State v. Andrades

725 A.2d 262, 1999 R.I. LEXIS 10, 1999 WL 38150
CourtSupreme Court of Rhode Island
DecidedJanuary 12, 1999
Docket98-286-C.A.
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 725 A.2d 262 (State v. Andrades) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Rhode Island primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Andrades, 725 A.2d 262, 1999 R.I. LEXIS 10, 1999 WL 38150 (R.I. 1999).

Opinion

OPINION

PER CURIAM.

The defendant, Raul L. Andrades, appeals from his conviction for robbery. Having learned the hard way that a free lunch is as illusory at midnight as it is at noon, the defendant challenges the denial of his motion for judgment of acquittal and the trial justice’s restriction of his attorney’s questioning during the robbery victim’s cross-examination. We ordered the parties to show cause why we should not decide this appeal summarily. None having been shown, we proceed to affirm the judgment of conviction.

On April 17, 1995, the robbery victim was working for a Domino’s Pizza outlet (Domino’s) in Providence when he received a call at approximately 11:45 p.m. to deliver pizza to 257 Carpenter Street. Upon arriving at that location, the victim observed little more than an apparent vacant parking lot. He then beeped his horn and waited a minute or so before returning to the store. Shortly after the victim’s return, the telephone rang again and an angry male with a Spanish accent told him to bring the pizza to 257 Carpenter Street. After the victim explained that he had just returned from there and that it was a vacant lot, the caller corrected the address and told him to bring the pizza to 256 Carpenter Street. Nonetheless, the caller stated that he wanted a discount on the pizza he had ordered because it was taking longer than 30 minutes for the delivery. The victim explained to the caller, however, that he was not entitled to a discount because the caller initially had given him the wrong address.

When the victim arrived at 256 Carpenter Street, he beeped the horn. After no one in the house responded, he left his car and knocked at the door. Again, no one answered, so he turned around to head for his car. At that point, a male opened the door. At trial, the victim identified this individual as defendant. He was wearing an army jacket and told the victim that he would be right back. When defendant returned to the door, he was carrying a “little gun [with] *** a brown handle and a black pitch.” Pointing the gun at the victim, defendant said, “[g]ive me what you got.” The victim complied and gave defendant the pizza and approximately *263 $20 to $23. The defendant also held a mask in his hand the entire time. The defendant then walked the victim across the street with the gun pointed towards his back until the victim got into his car and drove away. But instead of leaving the area, the victim circled the block and observed defendant reenter the house at 256 Carpenter Street. Thereafter, when he returned to Domino’s, the victim called the police.

Within five to ten minutes, two policemen accompanied the victim back to 256 Carpenter Street where he positively identified defendant as the person who had robbed him. One of the officers observed that defendant was wearing a green army jacket when he answered the door. The police officers placed defendant in custody, putting him into their police cruiser. The police then searched defendant’s residence. In his bedroom, they found the toy gun (it closely resembled a real pistol) that defendant had brandished when he robbed the victim. Although the police could not find the mask or the money, they did locate a pizza box under a couch with one pizza slice missing. At the close of the state’s evidence, defendant moved for judgment of acquittal. The trial justice denied defendant’s motion and entered judgment on the jury’s guilty verdict.

On appeal, defendant argues that the trial justice should have granted his motion for judgment of acquittal and should have allowed him to question the victim about Domino’s policy regarding free pizza deliveries. The defendant contends that the state failed to present any evidence that he demanded any money from the victim, and he claims that he was entitled to a free pizza because it took so long to arrive. Furthermore, he argues that the evidence did not show that he took any money from the victim. Finally, he asserts that the victim’s testimony about the mask being in his hand belies any contention that defendant intended to rob him. We conclude that defendant’s arguments lack merit.

In State v. LaRoche, 683 A.2d 989 (R.I.1996), we described the appropriate standard of review with respect to a motion for a judgment of acquittal in a criminal ease tried to a jury:

‘We have held that a trial justice, when presented with a motion for judgment of acquittal, ‘must determine whether the evidence offered by the state is capable of generating proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.’ State v. Harnois, 638 A.2d 532, 536 (R.I.1994) (quoting State v. Caruolo, 524 A.2d 575, 580-81 (R.I.1987)). In making that determination, the trial justice is confined in his analysis of the state’s evidence to view the trial evidence in the light most favorable to the state, without weighing or evaluating the evidence, or assessing the credibility of the trial witnesses. State v. Clark, 603 A.2d 1094, 1097 (R.I.1992). He or she must draw all reasonable inferences from the evidence that are consistent with the defendant’s guilt and in favor of the state when passing upon the motion. In addition, the trial justice is required to view only that evidence that the prosecution claims is capable of supporting proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Wilshire, 509 A.2d 444, 452 (R.I.1986), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 1037, 107 S.Ct. 891, 93 L.Ed.2d 843 (1987). If the evidence, when viewed in such a light, is sufficient to warrant a guilty finding by the jury, the trial justice must deny the motion. See State v. Mattatall, 603 A.2d 1098, 1105 (R.I.1992); Clark, 603 A.2d at 1097-98. This Court applies the same standard on appellate review as that utilized by the trial justice. State v.. Mollicone, 654 A.2d 311, 319 (R.I.1995); State v. Henshaw, 557 A.2d 1204, 1206 (R.I.1989); State v. McGranahan, 415 A.2d 1298, 1301 (R.I.1980).” LaRoche, 683 A.2d at 995.

Here, the trial justice appropriately analyzed the evidence presented. He found that the victim observed defendant pointing an object at him that appeared to be a real gun, and that as a result, the victim became fearful and gave defendant all the money in his pocket per defendant’s demand. Based upon this evidence, the trial justice determined that a jury could find defendant guilty. We concur and hold that the trial justice did not err in denying defendant’s motion for judgment of acquittal.

*264 Next, the defendant argues that the trial justice erred in refusing to allow him to ask the victim about Domino’s pizza-delivery policy. The defendant suggests that this restriction “severely crippled” his defense.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Cardin
987 A.2d 248 (Supreme Court of Rhode Island, 2010)
State v. Ros
973 A.2d 1148 (Supreme Court of Rhode Island, 2009)
State v. Caba
887 A.2d 370 (Supreme Court of Rhode Island, 2005)
State v. Oliveira
882 A.2d 1097 (Supreme Court of Rhode Island, 2005)
State v. Rieger
763 A.2d 997 (Supreme Court of Rhode Island, 2001)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
725 A.2d 262, 1999 R.I. LEXIS 10, 1999 WL 38150, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-andrades-ri-1999.