State v. Gabaldon

CourtNew Mexico Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 1, 2018
DocketA-1-CA-35264
StatusUnpublished

This text of State v. Gabaldon (State v. Gabaldon) 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. Gabaldon, (N.M. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

This memorandum opinion was not selected for publication in the New Mexico Appellate Reports. Please see Rule 12-405 NMRA for restrictions on the citation of unpublished memorandum opinions. Please also note that this electronic memorandum opinion may contain computer-generated errors or other deviations from the official paper version filed by the Court of Appeals and does not include the filing date.

1 IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO

2 STATE OF NEW MEXICO,

3 Plaintiff-Appellee,

4 v. No. A-1-CA-35264

5 DANAN GABALDON,

6 Defendant-Appellant,

7 APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF BERNALILLO COUNTY 8 Briana H. Zamora, District Judge

9 Hector H. Balderas, Attorney General 10 Maha Khoury, Assistant Attorney General 11 Santa Fe, NM

12 for Appellee

13 Bennett J. Baur, Chief Public Defender 14 Mary Barket, Assistant Appellate Defender 15 Santa Fe, NM

16 for Appellant

17 MEMORANDUM OPINION

18 HANISEE, Judge. 1 {1} Defendant appeals from the district court’s judgment and sentence entered,

2 pursuant to a jury trial by which he was convicted for residential burglary, larceny,

3 and resisting, evading, or obstructing an officer. The district court sentenced

4 Defendant to ten years of incarceration, which included a habitual offender

5 enhancement of eight years and a suspended sentence of two years. On appeal,

6 Defendant raises five issues, challenging (1) the sufficiency of the evidence to support

7 his convictions for residential burglary and larceny; (2) the district court’s rejection

8 of Defendant’s requested intent instruction for the offense of residential burglary; (3)

9 the district court’s denial of a mistrial when the victim testified in contravention of a

10 court order; (4) the enhancement of Defendant’s sentence based on two prior felony

11 convictions—one that was used as a predicate felony to a firearm charge and also the

12 felony firearm charge itself; and (5) the district court’s failure to make a change in

13 venue. The last three issues are raised under the requirements of State v. Franklin,

14 1967-NMSC-151, ¶ 9, 78 N.M. 127, 428 P.2d 982, and State v. Boyer, 1985-NMCA-

15 029, ¶ 24, 103 N.M. 655, 712 P.2d 1. We are not persuaded by any of Defendant’s

16 arguments for the reasons set forth below. We, therefore, affirm.

17 DISCUSSION

2 1 {2} Because this is a non-precedential opinion drafted to inform the parties of our

2 reasoning, we omit a section devoted to the facts of which the parties are aware, and

3 discuss the facts only as they are relevant to our analysis.

4 1. The Evidence Was Sufficient to Support Defendant’s Convictions for 5 Residential Burglary and Larceny

6 {3} When assessing the sufficiency of the evidence, “we view the evidence in the

7 light most favorable to the guilty verdict, indulging all reasonable inferences and

8 resolving all conflicts in the evidence in favor of the verdict.” State v. Samora, 2016-

9 NMSC-031, ¶ 34, 387 P.3d 230 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). We

10 disregard all evidence and inferences that support a different result. See State v. Rojo,

11 1999-NMSC-001, ¶ 19, 126 N.M. 438, 971 P.2d 829. “We then determine whether

12 substantial evidence of either a direct or circumstantial nature exists to support a

13 verdict of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt with respect to every element essential to

14 a conviction.” State v. Garcia, 2016-NMSC-034, ¶ 15, 384 P.3d 1076 (internal

15 quotation marks and citation omitted). “Substantial evidence is relevant evidence that

16 a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.” State v. Largo,

17 2012-NMSC-015, ¶ 30, 278 P.3d 532 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).

18 Residential Burglary

19 {4} In his sufficiency challenge to his conviction for residential burglary, Defendant

20 contends that the State’s evidence was inadequate to prove that he entered the

3 1 residence with an intent to commit a theft when inside, as required by the jury

2 instructions. See Garcia, 2016-NMSC-034, ¶ 17 (“Jury instructions become the law

3 of the case against which the sufficiency of the evidence is to be measured.”

4 (alteration, internal quotation marks, and citation omitted)). Defendant states the

5 evidence showed that he entered a stranger’s unlocked residence while fleeing from

6 the police and that his actions—entering the home, showering there, and changing into

7 ill-fitting clothes belonging to the victim—were spontaneous and haphazard, not

8 intentionally planned. Defendant relies on case law emphasizing that “[a]n intent

9 formed after the illegal entry would not suffice.” State v. Romero, 1998-NMCA-057,

10 ¶ 8, 125 N.M. 161, 958 P.2d 119; State v. Elliott, 1975-NMCA-087, ¶ 50, 88 N.M.

11 187, 539 P.2d 207 (explaining that “[t]he gravamen of the offense of burglary is the

12 intent with which the [residence] is entered[,]” and that evidence of an intent formed

13 after the entry does not prove a burglary), rev’d on other grounds, 1976-NMSC-030,

14 ¶ 1, 89 N.M. 305, 551 P.2d 1352.

15 {5} “Intent is subjective and is almost always inferred from other facts in the case,

16 as it is rarely established by direct evidence.” State v. Duran, 2006-NMSC-035, ¶ 7,

17 140 N.M. 94, 140 P.3d 515 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). More

18 specifically, “[i]ntent may be proved by inference from the surrounding facts and

4 1 circumstances.” State v. Kent, 2006-NMCA-134, ¶ 15, 140 N.M. 606, 145 P.3d 86

2 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).

3 {6} The evidence shows that police were dispatched to a residence based on a

4 complaint about a vehicle in front of that house, and there they found Defendant in the

5 driver’s seat. Police then discovered that the license plate on the vehicle was stolen

6 and decided to conduct a felony stop. Defendant did not comply with the officers’

7 instructions and then fled on foot. Defendant jumped over a sharp and pointy chain-

8 link fence and ran across a field and into a residential neighborhood. The officers set

9 up a perimeter around the neighborhood and searched for Defendant. Within that

10 perimeter, Defendant entered the home of a stranger, Mr. Andrew Jaramillo, by way

11 of a backdoor that was closed but unlocked. While inside, Defendant apparently

12 showered and changed into clothing belonging to Mr. Jaramillo. Officers found

13 Defendant wet in Mr. Jaramillo’s bathroom, which also contained a wet and dirty

14 bathtub. An officer noticed that Defendant changed out of his distinctive black and

15 yellow Steeler’s jersey tee-shirt and shorts and into the ill-fitting clothes that were too

16 warm for the weather and provided full coverage for Defendant’s body, including the

17 large tattoo on the back of his neck.

18 {7} Although we agree with Defendant that this evidence shows that he acted with

19 an intent to flee from police, such an intent does not preclude Defendant from forming

5 1 an intent to steal prior to his unauthorized entry into the home. We agree with the

2 State that an intent to flee can coexist with an intent to enter the residence with the

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Related

Schmieding v. Schmieding
2000 MT 237 (Montana Supreme Court, 2000)
Kersey v. Hatch
2010 NMSC 020 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 2010)
State v. Tafoya
2012 NMSC 30 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 2012)
State v. Largo
2012 NMSC 015 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 2012)
State v. Dylan J.
2009 NMCA 027 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2009)
State v. Mora
1997 NMSC 060 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 1997)
State v. House
1999 NMSC 014 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 1999)
State v. Elliott
539 P.2d 207 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 1975)
State v. Mireles
483 P.2d 508 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 1971)
State v. Gunzelman
512 P.2d 55 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 1973)
State v. Elliott
551 P.2d 1352 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 1976)
Sells v. State
653 P.2d 162 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 1982)
State v. Yparrea
845 P.2d 1259 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 1992)
State v. Boyer
712 P.2d 1 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 1985)
State v. Franklin
428 P.2d 982 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 1967)
State v. Castro
592 P.2d 185 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 1979)
State v. Rojo
1999 NMSC 001 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 1998)
State v. Romero
1998 NMCA 057 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 1998)
State v. Gutierrez
2011 NMSC 024 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 2011)
State v. Roybal
2002 NMSC 027 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 2002)

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State v. Gabaldon, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-gabaldon-nmctapp-2018.