Campbell with one count of first degree robbery with a

deadly weapon enhancement, one count of theft of a motor vehicle, and one count of first

degree burglary with a deadly weapon enhancement. As to the first degree robbery

charge, the victim named in the information was Debra Vargas. As to the first degree

No. 30 166-4-III State v. Campbell

burglary charge, the victim named in the information was Debra Vargas and/or James

Stethem.

Mr. Campbell and Mr. Rice were codefendants at trial. The jury was given to-

convict instructions for each crime. Pertinent here, for first degree robbery, the court

instructed the jury that it needed to find that Mr. Campbell or an accomplice was "armed

with a deadly weapon" in the commission of the crime. Clerk's Papers (CP) at 88-89

(emphasis added). This instruction differed from the information that charged Mr.

Campbell of "display[ing] what appeared to be a firearm or other deadly weapon, to wit: a

pipe and/or a firearm." CP at 73 (emphasis added).

For first degree burglary, the court instructed the jury that it needed to find that Mr.

Campbell was "armed with a deadly weapon." CP at 100 (emphasis added). This

language was consistent with the information that alleged Mr. Campbell was "armed with

a pipe or firearm, a deadly weapon." CP at 73 (emphasis added).

For the jury to decide the deadly weapon enhancements, the court instructed the

jury that it needed to find Mr. Campbell or an accomplice was "armed with a deadly

weapon at the time of the commission of the crimes of Robbery in the First Degree and/or

Burglary in the First Degree ... even if only one deadly weapon [was] involved." CP at

111. The instruction further provided that "[a]ny metal pipe or bar used or intended to be

No. 30166-4-III State v. Campbell

used as a club is a deadly weapon. A pistol, revolver or any other firearm is also a deadly

weapon whether loaded or unloaded." CP at 111. This weapon enhancement instruction

differed from the enhancement notice in the information. The enhancement notice

alleged that Mr. Campbell "was armed with a deadly weapon and/or a weapon was easily

accessible ... to-wit: A PIPE." CP at 73 (emphasis added). In short, the enhancement

instruction referenced a pipe or a firearm, but the enhancement notice in the information

referenced only a pipe.

Mr.

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