State Of Washington, V. Viviana Vanesa Rangel-ochoa

CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedNovember 8, 2021
Docket81699-3
StatusUnpublished

This text of State Of Washington, V. Viviana Vanesa Rangel-ochoa (State Of Washington, V. Viviana Vanesa Rangel-ochoa) 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. Viviana Vanesa Rangel-ochoa, (Wash. Ct. App. 2021).

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON

STATE OF WASHINGTON, No. 81699-3-I Respondent, DIVISION ONE v. UNPUBLISHED OPINION VIVIANA RANGEL-OCHOA,

Appellant.

COBURN, J. — A jury convicted Viviana “Vanesa” Rangel-Ochoa of

burglarizing her friend’s home. She appeals arguing that the trial court erred by

admitting incriminating statements she made to police after her arrest. She also

contends that the prosecutor engaged in misconduct during closing argument by

stating she was “the unluckiest person.” Rangel-Ochoa also appeals her

restitution order claiming the trial court failed to hold an evidentiary hearing. We

affirm.

FACTS

Tannya Saucedo Castro was at home in her bedroom one evening in

January 2018. Around 6 p.m., she heard a loud bang at her front door, and

footsteps up her stairs, and then two masked individuals dressed in black

entered her bedroom. Despite the masks covering the lower part of their faces,

Citations and pin cites are based on the Westlaw online version of the cited material. No. 81699-3-I/2

Saucedo Castro immediately recognized the individuals as her friends, Anthony

“Ant” Abraham and Vanesa Rangel-Ochoa. 1

Saucedo Castro stood frozen as Abraham searched her drawers, and

Rangel-Ochoa began throwing items from Castro’s closet into a plastic trash bag.

Rangel-Ochoa took several luxury brand items: a pink Gucci bag, a pink Gucci

purse, a brown MCM backpack, tan Louboutin heels, a pair of Gucci sneakers, a

black and gold Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) purse, and a pink and purple MCM

wallet. Saucedo Castro called out to Rangel-Ochoa, saying her name, and

Rangel-Ochoa turned around and looked shaken with her eyes wide open. The

two intruders quickly departed. Rangel-Ochoa then ran to a neighbor’s home to

call 9-1-1. Saucedo Castro later provided police with her home surveillance

videos from the time of the crime showing the masked intruders coming and

going from her home.

A few weeks later, two detectives went to Rangel-Ochoa’s apartment in

Renton to arrest her and transport her to the police department. During a

recorded interview, Rangel-Ochoa acknowledged she was giving the interview

freely, voluntarily, and without threats or promises of any kind. The detective

then read Rangel-Ochoa her Miranda 2 rights. She then signed the statement

waiving her rights and agreeing to be interviewed. While being interviewed,

Rangel-Ochoa repeatedly denied any involvement in the burglary. She told the

detectives that she had a falling out with Saucedo Castro because she “was

1 The State later dismissed charges against Abraham. 2 Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S. Ct. 1602, 16 L. Ed. 2d 694 (1966).

2 No. 81699-3-I/3

hitting on” Rangel-Ochoa’s boyfriend. The detective then asked her about

Abraham:

[Detective]: Okay. And then at no time did he say that, hey, do you want to buy some stuff? Like some stolen stuff, or some expensive stuff? He ever ask you to buy some expensive stuff from him?

[Rangel-Ochoa]: I don't feel comfortable saying that.

She denied that Saucedo Castro had given her any merchandise or that any of

the missing items would be found at her apartment. She also denied owning any

YSL or MCM products.

After the interview, the police obtained a search warrant and drove with

Rangel-Ochoa back to her apartment telling her they would be executing a

search warrant at her home. At that point, Rangel-Ochoa told the detective that

she had two items—a YSL purse and MCM wallet—that had belonged to

Saucedo Castro that she purchased from Abraham for $1,200 in cash. Police

recovered these two items at Rangel-Ochoa’s apartment, and Saucedo Castro

later identified these items as the missing items belonging to her.

Before trial, the court held a CrR 3.5 hearing to determine the admissibility

of Rangel-Ochoa’s statements during the police station interview and in the patrol

car. Rangel-Ochoa did not testify. The court ruled that all of Rangel-Ochoa’s

statements to police were both voluntary and admissible at trial.

A jury found Rangel-Ochoa guilty of residential burglary. By special

verdict the jury found that the victim had been present when the crime was

committed. A restitution hearing was scheduled after sentencing, at which time

the trial court ordered Rangel-Ochoa to pay Saucedo Castro $4,384.30 for the

3 No. 81699-3-I/4

property losses related to the burglary. Rangel-Ochoa appeals.

DISCUSSION

CrR 3.5 Hearing

Rangel-Ochoa argues that the trial court erred when it did not suppress

the statements she made to detectives in the police car claiming that these

statements were made under coercion. 3 We disagree.

The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution and article I,

section 9 of the Washington Constitution protect the privilege against self-

incrimination. U.S. CONST. amend. V; W ASH. CONST. art. I, § 9. While a

defendant’s compelled statements cannot be admitted at trial, voluntary

statements are admissible. State v. DeLeon, 185 Wn.2d 478, 480, 374 P.3d 95

(2016). Generally, a defendant’s statement is voluntary if it is “made

spontaneously, is not solicited, and [is] not the product of custodial interrogation.”

State v. Ortiz, 104 Wn.2d 479, 484, 706 P.2d 1069 (1985). To determine

whether self-incriminating statements were made voluntarily, courts review the

“totality of the circumstances.” DeLeon, 185 Wn.2d at 486. We review a trial

court’s conclusion regarding the voluntariness of a defendant’s statements based

on whether there is substantial evidence in the record from which the trial court

3 The State contends that Rangel-Ochoa waived her claim of coercion by not explicitly raising this issue below. We disagree. Rangel-Ochoa preserved this issue below. She argued that “[t]he State hasn’t met their burden with regard to establishing that these were non-coercive statements. . . . We are arguing that . . . this at least begins in a very coercive environment. . . . [She] is arrested, pulled outside of her home, she’s in her underwear, she is handcuffed, and it’s our argument that the coercive nature of that interaction with law enforcement never fully dissipates.”

4 No. 81699-3-I/5

could find voluntariness by preponderance of the evidence. State v. Rafay, 168

Wn. App. 734, 757–58, 285 P.3d 83 (2012) (quoting State v. Broadaway, 133

Wn.2d 118, 129, 942 P.2d 363 (1997)).

After taking testimony at the CrR 3.5 hearing, the trial court concluded that

the State had met its burden by preponderance of the evidence that the

statements Rangel-Ochoa made were voluntary. The trial court ruled:

With respect to the statements made in the vehicle on the way back to the Defendant's residence, Det. Kim testified that he did not ask any questions of the Defendant, and that the Defendant chose to spontaneously offer information to Det. Kim. Thus, these statements were not in response to any interrogation, and as such, are admissible under CrR 3.5.

The record supports the trial court’s findings and conclusions. The

detective did not ask any questions of Rangel-Ochoa and merely explained that

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Related

Miranda v. Arizona
384 U.S. 436 (Supreme Court, 1966)
Brewer v. Williams
430 U.S. 387 (Supreme Court, 1977)
State v. Cooper
816 P.2d 734 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1991)
State v. Fleming
921 P.2d 1076 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1996)
State v. Barrow
809 P.2d 209 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1991)
State v. Bennett
821 P.2d 499 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1991)
State v. Kisor
844 P.2d 1038 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1993)
State v. Ortiz
706 P.2d 1069 (Washington Supreme Court, 1985)
State v. Wright
888 P.2d 1214 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1995)
State v. Dedonado
991 P.2d 1216 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2000)
State v. Broadaway
942 P.2d 363 (Washington Supreme Court, 1997)
State v. Thorgerson
258 P.3d 43 (Washington Supreme Court, 2011)
State v. Miles
162 P.3d 1169 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2007)
State v. Kinneman
119 P.3d 350 (Washington Supreme Court, 2005)
State v. Broadaway
133 Wash. 2d 118 (Washington Supreme Court, 1997)
State v. Kinneman
155 Wash. 2d 272 (Washington Supreme Court, 2005)
State v. Tobin
166 P.3d 1167 (Washington Supreme Court, 2007)
State v. Unga
165 Wash. 2d 95 (Washington Supreme Court, 2008)
In re the Personal Restraint of Glasmann
286 P.3d 673 (Washington Supreme Court, 2012)
State v. DeLeon
374 P.3d 95 (Washington Supreme Court, 2016)

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