State v. Chavez

2008 NMCA 126, 193 P.3d 558, 145 N.M. 11
CourtNew Mexico Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 20, 2008
Docket26,563
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 2008 NMCA 126 (State v. Chavez) 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. Chavez, 2008 NMCA 126, 193 P.3d 558, 145 N.M. 11 (N.M. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

OPINION

PICKARD, Judge.

{1} Defendant appeals his convictions for child abuse by endangerment of his three children. He challenges (1) whether the evidence was sufficient to support his convictions, (2) whether the evidence supported only a single conviction under New Mexico law, (3) whether the trial court erred in declining to grant a directed verdict on the child abuse resulting in death count, and (4) whether giving the child abuse uniform jury instruction (UJI) was fundamental error. We affirm the trial court on all issues except the second, and we reverse one of Defendant’s convictions.

FACTS

{2} Defendant is the father of Juan, who was four years old at the time criminal child abuse charges were filed against Defendant; Leo, who was two years old; and Shelby, who died at the age of five months. The mother of the children is Jennifer Wheeler. In 2001, an anonymous referral was made to the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD) for neglect. After the referral, Defendant did not apply for Housing and Urban Development housing because he wanted the family members to “do it on [their] own.” Instead, Defendant and his family moved into a trailer in Tularosa, New Mexico, despite the fact that Wheeler did not believe that the trailer was a healthy, safe environment for the children.

{3} Wheeler took a job outside the home working long hours while Defendant stayed home with the children. Wheeler testified that although Defendant sometimes worked to support the family, he mostly worked on his own car and played video games. Most of the money he earned went into his car. When the boys misbehaved, Defendant hit them. When Shelby cried, Defendant would purposefully ignore her. The children did not wear any shoes, and there was no hot water in the home. Defendant would leave Shelby in her bassinet or child swing while he worked outside on his car. Sometimes Defendant would visit Wheeler at work, leaving all three children unattended at home.

{4} At some point, Shelby’s bassinet broke, and Defendant fashioned a bed for her out of a dresser drawer. The night Shelby died in 2003, Wheeler placed her in the drawer with a pillow, a sheet, and a blanket. Shelby woke up at 3:30 a.m., but she would not take a bottle. Defendant and Wheeler placed her on her stomach in the drawer, and Wheeler went back to sleep. Later, Defendant shook Wheeler awake, saying that Shelby was not breathing. Attempts to resuscitate Shelby failed, and law enforcement was notified. It was noted by a medical investigator at the time that Defendant did not know the birthdays of his children and that Shelby had never been taken to a doctor.

{5} The trailer in which the family lived was first investigated by the medical investigator. The investigator observed food, dirty bottles, and clothes on the floor. She also observed a broken window and an unclean kitchen and bathroom. There were no signs of drugs or alcohol besides a couple of empty beer bottles in a trash bag. The investigator opined that the drawer in which Shelby died was “not wide enough or long enough for an infant to move around freely.” However, there was nothing suspicious about Shelby’s body, which appeared to have been clean and healthy. Dr. Ross Reiehard, who performed Shelby’s autopsy, testified that the cause of her death was “undetermined,” but he testified that the small size of the drawer in which she slept was a possible cause of her death.

{6} The testimony of several witnesses detailed the dangers to small children present in the family’s trailer and yard. Detective Norbert Sanchez made a videotape of the scene of Shelby’s death, and the tape was played for the jury while Sanchez described its contents. Physical dangers were cataloged, including a nearly collapsed ceiling, broken windows, and glass shards on the ground. The smoke detector had no batteries, and items such as razors and chemicals were left where the children could access them. Unsanitary conditions were observed, including rodent feces in the kitchen cabinets, on the dishes, and in the drawer-bed in which Shelby died; a bag of dirty diapers that appeared to have been left on the ground for some time; and mold in the bathroom and shower. Outside of the home, there was a trash pit at ground level that had flies and a very pungent odor, rusty nails exposed in lumber lying on the ground, and open cans of solvent and cleaning fluid on the porch.

{7} Deputy Lisa Delorm testified concerning the dangers to children she saw at the trailer, including car parts in the yard, a gap in the ramp leading to the home, open cans of paint thinner on the porch, and an accessible razor in the bathroom. She also saw mice in the trailer, but she did not see any mousetraps. Tamantha Means, a cousin of Defendant who lived in the trailer before Shelby’s death, testified that “[t]he home was a disaster” and that the trailer and the children were “filthy.” She testified that on at least one occasion she came home and found the children alone. Officer Damian Picazzo, CYFD social worker Antoinette Pirelli, and CYFD supervisor Pam Wong also testified to conditions in the home. Additional evidence gathered from testimony adduced at trial, including evidence elicited during the viewing of Detective Sanchez’s videotape, will be included in our discussion below as needed.

DISCUSSION

Sufficiency of the Evidence

{8} Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support his three convictions for third-degree felony child abuse. “In reviewing the sufficiency of evidence used to support a conviction, we resolve all disputed facts in favor of the State, indulge all reasonable inferences in support of the verdict, and disregard all evidence and inferences to the contrary.” State v. Rojo, 1999-NMSC-001, ¶ 19, 126 N.M. 438, 971 P.2d 829. “Contrary evidence supporting acquittal does not provide a basis for reversal because the jury is free to reject [a defendant's version of the facts.” Id.

{9} In order to prove child abuse by endangerment, the State had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Defendant knowingly, intentionally, or negligently, and without justifiable cause, caused or permitted his children to be placed in a situation that may have endangered their lives or health. NMSA 1978, § 30 — 6—1(D)(1) (2001) (amended 2004 and 2005). To prove Defendant guilty under the negligence standard set forth in our child abuse statute, the State had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Defendant “knew or should have known of the danger involved and acted with a reckless disregard for the safety or health of’ his children. Section 30-6-l(A)(3).

{10} We hold that the evidence before the trial court was sufficient for the jury to convict Defendant of child abuse by endangerment. First, we hold that there was sufficient evidence that Defendant “knew or should have known of the danger involved.” Id. In 2001, Defendant and the children’s mother were reported to CYFD based on the conditions in which they were raising then-sons. A visual inspection from outside the home revealed both unsanitary and unsafe conditions. The couple was referred by CYFD for help in obtaining case management services to ensure that they had the resources to take care of their children and to learn adequate parenting skills, but they did not avail themselves of these services.

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State v. Huerta-Castro
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State v. Ross
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State v. Terrazas
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State v. Bryant
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State v. Chavez
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Herrera v. City of Albuquerque
674 F. Supp. 2d 1271 (D. New Mexico, 2008)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2008 NMCA 126, 193 P.3d 558, 145 N.M. 11, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-chavez-nmctapp-2008.