State Of Washington v. Ricardo Liard Bruno

Court of Appeals of Washington·Decided November 6, 2017·No. 74647-2·Unpublished

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON STATE OF WASHINGTON, No. 74647-2-1

Respondent,

DIVISION ONE

V.

UNPUBLISHED OPINION cr RICARDO LIARD BRUNO,

Appellant. FILED: November 6, 2017

TRICKEY, A.C.J. — A jury convicted Ricardo Bruno of second degree rape. The trial court imposed an exceptional sentence along with several community custody

conditions. On appeal, Bruno argues that the trial court erred when it imposed an exceptional sentence based on an inaccurate offender score and aggravating factors not submitted to the jury. We agree, vacate the judgment and sentence, and remand for resentencing with an offender score of one and with consideration of the sentencing enhancement that the jury found.

Bruno also argues that the trial court erred by imposing several community custody conditions that are unconstitutionally vague or not crime-related. We agree in part, and remand with instructions to(1)strike community custody condition 7 as not crime-related, (2) conduct additional fact-finding in support of or strike the language of community custody condition 11 related to sexually explicit material as defined by RCW 9.68.130, and (3) strike the language "and or any places where minors congregate"1 in community custody condition 18 as unconstitutionally vague.

1 Clerk's Papers(CP) at 62.

No. 74647-2-1 /2 FACTS

Y.H. was born in 1997. Prior to 2014, Y.H. lived with her mother, two siblings, and her stepfather Bruno in Georgia. When Y.H. was 12 years old, Bruno entered Y.H.'s room and raped her. Bruno raped Y.H. periodically for the following four to five years. The rapes always occurred at night in Y.H.'s bedroom.

In 2014, the family moved to Renton, Washington. On August 19, 2014, Bruno entered Y.H.'s bedroom while she was asleep and forcibly performed an act of oral sex on Y.H. and then vaginally raped her. On August 20, 2014, Y.H. told a friend and the friend's mother that Bruno had been raping her. The friend's mother called Y.H.'s mother, who called law enforcement.

The State charged Bruno by amended information with rape in the second degree as a crime of domestic violence because his actions were against a family or household member. The State alleged one aggravating factor, that his offense was part of "an ongoing pattern of psychological, physical or sexual abuse of the same victim . . . manifested by multiple incidents over a prolonged period of time."2 The jury found Bruno guilty of rape in the second degree. The jury found that Bruno and Y.H. were members of the same family or household prior to or at the time the crime was committed, and therefore that the crime was an aggravated domestic violence offense.

Prior to sentencing, the State argued that Bruno had an offender score of two based on a prior conviction of robbery in Georgia. The State contended that Bruno's out- of-state robbery conviction was legally comparable with its Washington counterpart and,

2 CP at 11.

No. 74647-2-1 /3 therefore, merited two felony points. The State's argument was based on legal similarity alone because it "was not able to obtain any factual documents"from Georgia.3 The trial court calculated Bruno's offender score as two, based on Bruno's prior conviction of robbery in Georgia. It determined that his standard range sentence was 95 to 125 months. At Bruno's sentencing hearing,the trial court stated that other aggravating factors applied, in addition to Bruno's offense involving domestic violence that was part of an ongoing pattern of abuse of the same victim over a prolonged period of time. The trial court stated that Bruno knew or should have known that Y.H. was particularly vulnerable or incapable of resistance, and that the offense "was part of an ongoing pattern of sexual abuse of the same victim under the age of 18 manifested by multiple incidents over a prolonged period of time."4 The State did not allege nor did the jury find these last two aggravating factors.

The court imposed an exceptional sentence of a minimum of 180 months and a maximum of life, with community custody ordered "for any period of time the defendant is released from total confinement before the expiration of the maximum sentence."5 The trial court stated in its findings of fact that it was imposing an exceptional sentence based on both the jury's findings and the court's oral findings at Bruno's sentencing hearing.

The court imposed several community custody conditions, including:

7. Abide by a curfew of 10pm-Sam unless directed otherwise. Remain at registered address or address previously approved by [the Community Corrections Officer(CCO)]during these hours.

11. Do not possess, use, access or view any sexually explicit material as defined by RCW 9.68.130 or erotic materials as defined by RCW 9.68.050

3 Report of Proceedings(RP)(Jan. 29, 2016) at 776. 4 RP (Jan. 29, 2016) at 791. 5 CP at 54.

No. 74647-2-1 /4

or any material depicting any person engaged in sexually explicit conduct as defined by RCW 9.68A.011(4) unless given prior approval by your sexual deviancy provider.

18. . . . Do not enter any parks/playgrounds/schools and or any places where minors congregate.[6]

Bruno appeals.

ANALYSIS

Sentencing Errors

Offender Score Bruno and the State agree that the trial court erred when it added two points to his offender score for his Georgia robbery conviction because that conviction is not legally comparable to a Washington robbery conviction. Bruno and the State agree that Bruno's Georgia conviction is equivalent to Washington's first degree theft statute, which would only add one point.

Washington courts apply a two-part test to determine if an out-of-state conviction is comparable to a Washington conviction. State v. Morley, 134 Wn.2d 588,605-06, 952 P.2d 167 (1998). First, "the elements of the out-of-state crime must be compared to the elements of Washington criminal statutes in effect when the foreign crime was committed." Morley, 134 Wn.2d at 606. Second, if the elements are not identical or if the out-of-state statute is broader than its Washington counterpart,"the sentencing court may look at the defendant's conduct, as evidenced by the indictment or information, to determine whether the conduct would have violated the comparable Washington statute." State v. Duke, 77 Wn. App. 532, 535, 892 P.2d 120(1995).

6 CP at 61-62.

No. 74647-2-1/ 5 Georgia's robbery statute includes a "sudden snatching" alternative means that is not included in the Washington robbery statute, and is therefore broader. GA.CODE ANN., § 16-8-40 (2010); see Byrd v. State, 171 Ga. App. 344, 344-45, 319 S.E.2d 460 (1984) (defining "sudden snatching"); cf. RCW 9A.56.190. At sentencing, the State did not provide evidence of Bruno's underlying conduct in his Georgia conviction, and therefore did not establish factual comparability. Thus, the trial court erred when it concluded that Bruno's Georgia conviction was legally comparable to Washington's robbery statute.

The parties agree that Bruno's Georgia conviction is legally comparable to Washington's first degree theft offense. RCW 9A.56.030(1); see Brown v. State, 309 Ga. App. 511, 710 S.E.2d 674 (2011) (robbery by sudden snatching accomplished when victim saw the defendant grab victim's wallet from unattended shopping cart and run out of store). First degree theft is not a violent offense for sentencing purposes. RCW 9.94A.030(55)(a). For a present nonviolent offense, each adult prior felony conviction adds one point to the defendant's offender score. RCW 9.94A.525(7), (17). Therefore, without evidence of his underlying conduct, Bruno's Georgia conviction is legally comparable to Washington's first degree theft offense and should have added one point to his offender score, not two.

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