State v. Nunez

769 P.2d 1040, 159 Ariz. 594, 27 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 50, 1989 Ariz. App. LEXIS 28
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedJanuary 31, 1989
Docket1 CA-CR 12298
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 769 P.2d 1040 (State v. Nunez) 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. Nunez, 769 P.2d 1040, 159 Ariz. 594, 27 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 50, 1989 Ariz. App. LEXIS 28 (Ark. Ct. App. 1989).

Opinion

OPINION

GREER, Judge.

Appellant was indicted on March 2, 1987, on three counts of attempted first degree murder and one count of first degree burglary, all class 2 felonies. Prior to trial, the state alleged that the felonies were of a dangerous nature. After a trial by jury, appellant was found guilty as charged. On November 25, 1987, appellant was sentenced to the presumptive term of 10.5 years on each count, with all counts to run concurrently. Appellant was also ordered to pay $15,015.81 in restitution and $400 in felony penalty assessments. Appellant filed a timely notice of appeal.

The facts, taken in a light most favorable to sustaining the verdict, are as follows. On February 23, 1987, appellant began banging on the front door of Leo and Theresa Torres’ house. Appellant demanded to speak with Leo Torres, whom he accused of dating his girlfriend. Leo Torres was asleep, and Theresa Torres refused to open the front door. Theresa *595 Torres telephoned her brother, Richard, to come over and persuade the appellant to leave. When Richard arrived, he found appellant in the front yard. Appellant produced a pistol and shot and injured Richard. He then kicked in the front door, shot both Leo and Theresa Torres, and left the home. On his way off the property, appellant shot Richard one more time. Appellant was followed from the Torres home by neighbors, who alerted the police.

The police apprehended appellant some blocks from the Torres home after he had disposed of his pistol. The arresting officers noted signs of intoxication and gave appellant a breath test which showed that he had a blood-alcohol level of .11%. At trial, appellant defended on the basis that he was too intoxicated to form the necessary intent for attempted murder. On appeal, appellant raises the following issue:

Did the trial court erroneously instruct the jury on first degree murder and attempt?

Affirmed.

JURY INSTRUCTIONS

At trial, the jury was instructed, in part, as follows:

For the crime of Attempted First Degree Murder, the State must prove that the defendant acted intentionally or knowingly. If you determine that the defendant was intoxicated at the time, you may consider the fact that he was intoxicated in determining whether he could have intentionally or with intent to commit the same crimes (sic). However, you may not consider the fact that he was voluntarily intoxicated in determining whether he could have “knowingly” committed the said crime of attempted first degree murder.

The jury was also instructed on the statutory definitions of first degree murder, attempt, intentionally and knowingly. A.R.S. § 13-1105(A)(1) provides:

(A) A person commits first degree murder if,
1. Intending or knowing that his conduct will cause death such person causes the death of another with premeditation.

A.R.S. § 13-1001(A) provides, in part:

(A) A person commits attempt if, acting with the kind of culpability otherwise required for commission of an offense, such person:
1. Intentionally engages in conduct which would constitute an offense if the attendant circumstances were as such person believes them to be; or
2. Intentionally does or omits to do anything which, under the circumstances as such person believes them to be, is any step in a course of conduct planned to culminate in commission of an offense[.]

A.R.S. § 13-105(6)(a) and (b) provide:

(a) “Intentionally” or “with the intent to” means, with respect to a result or to conduct described by a statute defining an offense, that a person’s objective is to cause that result or to engage in that conduct.
(b) “Knowingly” means, with respect to conduct or to a circumstance described by a statute defining an offense, that a person is aware or believes that his or her conduct is of that nature or that the circumstance exists. It does not require any knowledge of the unlawfulness of the act or omission.

Appellant acknowledges that first degree murder can be committed with either an intentional or knowing state of mind. However, he claims that, since the attempt statute requires an intentional state of mind, the jury instructions referring to either intentional or knowing attempted first degree murder were erroneous. See, i.e., People v. Kraft, 133 Ill.App.3d 294, 88 Ill. Dec. 546, 478 N.E.2d 1154 (1985).

In State v. Galan, 134 Ariz. 590, 658 P.2d 243 (App.1982), this court considered whether a defendant could commit attempted trafficking in stolen property. Under the trafficking statute, a person need only act recklessly to commit second degree trafficking in stolen property. A.R.S. § 13-2307(A). In discussing whether or not one could intentionally attempt to reck *596 lessly traffic in stolen property, this court stated:

The defendant’s argument that an attempt still requires a specific intent which is incompatible with the reckless state of mind does not reckon with all of the language of A.R.S. § 13-1001, the attempt statute. We quote that provision again with emphasis on the words that the defendant’s argument ignores:
A person commits attempt if, acting with the kind of culpability otherwise required for the commission of an offense, such person,
(1) Intentionally engages in conduct which would constitute an offense if the attendant circumstances were as such person believes them to be.
A common sense reading of the provision leads to the conclusion that the words “intentionally engages in conduct” refers in this case to the actions that make up trafficking like buying property intending to resell it (A.R.S. § 13-2301(B)(3)) and that the words “acting with the kind of culpability otherwise required for the commission of an offense” requires (sic) only that acts be accompanied by a reckless state of mind as to the circumstances attending the status of the property. A contrary conclusion would mean that the words “acting with the kind of culpability otherwise required for the commission of an offense” are superfluous.

Galan, 134 Ariz. at 591-592, 658 P.2d at 244-45 (emphasis in original) (footnote omitted).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
769 P.2d 1040, 159 Ariz. 594, 27 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 50, 1989 Ariz. App. LEXIS 28, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-nunez-arizctapp-1989.