State v. Caldera

688 P.2d 642, 141 Ariz. 634, 1984 Ariz. LEXIS 287
CourtArizona Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 1, 1984
Docket5988
StatusPublished
Cited by32 cases

This text of 688 P.2d 642 (State v. Caldera) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Arizona Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Caldera, 688 P.2d 642, 141 Ariz. 634, 1984 Ariz. LEXIS 287 (Ark. 1984).

Opinion

HAYS, Justice.

On April 27, 1983, appellant Edward Caldera was convicted of burglary in the first degree, three counts of aggravated assault and one count of misconduct involving weapons. At the time these offenses were committed, Caldera was on “mandatory release” from the Arizona Department of Corrections where he was serving a sentence for a conviction of burglary in the third degree. Appellant was found by the jury to have previously committed the prior offenses of armed robbery, grand theft, and burglary in the first degree.

Pursuant to A.R.S. § 13-604.01, the court sentenced Caldera to life on the burglary count, three life sentences for each of the three aggravated assault counts, and three and three-quarters years for the weapons count. The court designated that all five sentences were to run concurrently.

The issues on this direct appeal are three: (1) whether the trial court erred in failing to include instruction on lesser included offenses, (2) whether the appellant was improperly sentenced under A.R.S. § 13-604.01 and (3) whether the appellant was not properly credited with the time he served while awaiting trial. This case is before us as a direct appeal pursuant to Ariz. Const, art. 6, § 5 and A.R.S. § 13-4031.

In the early morning hours of January 1, 1983, at about 1:00 a.m., Eddie Contreras and Rudy Valdez left a New Year’s Eve party at the home of Ernest Sevilla. As they stood on the front porch of the Sevilla home they heard shouting and saw three individuals on the lawn of a neighbor’s home. The appellant and his brother were on the ground fighting. The wife of appellant’s brother called for help when she saw Contreras and Valdez standing outside. *636 As they approached, the fighting stopped; the appellant, who was on the ground, jumped to his feet and angrily told Valdez and Contreras to, “Get the fuck out of here.”

Apparently the appellant had been involved in an argument with his sister-in-law. When the appellant grabbed her by the collar, his brother became angry and a fight ensued. His sister-in-law wanted to put a stop to the fight and consequently called to Contreras and Valdez for assistance.

During the conversation between the appellant, Contreras and Valdez, the appellant pushed Contreras. Contreras pushed him back. The appellant said, “You guys want to fuck with me? I got a gun.” The appellant motioned with his hand to indicate he carried a gun. Valdez replied skeptically, “You don’t have nothing.” The appellant pushed Valdez and replied, “You want to find out?” Valdez pushed him back, at which point the appellant ran to a .nearby house where he had been living. Contreras said to Valdez, “Let’s go. If he’s going to get a gun, we don’t want to be here.” The men walked back toward the Sevilla home accompanied by the appellant’s sister-in-law, the woman who had originally called for their help.

Contreras, Valdez and the woman had not gotten very far when they saw the appellant emerge from his house carrying a weapon. The appellant ran toward them, intercepting his sister-in-law and Contreras on the steps of the Sevilla home. Appellant pointed a “sawed-off” .22-ealiber semiautomatic rifle at Contreras and said, “I’m going to kill you. I’m going to shoot you____ Fuck with me now.” Valdez, afraid for his friend Contreras, ran out from behind a car and pushed the appellant to disturb his aim. The appellant responded by using his rifle as a club and struck Valdez on the face with a force sufficient to break the stock of the rifle. Valdez needed eighteen stitches to close the face wound. Appellant returned his aim to Contreras.

For some reason, the appellant hesitated long enough for Contreras to grab Valdez and pull him toward the Sevilla home. Appellant’s sister-in-law followed. The three rushed inside and Mary Sevilla helped Contreras force the door closed. Mary Sevilla was eight months pregnant at this time. The door had a large crystal windowpane. They could see the appellant outside threatening with his rifle and kicking at the door. The appellant shattered the glass and opened the door. Valdez, Sevilla, the appellant’s sister-in-law, and Contreras retreated to the rear of the house. When the appellant entered, waving his rifle, Contreras, fearing that the appellant intended to kill them all, pushed the others into a rear bedroom. Appellant’s sister-in-law called the police from the bedroom. When Contreras later looked out of the bedroom, the appellant had left. Shortly thereafter the police arrived. The next morning the appellant was arrested at his home.

Appellant first asserts that the jury should have been instructed on the lesser included offenses of simple assault and burglary in a lesser degree. The instructions given, argues the appellant, assumed as a matter of law that the weapon he used during the crime was deadly or dangerous. The evidence, according to the appellant, supports the view that the object he carried was an inoperable firearm and thus neither deadly nor dangerous within the meaning of A.R.S. § 13-105(7), (9) or (12). Appellant argues that this demands instruction on the unarmed lesser included offenses and failure to so instruct was reversible error.

The test for when lesser included instructions must be given is well settled. There must be some evidence upon which a jury could convict the appellant of the lesser included offense. State v. Schroeder, 95 Ariz. 255, 389 P.2d 255 (1964). This means essentially two things. First, the jury must be able to find that the state failed to prove some element of the greater offense. Second, the record must contain evidence which supports a conviction of the *637 lesser included offenses. State v. Schroeder, supra. Where an appellant utilizes an alibi defense, as here, there is usually little evidence on the record to support an instruction on the lesser included offenses. State v. Schroeder, supra. This is because the appellant produces evidence that he simply did not commit the offense and the state produces evidence that he committed the offense as charged. Thus, the basic rule is that the instruction must be supported by some theory of the case and substantiated by the evidence. Giving too many instructions can mislead a jury. State v. Baker, 126 Ariz. 581, 617 P.2d 39 (App.1980).

There remains the possibility, of course, that the jury might simply disbelieve the state’s evidence on one element of the crime. If so, it is argued, conviction of a lesser offense is still possible. This reasoning, however, would require instructions on all offenses theoretically included in every criminal information. The law does not require or even permit such a procedure. (Citations omitted)

State v. Schroeder, 95 Ariz. at 259, 389 P.2d at 258 (1964).

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Bluebook (online)
688 P.2d 642, 141 Ariz. 634, 1984 Ariz. LEXIS 287, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-caldera-ariz-1984.