State v. Castillo

2011 NMCA 046, 252 P.3d 760, 149 N.M. 536
New Mexico Court of Appeals·Decided February 9, 2011·No. 29,641·Published·Cited by 25 cases

Opinion

OPINION

VANZI, Judge.

{1} Defendant was convicted of one count of theft of identity and four felony counts of violating the Remote Financial Service Unit Act (RFSUA), NMSA 1978, Section 58-16-16(B) (1990), after he used a stolen debit card to purchase and attempt to purchase goods at several retail stores. Defendant appeals his convictions, arguing that he should have been charged with a single petty misdemean- or under the fraudulent use of a credit card statute, NMSA 1978, Section 30-16-33(B) (2006), rather than being charged under RFSUA. Defendant also contends that his convictions are a violation of the Eighth Amendment and equal protection clauses of the United States Constitution and the New Mexico Constitution, that there is insufficient evidence that he fraudulently used the debit card, and that the rule of lenity should apply in this case. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

BACKGROUND

{2} Kathryn Sando’s house was burglarized early one morning. Her purse and debit cards were among the items stolen from her home. One of the debit cards had Sando’s name on it and was tied to her regular checking account, while the other was a temporary card which had “preferred customer” on it instead of a name and was tied to a different bank account.

{3} On the same morning that the burglary took place, Defendant used the card which had the name “Kathryn Sando” on it to make $83 worth of purchases at two Allsup’s Convenience Stores and at a Lowe’s Hardware Store. He then attempted to make a purchase at Walgreens with the same card, but the card was declined after Defendant tried several different incorrect pin number combinations.

{4} A Walgreens’ manager notified police about the suspicious and unsuccessful transactions. He gave police a license plate number which led them to a ear belonging to Defendant’s girlfriend. Inside the ear, police found an Allsup’s receipt for a purchase made that morning with a debit card ending in the same four numbers as Sando’s stolen card. Defendant was arrested and taken to the police station for questioning. After being read his Miranda rights, Defendant admitted that he used a card, that he was at two Allsup’s stores and Walgreens, but he denied that he was involved in a burglary. Defendant also stated that he thought the card he used was a “debit card.” Video recordings showing Defendant making the debit card transactions at the Allsup’s stores, Lowe’s, and Walgreens were admitted into evidence and played for the jury.

{5} The jury found Defendant guilty of one count of theft of identity and four counts of violation of RFSUA. The district court sentenced Defendant to a term of eighteen months for each count in violation of the RFSUA for a total of six years. For the theft of identity violation, Defendant received an additional eighteen months, but he does not appeal that conviction. The district court suspended five-and-one-half years of Defendant’s sentence, leaving a sentence of two years of incarceration for the five felonies.

{6} Defendant appeals his RFSUA convictions, arguing that he was incorrectly charged and that his sentence is unconstitutional.

DISCUSSION

Defendant Was Properly Charged With Fraudulent Use of a Debit Card Under RFSUA

{7} Defendant contends that he was improperly convicted of four fourth degree felonies for violations of RFSUA when he would have been convicted of only a single petty misdemeanor if he had been charged with the same conduct under the fraudulent use of a credit card statute, § 30-16-33. Specifically, he argues that fraudulent use of a debit card can be punished under either statute because the debit card he used is a “credit card” within the meaning of Section 30-16-33. Therefore, he asserts that the Legislature must have intended that his actions be punished under Section 30-16-33. We disagree.

{8} The determination of whether a debit card is a credit card for purposes of Section 30-16-33 is an issue of statutory interpretation that we review de novo. State v. Romero, 2006-NMSC-039, ¶ 6, 140 N.M. 299, 142 P.3d 887. The primary purpose of statutory interpretation is to “to give effect to the intent of the [Ljegislature.” State v. Rowell, 121 N.M. 111, 114, 908 P.2d 1379, 1382 (1995). We first look to the ordinary and plain meaning of the language of a statute, because the statutory text is “the primary indicator of legislative intent.” Bishop v. Evangelical Good Samaritan Soc’y, 2009-NMSC-036, ¶ 11, 146 N.M. 473, 212 P.3d 361.

{9} Section 30-16-33(B) provides that “[wjhoever commits fraudulent use of a credit card when the value of the property or service obtained is two hundred fifty dollars ($250) or less in any consecutive six-month period is guilty of a petty misdemeanor.” For purposes of this section, a “credit card” is defined as

any instrument or device, whether known as a credit card, credit plate, charge card or by any other name, issued with or without fee by an issuer for the use of the cardholder in obtaining money, goods, services or anything else of value, either on credit or in consideration of an undertaking or guarantee by the issuer of the payment of a check drawn by the cardholder [•]

NMSA 1978, § 30-16-25(B)(l) (1999) (emphasis added). We note that the plain language of the statute limits the application of Section 30-16-33 to those purchases made with a card “on credit” or those purchases made “in consideration of an undertaking or guarantee by the issuer of the payment of a check drawn by the cardholder.” Section 30-16-25(B)(l).

{10} In State v. Martinez, 2001-NMCA-099, ¶ 7, 131 N.M. 254, 34 P.3d 643, we held the term “‘on credit’ to mean, in ordinary usage, the receipt of goods or money for payment in the future.” In that case, the defendant used a stolen electronic benefits (EBT) card at a grocery store belonging to a public assistance recipient. Id. ¶ 1. The defendant argued that the EBT card is not a credit card as defined in Section 30-16-25(B) and, therefore, the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction. Martinez, 2001-NMCA-099, ¶ 1, 131 N.M. 254, 34 P.3d 643. We agreed, concluding that an EBT card was not a “credit card” for purposes of Section 30-16-33 because although a transaction with an EBT card has a “layer of credit” between the United States Treasury, the bank, and the State of New Mexico, the cardholder only accesses benefits and does not access a line of credit tied to the cardholder’s promise to pay. Martinez, 2001-NMCA-099, ¶¶ 4, 11, 131 N.M. 254, 34 P.3d 643. We also stated that because the facts of that case did not involve “the payment of any check,” the transaction did not come within Section 30-16-33’s definition of a credit card as an instrument to obtain something of value “in consideration of an undertaking or guarantee by the issuer of the payment of a check drawn by the cardholder.” Martinez, 2001-NMCA-099, ¶¶ 2, 10, 131 N.M. 254, 34 P.3d 643 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).

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State v. Castillo, 2011 NMCA 046, 252 P.3d 760, 149 N.M. 536 (N.M. Ct. App. 2011).

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