State v. Prado

181 P.3d 901
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedApril 29, 2008
Docket24917-4-III
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 181 P.3d 901 (State v. Prado) 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. Prado, 181 P.3d 901 (Wash. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

181 P.3d 901 (2008)

STATE of Washington, Respondent,
v.
Hector M. PRADO, Appellant.

No. 24917-4-III.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 3.

April 29, 2008.

*904 Lenell Rae Nussbaum, Attorney at Law, Seattle, WA, for Appellant.

Douglas J. Shae, Attorney at Law, Wenatchee, WA, for Respondent.

STEPHENS, J.[*]

¶ 1 Hector M. Prado appeals his conviction for first degree assault. He raises several issues concerning the trial court's instructions to the jury. He also contends he was denied effective assistance of counsel, and challenges the court's restitution. In his statement of additional grounds for review, Mr. Prado alleges prosecutorial misconduct. Finding no error, we affirm.

*905 FACTS

¶ 2 In the early morning of July 27, 2005, Belinda Dillard and her boyfriend, Daniel Guyer, were at Trav's Restaurant and Lounge in Wenatchee, Washington. While Ms. Dillard was sitting in the bar, she noticed Mr. Prado was trying to get her attention. Ms. Dillard turned to Mr. Prado and asked him his name and where he was from. Mr. Prado said that he was from Chicago and that he was in Wenatchee on business. Ms. Dillard introduced Mr. Prado to Mr. Guyer. Mr. Prado came over to the table and shook Mr. Guyer's hand and they continued talking. When Mr. Guyer left the table to use the restroom, Mr. Prado leaned over and kissed Ms. Dillard. Ms. Dillard then told Mr. Prado that she had to find Mr. Guyer, and Ms. Dillard and Mr. Guyer left the bar.

¶ 3 While Ms. Dillard and Mr. Guyer were walking to their car, Ms. Dillard told Mr. Guyer that Mr. Prado had kissed her. Mr. Guyer became angry. He got into the car and drove away, leaving Ms. Dillard. Ms. Dillard started to walk home. As she crossed the street, she heard a car honk, turned around, and saw Mr. Prado. Mr. Prado asked Ms. Dillard if she wanted a ride. When Ms. Dillard said "no thank you," Mr. Prado asked again if he could take her home. 3 Report of Proceedings (RP) (Jan. 9, 2006) at 342. Ms. Dillard again declined. At this point, Ms. Dillard saw Mr. Guyer driving through the alley.

¶ 4 Mr. Guyer pulled up to the front of Mr. Prado's car and got out. He went over to Mr. Prado's car and banged on the driver's-side window. Mr. Prado got out of the car and the two men began pushing each other. Ms. Dillard then noticed Mr. Prado's car rolling backwards. Because neither Mr. Prado nor Mr. Guyer noticed the car rolling, Ms. Dillard reached into the car and pushed the emergency brake. When she got out of the car, Mr. Prado came back to the car, got in and drove away.

¶ 5 Ms. Dillard then noticed Mr. Guyer in the middle of the street, bleeding from his chest. Mr. Guyer also had two stab wounds in his side. Mr. Guyer was taken to the hospital, where he later died. An autopsy revealed that Mr. Guyer died as a result of a stab wound to the chest.

¶ 6 On July 29, 2005, Mr. Prado was charged with one count of second degree murder. The information was amended to charge Mr. Prado with one count of second degree murder and one count of first degree assault with a deadly weapon. The matter proceeded to a jury trial.

¶ 7 At trial, Mr. Prado testified that when Mr. Guyer went to the bathroom, Ms. Dillard put her arms around him and they kissed. He said Mr. Guyer came out of the bathroom and told Ms. Dillard that it was time to leave the bar. Mr. Prado said he went to the restroom and left the bar a few minutes later. While he was stopped at a stoplight, Mr. Prado said he saw Ms. Dillard on the sidewalk. He said he rolled down his window and asked her if she needed a ride. He said that while he was talking to Ms. Dillard, Mr. Guyer pulled his car over right in front of him, got out of the car and began banging on Mr. Prado's window. Mr. Prado said Mr. Guyer was banging on the window violently and that he was really scared. Mr. Prado said that he did not know what to do, so he pulled a knife out of the console of his car and got out of the car to intimidate Mr. Guyer.

¶ 8 Mr. Prado testified that he showed the knife to Mr. Guyer and told him to "calm down." 5 RP (Jan. 11, 2006) at 562. He said that a few seconds later, Mr. Guyer came toward him and they started to struggle. He said that he was afraid because Mr. Guyer was trying to take the knife out of his hand. Mr. Prado said that during the struggle, he remembered feeling the knife penetrate Mr. Guyer, but that it wasn't "too hard." 5 RP (Jan. 11, 2006) at 563. He said that he did not remember any other time when his knife stabbed Mr. Guyer during the struggle. He said that once he was able to escape Mr. Guyer's grasp, he ran toward his car and drove home. He said he took the knife and threw it in the garbage behind his house.

¶ 9 At the conclusion of the testimony, the court gave the following instructions to the jury:

Instruction No. 22:
*906 It is lawful for a person who is in a place where that person has a right to be and who has reasonable grounds for believing that he is being attacked to stand his ground and defend against such attack by use of lawful force. The law does not impose a duty to retreat.

Clerk's Papers (CP) at 78.

Instruction No. 23:
A person commits the crime of assault in the first degree when, with intent to inflict great bodily harm, he or she assaults another with any deadly weapon.

CP at 79.

Instruction No. 24:
To convict the defendant of the crime of assault in the first degree as charged in count II of the information, each of the following elements of the crime must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt:
(1) That on or about the 27th day of July, 2005, the defendant assaulted Daniel Guyer;
(2) That the assault was committed with a deadly weapon;
(3) That the defendant acted with intent to inflict great bodily harm; and
(4) That the acts occurred in the State of Washington.
If you find from the evidence that each of these elements has been proved beyond a reasonable doubt, then it will be your duty to return a verdict of guilty.
On the other hand, if, after weighing all of the evidence, you have a reasonable doubt as to any one of these elements, then it will be your duty to return a verdict of not guilty.

CP at 80.

Instruction No. 25:
An assault is an intentional touching, striking, or cutting of another person that is harmful or offensive. A touching, striking or cutting is offensive if the touching, striking or cutting would offend an ordinary person who is not unduly sensitive.
An assault is also an act, with unlawful force done with the intent to create in another apprehension and fear of bodily injury, and which in fact creates in another a reasonable apprehension and imminent fear of bodily injury even though the actor did not actually intend to inflict bodily injury.

CP at 81.

Instruction No. 29:
A person commits the crime of assault in the second degree when, under circumstances not amounting to assault in the first degree, he assaults another with a deadly weapon.

CP at 85.

Instruction No. 30:
To convict the defendant of the crime of assault in the second degree, each of the following elements of the crime must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
181 P.3d 901, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-prado-washctapp-2008.