State v. Devitt

152 Wash. App. 907
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedNovember 3, 2009
DocketNo. 27577-9-III
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 152 Wash. App. 907 (State v. Devitt) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Devitt, 152 Wash. App. 907 (Wash. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinion

Sweeney, J.

¶1 Residential burglary requires a showing that a defendant entered or remained in some dwelling with the intent to commit a crime against a person or property in that dwelling. Here, the defendant entered an apartment through an unlocked door to avoid police who were chasing him. He visited with the woman in the apartment. She served him iced tea. She later told police that the man they were looking for was in her apartment and police arrested him. The trial court concluded that obstructing a law enforcement officer was a sufficient predicate crime for residential burglary and refused to dismiss that count at the close of the State’s case. We conclude this was error, and we reverse and dismiss the charge of residential burglary.

FACTS

¶2 Police suspected that Steven Devitt stole a car that was later involved in a hit-and-run accident. They saw him about a mile from where the report was made. And Mr. Devitt saw them and took off running. He went to an apartment complex and entered the apartment of Debbie [910]*910Zavala through an unlocked sliding screen door. Mr. Devitt walked in and asked Ms. Zavala for a glass of water.

¶3 Ms. Zavala served him a glass of ice tea and talked to him. Mr. Devitt talked about his children and how he was running away from police because he was involved with a vehicle theft. He made a telephone call with Ms. Zavala’s permission. Ms. Zavala did not fear for her safety during the encounter, and she did not fear that the man would steal any of her belongings. She left the apartment to carry trash to a dumpster. Once outside, she told police that the man they were looking for was in her apartment. Ms. Zavala returned to her apartment and opened the front door for the police. Mr. Devitt first hid under a kitchen table and then fled to Ms. Zavala’s bathroom when police entered the apartment. They arrested him.

¶4 The State charged Mr. Devitt with residential burglary, obstructing a law enforcement officer, and resisting arrest. The State also charged Mr. Devitt with first degree criminal trespass as an alternative to the residential burglary count.

¶5 Mr. Devitt moved to dismiss the residential burglary charge at the close of the State’s case. He argued that the State did not show that he intended to commit a crime against a person or property inside the residence and that this is an essential element of burglary. The court concluded that obstructing a law enforcement officer was an adequate predicate for burglary and denied the motion.

¶6 The jury found Mr. Devitt guilty of residential burglary, obstructing a police officer, and resisting arrest.

DISCUSSION

¶7 Mr. Devitt contends here, as he did in the trial court, that the State did not show that he intended to commit a crime against any person or property inside Ms. Zavala’s apartment. See RCW 9A.52.025(1) (defining “residential burglary” as entering or remaining unlawfully in a dwelling [911]*911other than a vehicle with intent to commit a crime against a person or property therein). And the State was required to prove both unlawful presence and criminal intent. State v. Allen, 127 Wn. App. 125, 137, 110 P.3d 849 (2005). He argues that neither obstructing a law enforcement officer nor resisting arrest qualifies as a crime against a person for purposes of residential burglary. To support that argument, he brings our attention to section 9.94A.411(2)(a) of the Sentencing Reform Act of 1981, ch. 9.94A RCW, which advises prosecutors of the standards to apply when deciding whether to prosecute different types of crimes. The table categorizing crimes for prosecuting standards does not characterize either crime as a crime against a person. RCW 9.94A.411(2)(a)(tbl.).

¶8 The State responds that there was adequate evidence for the jury to conclude that Mr. Devitt intended to obstruct police by hiding in Ms. Zavala’s apartment. So ££[t]aking all of the State’s testimony and evidence as true and correct and resolving all inferences in favor of the State, there was clear proof to support the jury’s verdict.” Br. of Resp’t at 7; see State v. Joy, 121 Wn.2d 333, 339, 851 P.2d 654 (1993).

¶9 Residential burglary requires a showing of unlawful entry into a dwelling and intent to commit a crime against a person or property in the dwelling. RCW 9A.52.025(1). So the State was required to prove two elements: (1) that Mr. Devitt entered or remained unlawfully in Ms. Zavala’s apartment and (2) that Mr. Devitt intended to commit a crime against a person or property in that apartment. State v. J.P., 130 Wn. App. 887, 892, 125 P.3d 215 (2005). Mr. Devitt challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support the second element.

¶10 The question before us, then, is whether Mr. Devitt’s conduct here — running from police to avoid capture and entering and remaining in Ms. Zavala’s apartment — is sufficient to support the elements of the crime of residential burglary. Or, said another way, whether obstructing police satisfies the second element of residential burglary. So framed, the question is a question of law that we will review [912]*912de novo. State v. Henjum, 136 Wn. App. 807, 810, 150 P.3d 1170 (2007). Mr. Devitt’s question, of course, “admits the truth of the State’s evidence and all inferences that can reasonably be drawn from that evidence.” State v. Gentry, 125 Wn.2d 570, 597, 888 P.2d 1105 (1995).

¶11 Mr. Devitt contends that the State’s position that his intent to obstruct police satisfies the second element of residential burglary is untenable because obstructing a law enforcement officer is a public crime (a crime against the government), not a crime against a person or property. See State v. White, 97 Wn.2d 92, 97, 640 P.2d 1061 (1982) (the statute prohibiting obstructing a public servant protects law enforcement’s ability to prevent and detect crime). The State responds that evidence supported the jury’s conclusion that Mr. Devitt intended to obstruct police by biding in Ms. Zavala’s apartment. Inherent in the State’s argument is the contention that intending to obstruct a law enforcement officer satisfies the second element of residential burglary.

¶12 The words in the statute require a specific crime (a crime against a person or property) in a specific place (therein) and with a specific intent (enter or remain with the intent to commit a crime therein). RCW 9A.52.025(1). The statute then requires more than just a simple showing of an intent to commit a crime.

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Bluebook (online)
152 Wash. App. 907, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-devitt-washctapp-2009.