State v. Large

321 P.3d 439, 234 Ariz. 274, 683 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 7, 2014 WL 1226731, 2014 Ariz. App. LEXIS 47
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedMarch 25, 2014
DocketNo. 1 CA-CR 13-0115
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 321 P.3d 439 (State v. Large) 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. Large, 321 P.3d 439, 234 Ariz. 274, 683 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 7, 2014 WL 1226731, 2014 Ariz. App. LEXIS 47 (Ark. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

OPINION

KESSLER, Presiding Judge.

¶ 1 Jonathan Elijah Large (“Large”) appeals his conviction and sentence for one count of armed robbery. We conclude, in light of Alleyne v. United States, — U.S. —, 133 S.Ct. 2151, 2163, 186 L.Ed.2d 314 (2013), that Large was entitled to have a jury determine whether he was on parole when he committed the offense because his release status increased the statutory minimum sentence that could be imposed. However, because it is undisputed that he was on parole when he committed the offense, there was no prejudice in having the court find that fact. Accordingly, we affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 2 On July 16, 2012, Large approached the victim with a knife in a shopping plaza parking lot and demanded money. As Large approached, the victim stood up and dropped his cell phone. When the victim refused to give Large money, Large grabbed his cell phone from the ground and fled. The victim and several other men, including two eyewitnesses to the incident, followed Large to an apartment complex where police apprehended him soon thereafter.

¶ 3 A grand jury indicted Large on one count of armed robbery, a class 2 dangerous felony. The State alleged that Large committed the offense while on parole for facilitation of especially aggravated robbery, a [277]*277Tennessee felony. At trial, Large testified that he was convicted of a felony in Tennessee in February 2005. A jury convicted Large of armed robbery and found that the offense was dangerous.

¶ 4 After the conviction, the court held a sentencing hearing on the State’s allegation of parole status. A Tennessee parole officer testified that in 2005 in Tennessee Large was convicted of facilitation of especially aggravated robbery, a class B felony. The officer explained that Large was on parole for his Tennessee conviction on the date of the armed robbery in this case, and that he remained on parole at the time of the sentencing hearing. The State asked the officer to explain the offense of especially aggravated robbery, but withdrew the question when defense counsel objected to the information’s relevance. However, the court admitted a certified copy of the Tennessee judgment into evidence.

¶ 5 The court found that Large was on parole for a felony offense at the time he committed the armed robbery. Defense counsel asked the court to sentence Large to the presumptive sentence of ten and one half years, acknowledging “that’s the lowest he can get[ ] because the [cjourt did find he was on parole at the time of this offense.” Consequently, the court sentenced Large to a ten-and-one-half-year, flat-time prison term pursuant to Arizona Revised Statutes (“A.R.S.”) section 13-708(A) (Supp.2013),1 noting that a presumptive flat-time sentence was the minimum Large could receive because of his parole status at the time of the offense.

¶ 6 Large timely appealed. We have jurisdiction pursuant to A.R.S. §§ 12-120.21(A)(1) (2003), 13-4031 (2010), and -4033(A)(1) (2010).

DISCUSSION

¶ 7 Large challenges his conviction and sentence on several grounds: (1) the State failed to present sufficient evidence that his intent to commit robbery coexisted with his use of force; (2) he was entitled to have a jury find beyond a reasonable doubt that he was on parole for a felony offense at the time that he committed the armed robbery because his release status exposed him to a sentence beyond the statutory maximum; and (3) the trial court erred by enhancing his sentence under A.R.S. § 13-708(A) without finding, on the record, that the Tennessee offense for which he was on parole would have been a felony under Arizona law. We requested supplemental briefing addressing whether the United States Supreme Court’s recent decision in Alleyne entitled Large to have a jury find his parole status beyond a reasonable doubt. In his supplemental brief, Large argues that Alleyne makes Apprendi'2 applicable to his release status because such status exposes him to a sentence beyond the statutory minimum, that this principle applies retroactively, and that the trial court committed reversible error by finding his release status instead of submitting the issue to the jury. We address each argument in turn.

1. Sufficiency of the Evidence

¶8 Large contends that the State failed to present sufficient evidence establishing the coexistence of his intent to commit robbery and his use of force. We review the sufficiency of the evidence de novo, State v. West, 226 Ariz. 559, 562, ¶ 15, 250 P.3d 1188, 1191 (2011), construing “the evidence in the light most favorable to sustaining the verdict and resolv[ing] all reasonable inferences against the defendant.” State v. Greene, 192 Ariz. 431, 436, ¶ 12, 967 P.2d 106, 111 (1998). “Reversible error based on insufficiency of the evidence occurs only where there is a complete absence of probative facts to support the conviction.” State v. Soto-Fong, 187 Ariz. 186, 200, 928 P.2d 610, 624 (1996) (quoting State v. Scott, 113 Ariz. 423, 424-25, 555 P.2d 1117, 1118-19 (1976)).

¶ 9 “A person commits armed robbery if in the course of taking property from the presence of another against his will, such [278]*278person is armed with a deadly weapon and threatens or uses force with the intent to coerce the surrender of property or to prevent resistance.” State v. Murray, 184 Ariz. 9, 31, 906 P.2d 542, 564 (1995); see also A.R.S. §§ 13-1902(A) (2010), -1904(A)(1) (2010). The intent to commit robbery and the use of force must coexist, otherwise the crime is a theft. State v. Comer, 165 Ariz. 413, 420-21, 799 P.2d 333, 340-41 (1990). Large does not dispute that he demanded money from the victim at knifepoint. Nor does he dispute that he took the cell phone against the victim’s will. Large concedes that he is guilty of theft.3 Instead, Large argues that his crime did not rise to the level of an armed robbery because he did not threaten or use force against the victim with the intent to coerce surrender of the cell phone or to prevent the victim from retaining it. Although Large threatened the victim with the intent to coerce surrender of money, he argues that his intent did not transfer to taking the cell phone, and that there was no evidence that he accomplished the theft of the cell phone through threat or force. We disagree.

¶ 10 Two eyewitnesses testified that Large approached the victim with a knife and demanded money. One of the eyewitnesses saw the victim stand up and drop his phone, and saw Large pick up the phone and flee. The other corroborated that account and testified that the victim shouted “[that] guy took my phone” immediately afterward.

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Bluebook (online)
321 P.3d 439, 234 Ariz. 274, 683 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 7, 2014 WL 1226731, 2014 Ariz. App. LEXIS 47, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-large-arizctapp-2014.