State v. Moreno

294 P.3d 812, 173 Wash. App. 479
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedFebruary 12, 2013
DocketNo. 29692-0-III
StatusPublished
Cited by33 cases

This text of 294 P.3d 812 (State v. Moreno) 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. Moreno, 294 P.3d 812, 173 Wash. App. 479 (Wash. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinions

Brown, J.

¶1 — Jesse Antonio Moreno appeals his convictions for first degree assault and unlawful possession of a firearm. He mainly contends the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence found in a car trunk searched pursuant to a search warrant and in sentencing him to an above-range sentence based on a gangaggravator factor found by the jury. First, while Mr. Moreno argues his arrest was unlawful, we conclude the challenged evidence was in any event seized pursuant to a valid search warrant. Second, based on this record, we conclude the trial court acted within its discretion in ordering Mr. Moreno’s [484]*484above-range sentence because sufficient evidence supports the gang-aggravator determination. Additionally, we reject Mr. Moreno’s merger-based offender score argument but agree with his arguments that a domestic violence penalty and a jury fee were incorrectly imposed. Lastly, we find no merit in Mr. Moreno’s pro se statement of additional grounds for review. Accordingly, we affirm Mr. Moreno’s convictions and exceptional sentence but remand for sentencing corrections.

FACTS

¶2 On October 15, 2009, Yakima Police Sergeant Joe Salinas responded to radio reports of shots fired in the 1500 block of McKinley Avenue and a “male wearing white j acket with dark jacket” seen running in a nearby alley. Report of Proceedings (RP) at 50. The ongoing reports started at 9:49 p.m. and continued with multiple 911 calls. A nearby officer reported shots fired. Rapidly, logged reports added that a house at the scene had been hit by gunfire and a vehicle was seen leaving the scene. Within about two minutes, Sergeant Salinas saw a car driving out of an alley at the scene “moving hurriedly,” considering the unpaved and rutted state of most alleys. RP at 52. Sergeant Salinas blocked the car and turned on his emergency lights to investigate. Before being instructed, one occupant put his hands up. The driver was later identified as Joshua Bojorquez. The front seat passenger was Mr. Moreno. A juvenile occupied the rear seat. The occupants were known by police to have Norteño gang associations.

f 3 Sergeant Salinas shined a spotlight into the car and found it odd “the driver’s wearing a red shirt.” RP at 57. Sergeant Salinas knew the area had a violent crime history with many Sureño gang members living there who “claim blue” as their gang color. RP at 47-48. The rival Norteño gang claims the color red. Sergeant Salinas explained, “Nobody wears a red shirt in that neighborhood unless [485]*485they’re asking for trouble, in my experience.” RP at 57. Considering all, he thought “this car is somehow involved or ... they can tell me more about what’s happened.” RP at 57. He became more suspicious about the occupants’ Norteño ties as he questioned them. He noticed Mr. Moreno had a distinctive haircut associated with the Norteño gang, a “Mongolian” cut that involves a tuft of hair topping the head. RP at 63-64. Suspiciously, Mr. Bojorquez denied he was the brother of Chris Bojorquez, a known Norteño gang member, even though the last name is uncommon.

¶4 Sergeant Salinas asked the occupants if they had heard any gunshots or were shot at. Although the windows were rolled down, the occupants suspiciously denied hearing shots. He explained, “[T]hese individuals hadn’t heard anything, which leads me to believe there’s more to the story.” RP at 66. Additionally suspicious, the occupants said they were smoking marijuana while in the alley but the sergeant did not smell marijuana, although another officer at some time apparently did smell marijuana on the juvenile passenger. While waiting for other officers to arrive, he removed Mr. Bojorquez before turning to Mr. Moreno to “freeze the scene.” RP at 68. Controlling the scene was required to investigate and secure the shooting scene and partly “so that they don’t have the time to communicate with each other and get their stories straight.” RP at 68. Mr. Moreno was identified, frisked, handcuffed, and put in the back of a patrol car apart from the others.

¶5 Mr. Bojorquez gave permission to search the car interior, but not the trunk. This raised Sergeant Salinas’ suspicion because many people involved in illegal activity know that a trunk or glove compartment cannot be searched without a warrant “and in five years of running the gang unit, that’s exactly where they hid all their guns.” RP at 71. He searched the car’s passenger compartment, finding no evidence related to a shooting or marijuana use. Meanwhile, a witness approached and told Sergeant Salinas his house had been hit by gunfire. At this point in the investigation, [486]*486officers were still determining if bullets came from the stopped car or whether they were directed at the car.

¶6 Sergeant Erik Hildebrand, gang unit supervisor, responded to the scene shortly after 10:00 p.m. and took over the investigation after being advised of the circumstances by Sergeant Salinas. Sergeant Hildebrand questioned Mr. Bojorquez about why he was in the neighborhood. Sergeant Hildebrand explained, “[T]hese guys are all known and documented north side gang members or associates in a well-known south side gang neighborhood.” RP at 177. Mr. Bojorquez and Mr. Moreno basically gave the same explanation of driving around, smoking marijuana, getting lost, and ending up in the alley. The juvenile occupant added he was in the area to spray-paint graffiti. After waiting for a drug recognition expert’s arrival, Mr. Bojorquez was arrested for driving offenses.

¶7 Sergeant Hildebrand interviewed Edgar Ortiz, who repeated his earlier 911 report that he had heard shots, looked through his bedroom window, and saw a man shooting a gun near the corner of McKinley Avenue and Lewis Street who ran south on Lewis toward the alley after firing. Sergeant Hildebrand drove Mr. Ortiz to where Mr. Moreno was being held for a “show-up” identification. RP at 184. Mr. Ortiz tentatively identified Mr. Moreno, believing he had the same hair and build as the shooter, but he could not be sure because the shooter was wearing a hat and it was dark outside.

¶8 Officer Ileanna Salinas talked to several witnesses. They told her they had looked in the alley after hearing gunshots and saw the car that police had stopped going east down the alley. She found a black knit glove and a baseball cap in the alley. The glove was later connected by DNA1 to Mr. Moreno. The hat was later connected by DNA to both Mr. Moreno and Mr. Bojorquez. She helped search the [487]*487vehicle interior and found a sweatshirt she believed could be described as a dark jacket with a white stripe on the sleeve. The glove matched one later found in the car’s trunk pursuant to a search warrant. When found, the hat and glove seemed warm and dry even though it had been wet out recently and the ground was muddy.

¶9 Based on the developed facts, Sergeant Hildebrand asked Officer Chris Taylor to get a search warrant. Sergeant Hildebrand believed the car’s occupants were hiding guns in the trunk. Officer Taylor called Judge Susan Woodard around 10:50 p.m. to get the warrant. He asked to search the trunk for firearms and firearm paraphernalia based on sworn facts detailed in our analysis. Judge Woodard granted the warrant request. Officer Taylor found a sawed-off .12 gauge shotgun and a .357 Magnum revolver with six empty .38 shell casings in the trunk. He later applied for and received a search warrant to search the trunk for clothing, finding a matching black knit glove and a dark sweatshirt with a white lining.

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Bluebook (online)
294 P.3d 812, 173 Wash. App. 479, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-moreno-washctapp-2013.