State v. Leyba

2012 NMSC 37, 2012 NMSC 037, 3 N.M. 1
CourtNew Mexico Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 22, 2012
DocketDocket 32,541
StatusPublished
Cited by49 cases

This text of 2012 NMSC 37 (State v. Leyba) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Mexico Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Leyba, 2012 NMSC 37, 2012 NMSC 037, 3 N.M. 1 (N.M. 2012).

Opinion

OPINION

BOSSON, Justice

INTRODUCTION

{1} In this first-degree murder case, the State improperly admitted into evidence a diary of the decedent which was inadmissible hearsay. Because the diary was important to the State’s case, and the State repeatedly relied upon its contents throughout the trial, we conclude that the error was not harmless and the convictions must be reversed. Accordingly, we remand to the district court for a new trial.

BACKGROUND

{2} On May 22, 2009, Marino “Reno” Leyba (Defendant) fatally shot his pregnant girlfriend, Sarah Lovato, and her father, Bennie Lovato, after entering their apartment with a firearm. A grand jury indicted Defendant on two counts of first-degree murder, aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, and criminal abortion. The State dismissed the criminal abortion charge without prejudice before trial.

{3} The State maintained that Defendant entered the Lovato apartment without permission, planning to kill Sarah. To support its theory of the case, the State introduced evidence that Defendant was increasingly violent and controlling towards Sarah, including evidence of specific acts of domestic violence against Sarah. To this end, the State introduced Sarah’s diary into evidence through Sarah’s sister, Julie, over Defendant’s confrontation and hearsay objections. The entries in Sarah’s diary described her fears about Defendant, confusion about their relationship, and an incident in which Defendant physically abused Sarah.

{4} Defendant’s mens rea was the central point of contention at trial. While Defendant admitted that he shot Sarah and her father, he testified that he did not plan to do so and that he believed he was acting in self-defense. The jury was instructed on the full range of options for homicide, from willful and deliberate murder down to manslaughter.

{5} On the night in question, Defendant was working as a security officer, and he carried mace and a gun as part of his uniform. He also testified that he only entered the Lovato apartment after the door was opened for him. Defendant said that he was talking to Sarah inside the apartment when Bennie came towards him quickly, with something that looked like a gun. He thought Bennie was going to shoot him, so he sprayed Bennie with mace, getting some mace in his own eyes. Defendant testified that he feared for his life, dropped the mace, and shot his weapon a few times. At some point Sarah went into the kitchen, and Defendant fired again when he heard her coming back. According to Defendant, he never wanted, much less planned, for any of this to occur.

{6} Notwithstanding Defendant’s trial testimony, the jury found him guilty of willful and deliberate first-degree murder of Sarah, first-degree felony murder of Bennie, aggravated burglary, 1 and tampering with evidence. Defendant appeals his convictions, arguing that Sarah’s diary, as well as his booking photograph, were erroneously admitted into evidence, which prejudiced his defense. In addition, he argues that the jury instructions that he co-authored with the State were erroneous.

DISCUSSION

The Diary-a CriticalPiece of Evidence to the State’s Case for Willful and Deliberate Murder

{7} The State called Sarah’s younger sister, Julie, as a witness. Julie testified that Defendant’s behavior had become scary to Sarah. She said that Defendant was not happy about Sarah’s pregnancy. At some point during Sarah’s pregnancy, Julie saw her sister with bruises on her face, a fat lip, and a black eye.

{8} After eliciting Julie’s observations, the State attempted to introduce Sarah’s entire diary into evidence. Defendant renewed pretrial objections to the diary, specifying that Sarah’s alleged statements in her diary were inadmissible hearsay, and that their admission would violate his constitutional right to confrontation. 2 Over objection, the court admitted the diary into evidence, and allowed Julie to read to the jury two of the three entries in their entirety. Because the content of the diary is important to our analysis, we recite the significant entries verbatim. The first entry was dated March 17, 2009, a little over two months before the shooting:

on da 17th was da scaryest day of my life . .. cuz my boyfriend hit me cuz we were argueing so he gave me a fat lip and a black eye an a big bruzed on my check bone, an he coked me an try 2 hit my tummy but I blocked it. I so don’t know wat 2 do I still love him but Im scared 2 get bak wit him I don’t want it 2 happen again . . . Im so mad an sad an confused, ugh well all write bak an let u know wat happens k bye . . [.] P[.]S. I diden’t think he would ever do dat but I geuss I was wrong.

(Ellipses in original.) The second entry, dated March 21, 2009, stated:

hey it’s me again well Im starting 2 talk 2 Reno again, he says he thinks bout wat happend dat one day an he said hE wish hE can go bak an chang it. or I shouldent have gone wit him 2 work I wish I never did 2, but anywho he told me he loved me an I dident say it bak, cuz I was Scared 2 but I said it I wish I dident but I still love him, bit I still don’t know if I should be wit him Im scared to even see him, I think if I stay wit him Im not going 2 move in wit him or marry him 4 a long time I jus don’t want dat 2 happen again, he said when he hit me he was thinking bout David and leroy an thought I was cheating on him but he said he dident mean 2 do dat but idk wat to belive anymore Im so confused. I wish god would give me a sine, but I know he will help me, I want 2 go 2 Church Sunday but Im scared 2 look at him or be by him but let’s c wat happens 1 wanna hug him so bad tho. but Im thiking of Seeing him next Sunday so he can realy think an stuff. . well all write bak an let u know wat happens. K bye P[.]S. Please god help me wat 2 do Amen.

A third entry in the diary, which the State did not ask Julie to read, was entered into evidence for the jury to examine. Dated April 8, 2009, it read:

1 been haveing a bad day 4 2 day’s cuz me & reno got in a fight an he says I need 2 think if I wanna be wit him or be in da world but I wanna be wit him so we have nt talked 2 each other 4 2 day’s I miss him so much tho I feel so alone when I don’t talk 2 him. but idk im waiting 4 him 2 call me hopefuly it will be soon k well all let u know wat happens K bye.

{9} Sarah’s diary is an “organizer” designed for a young person — it is a small six-ring binder, with a cartoon animal on the plastic cover, and includes a page of colorful animal and word stickers. Its patterned and colored pages are divided into sections labeled “planner,” “diary,” “to do . . .,” “notes,” and “friends.” Sarah’s entries, described in detail above, are handwritten in the first four pages of the “notes” section. In addition, some of the other sections have entries, such as contact information in the “friends” section and one entry in the “to do...” section.

Hearsay Analysis

{10} Hearsay is an out-of-court statement which is later offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2012 NMSC 37, 2012 NMSC 037, 3 N.M. 1, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-leyba-nm-2012.