State v. Fimbres

213 P.3d 1020, 222 Ariz. 293, 567 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 29, 2009 Ariz. App. LEXIS 729
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedAugust 7, 2009
Docket2 CA-CR 2008-0240
StatusPublished
Cited by32 cases

This text of 213 P.3d 1020 (State v. Fimbres) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Fimbres, 213 P.3d 1020, 222 Ariz. 293, 567 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 29, 2009 Ariz. App. LEXIS 729 (Ark. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinion

OPINION

HOWARD, Chief Judge.

¶ 1 After a jury trial, appellant Javier Fim-bres was convicted of three counts of forgery of a ei’edit card, one count of theft of items with a market value of more than $2,000, three counts of computer tampering, and one count of fraudulent scheme and artifice. He was sentenced to multiple concurrent prison terms, the longest of which was 4.5 years. On appeal, Fimbres argues the state presented insufficient evidence to support several of his convictions. He also contends his right to due process was violated because the trial court instructed the jury on an uncharged offense of credit card forgery. For the following reasons, we affirm.

Facts

¶ 2 “We view the facts in the light most favorable to sustaining the convictions.” State v. Robles, 213 Ariz. 268, ¶ 2, 141 P.3d 748, 750 (App.2006). Fimbres purchased merchandise at local stores using gift cards that had been altered so that the information encoded in magnetic strips on the backs of the cards corresponded with the numbers of various credit and debit cards. These credit and debit cards belonged to people other than Fimbres, and Fimbres did not have permission to use the cards or access the underlying accounts. During several of the transactions, he presented other cards that were declined before presenting one that was accepted.

¶ 3 Fimbres was apprehended on July 13, 2007. At trial, the state presented evidence that unauthorized transactions had been made on several victims’ credit card and debit accounts. Surveillance cameras from the stores showed Fimbres using the gift cards. Fimbres also admitted having made the purchases with the cards but claimed he *297 did not know the cards had been altered. The jury found Fimbres guilty of all charges.

Insufficiency of the Evidence

¶ 4 Fimbres argues the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions for fraudulent scheme and artifice, computer tampering, and two counts of credit card forgery. He also contends insufficient evidence was presented to prove that he was guilty of theft of items valued at $2,000 or more. 1 When considering claims of insufficient evidence, “we view the evidence in the light most favorable to sustaining the verdict and reverse only if no substantial evidence supports the conviction.” State v. Pena, 209 Ariz. 503, ¶ 7, 104 P.3d 873, 875 (App.2005). Substantial evidence is “evidence that ‘reasonable persons could accept as sufficient to support a guilty verdict beyond a reasonable doubt.’ ” State v. Stroud, 209 Ariz. 410, ¶ 6, 103 P.3d 912, 913-14 (2005), quoting State v. Hughes, 189 Ariz. 62, 73, 938 P.2d 457, 468 (1997). “Evidence may be direct or circumstantial, but if reasonable minds can differ on inferences to be drawn therefrom, the ease must be submitted to the jury.” State v. Landrigan, 176 Ariz. 1, 4, 859 P.2d 111, 114 (1993) (citation omitted). “The finder-of-fact, not the appellate court, weighs the evidence and determines the credibility of witnesses.” State v. Cid, 181 Ariz. 496, 500, 892 P.2d 216, 220 (App.1995).

Fraudulent Scheme and Artifice Conviction

¶ 5 Fimbres first contends the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction for fraudulent scheme and artifice because the state failed to show that he “obtained a benefit by means of a false pretense or representation.” To convict a defendant of a fraudulent scheme or artifice pursuant to A.R.S. § 13-2310, the state must prove, inter alia, that the defendant obtained a benefit “by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, promises or material omissions.” § 13-2310(A); see also State v. Johnson, 179 Ariz. 375, 378, 880 P.2d 132, 135 (1994) (additional element of false or fraudulent pretenses “separates fraudulent scheme and artifice] from routine theft”).

¶ 6 Fimbres argues there was “no evidence that he created any pretense, misrepresented himself, or. concealed anything from the [store] cashiers.” In support of this argument, Fimbres states that he presented his “Arizona Identification Card” to the store cashiers when requested and “signed his own name when prompted” by the store’s credit systems.

¶ 7 But evidence was presented from which the jury could conclude that Fimbres did obtain a benefit through misrepresentation or false pretense. Fimbres testified that he had used what appeared to be valid store gift cards to purchase goods from the stores. By doing so, he represented that the cards were valid. And a police officer testified that the cards were not valid and instead had been illegally altered to correspond to various credit card and debit accounts that did not belong to Fimbres. Accordingly, there was sufficient evidence from which the jury could infer Fimbres had falsely represented that his store gift cards were legitimate rather than illegally altered.

¶ 8 Fimbres claims, however, that he thought the cards were valid and therefore did not misrepresent that he was using legitimate gift cards. But this is not an issue of sufficiency of the evidence, but of Fimbres’s credibility. “That was a matter for the jury to resolve, and we will not disturb its conclusions.” State v. Lee, 151 Ariz. 428, 429, 728 P.2d 298, 299 (App.1986).

¶ 9 The two cases Fimbres cites in support of his argument do not require a different conclusion. In Johnson, 179 Ariz. at 376, 380-81, 880 P.2d at 133, 137-38, our supreme court held the evidence was insufficient to support the defendant’s fraudulent scheme and artifice conviction because the defendant did not misrepresent anything when he or *298 his accomplice used a valid card to access a valid account, but used the commodity purchased improperly. As discussed, however, Fimbres did in fact use false pretenses and misrepresentation when he obtained goods from various stores using gift cards bearing the victims’ credit card and debit account information. In State v. Louden, 127 Ariz. 249, 251, 619 P.2d 758, 760 (App.1980), quoting former A.R.S. § 13-312, the court relied on language proscribing any “ ‘trick or deception ... or ... confidence game’ ” in interpreting the relevant statute. And the statute under which Fimbres was convicted contains no such language. See § 13-2310.

¶ 10 At oral argument, Fimbres also emphasized that his conduct was covered by A.R.S. § 13-2105, fraudulent use of a credit card, a misdemeanor or a class five or six felony, and argued that the legislature therefore intended that he be prosecuted and punished under this more lenient statute rather than § 13-2310, which punishes violations as a class two felony. But he was unable to cite any authority supporting his position and we are not aware of any.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
213 P.3d 1020, 222 Ariz. 293, 567 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 29, 2009 Ariz. App. LEXIS 729, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-fimbres-arizctapp-2009.