State v. Banda

CourtNew Mexico Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 15, 2017
Docket34,457
StatusUnpublished

This text of State v. Banda (State v. Banda) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Mexico Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Banda, (N.M. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

This memorandum opinion was not selected for publication in the New Mexico Appellate Reports. Please see Rule 12-405 NMRA for restrictions on the citation of unpublished memorandum opinions. Please also note that this electronic memorandum opinion may contain computer-generated errors or other deviations from the official paper version filed by the Court of Appeals and does not include the filing date.

1 IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO

2 STATE OF NEW MEXICO,

3 Plaintiff-Appellee,

4 v. No. 34,457

5 STEVEN BANDA,

6 Defendant-Appellant.

7 APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF EDDY COUNTY 8 Jane Shuler Gray, District Judge

9 Hector H. Balderas, Attorney General 10 Maris Veidemanis, Assistant Attorney General 11 Santa Fe, NM

12 for Appellee

13 Bennett J. Baur, Chief Public Defender 14 Kathleen T. Baldridge, Assistant Appellate Defender 15 Santa Fe, NM

16 for Appellant

17 MEMORANDUM OPINION

18 FRENCH, Judge. 1 {1} There is no question that Defendant Steven Banda beat his house guest after an

2 evening of smoking methamphetamine and consuming alcohol, leaving him “in awe”

3 as to the force used. Defendant was charged with a single count of aggravated battery

4 with a deadly weapon, based upon his use of nunchucks to inflict blows that resulted

5 in his guest suffering a cracked skull and a five-inch laceration requiring fourteen

6 staples. Defendant appeals from his resulting conviction of aggravated battery with

7 a deadly weapon, contrary to NMSA 1978, Section 30-3-5(C) (1969). At trial,

8 Defendant unsuccessfully argued that he acted in self-defense. The district court

9 instructed the jury on the elements of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and

10 on the use of deadly force in self-defense. Defendant seeks reversal, arguing the

11 district court committed instructional error by refusing his requested instructions on

12 (1) the use of non-deadly force in self-defense; and (2) the lesser included offense of

13 aggravated battery, a misdemeanor. We hold that the district court properly denied

14 both jury instructions, and we affirm.

15 BACKGROUND

16 {2} On June 28, 2013, Defendant and Ruben Madrid (Victim) spent the day

17 smoking methamphetamine and consuming alcohol. According to Victim’s testimony,

18 by 1:30 a.m. the following morning, he and Defendant had finished smoking all of the

19 methamphetamine Victim had purchased, and they had consumed approximately thirty

2 1 beers between them. Victim testified that Defendant went to Defendant’s bedroom

2 around 3:30 a.m., and Victim fell asleep on the couch. Victim said he awoke

3 approximately two hours later as Defendant began striking him in the head. He said

4 Defendant struck him in the head with nunchucks five times and once in the knee.

5 Victim testified that he tried to get out of the house through the front door, but

6 Defendant pulled him back into the room by his leg. Victim said he eventually

7 escaped the attack. Medical personnel later advised Victim that he suffered a “cracked

8 skull” and a five-inch laceration, requiring “fourteen staples to close his head

9 wounds.”

10 {3} Defendant told a different story at trial. Defendant testified that he had moved

11 from his bedroom to a lawn chair in the living room and fell asleep. Defendant said

12 he awoke when he felt Victim touching his pockets and crotch area and that he felt

13 “violated” as Victim touched him. Defendant yelled at Victim, who jumped backward.

14 Defendant said he then shoved Victim away from him and pushed Victim onto the

15 couch, at which point he began hitting Victim with the nunchucks that he had with

16 him “at that time.” During his testimony, Defendant was unable to say how many

17 times he struck Victim after pushing him onto the couch. Defendant said he struck

18 Victim “several times” and “repeatedly.”

3 1 {4} At the jury instruction conference, Defendant’s counsel sought instruction on

2 the use of deadly force in self-defense (UJI 14-5183 NMRA), the use of non-deadly

3 force in self-defense (UJI 14-5181 NMRA), and the lesser included offense of

4 misdemeanor aggravated battery (Section 30-3-5(B)). Ultimately, the district court

5 instructed the jury on the elements of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, a third

6 degree felony (Section 30-3-5(C)), and on the use of deadly force in self-defense (UJI

7 14-5183). The jury convicted Defendant of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

8 On appeal, Defendant argues the district court erred by refusing to instruct the jury on

9 non-deadly force self-defense and on the lesser included misdemeanor offense.

10 DISCUSSION

11 {5} “The propriety of denying a jury instruction is a mixed question of law and fact

12 that we review de novo.” State v. Guerra, 2012-NMSC-014, ¶ 13, 278 P.3d 1031

13 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). “When considering a defendant’s

14 requested instructions, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the giving

15 of the requested instructions.” State v. Contreras, 2007-NMCA-119, ¶ 8, 142 N.M.

16 518, 167 P.3d 966 (alteration, internal quotation marks, and citation omitted). We

17 apply this standard of review to both of Defendant’s arguments, which we address in

18 turn.

19 Self-Defense Instruction

4 1 {6} “[A] defendant is entitled to have his or her theory of the case submitted to the

2 jury under proper instructions where the evidence supports it.” State v. Lucero, 1998-

3 NMSC-044, ¶ 5, 126 N.M. 552, 972 P.2d 1143 (alteration, internal quotation marks,

4 and citation omitted). Specifically, a defendant is entitled to a self-defense instruction

5 only when all of the elements of self-defense are justified by sufficient evidence; i.e.,

6 “when the evidence is sufficient to allow reasonable minds to differ as to [every]

7 element[] of the defense.” Guerra, 2012-NMSC-014, ¶ 13 (internal quotation marks

8 and citation omitted). “Whenever there is evidence, however slight, that the defendant

9 acted in self-defense, the instruction should be given. Nevertheless, a defendant is not

10 entitled to the instruction when the evidence is so slight as to be incapable of raising

11 a reasonable doubt in the jury’s mind on whether a defendant did act in self-defense.”

12 State v. Sutphin, 2007-NMSC-045, ¶ 22, 142 N.M. 191, 164 P.3d 72 (omission,

13 internal quotation marks, and citations omitted). The elements of deadly force self-

14 defense are:

15 1. There was an appearance of immediate danger of death or great 16 bodily harm to [D]efendant as a result of [Victim] touching 17 [D]efendant’s crotch and pocket area; and

18 2. [D]efendant was in fact put in fear of immediate death or great 19 bodily harm and struck [Victim] because of that fear; and

20 3. The apparent danger would have caused a reasonable person in the 21 same circumstances to act as [D]efendant did.

5 1 See UJI 14-5183. The elements of non-deadly force self-defense are:

2 1. There was an appearance of immediate danger of death or great 3 bodily harm to [D]efendant as a result of [Victim] touching 4 [D]efendant’s genital area; and

5 2. [D]efendant was in fact put in fear of immediate death or great 6 bodily harm and struck [Victim] because of that fear; and

7 3. [D]efendant used an amount of force that [D]efendant believed 8 was reasonable and necessary to prevent the bodily harm; and

9 4.

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Related

State v. Sotelo
2013 NMCA 28 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2012)
State v. Guerra
2012 NMSC 14 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 2012)
State v. Meadors
908 P.2d 731 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 1995)
State v. Lucero
1998 NMSC 044 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 1998)
State v. Boyett
2008 NMSC 030 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 2008)
State v. Rudolfo
2008 NMSC 036 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 2008)
State v. Gutierrez
2007 NMSC 033 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 2007)
State v. DENZEL B.
2008 NMCA 118 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2008)
State v. Sutphin
2007 NMSC 045 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 2007)
State v. Contreras
2007 NMCA 119 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2007)
State v. Cardenas
2016 NMCA 042 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2016)
State v. Baxendale
2016 NMCA 048 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2016)
State v. Garcia
2014 NMCA 006 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2013)
State v. Neatherlin
2007 NMCA 035 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2007)

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State v. Banda, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-banda-nmctapp-2017.