State v. Richards

779 P.2d 689, 116 Utah Adv. Rep. 31, 1989 Utah App. LEXIS 141, 1989 WL 102803
CourtCourt of Appeals of Utah
DecidedAugust 30, 1989
Docket880054-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 779 P.2d 689 (State v. Richards) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Utah primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Richards, 779 P.2d 689, 116 Utah Adv. Rep. 31, 1989 Utah App. LEXIS 141, 1989 WL 102803 (Utah Ct. App. 1989).

Opinions

OPINION

GARFF, Judge:

Defendant and appellant, Larry Richards, appeals from a jury verdict finding [690]*690him guilty of interference with a police officer making a lawful arrest, and disorderly conduct.

At about 10:15 p.m. on June 11, 1987, Richards’s wife, Zina, went to her neighbors’, the Stewarts’, mobile home to use the telephone, stating that she was having an argument with her husband. Both Mr. and Mrs. Stewart testified that Zina was crying and upset, and had told them that Richards was on LSD and that she was afraid. Zina called Richards’s brother, Brent, and requested that he come over. The Stewarts asked Zina if she wished to call the police, but she declined.

About fifteen minutes later, Brent and another brother, Bart, arrived and accompanied Zina back to her mobile home next door. A few minutes later, Zina’s father, Deleon, arrived. At that time, an argument was in progress between the brothers in the mobile home, Richards accusing Brent of having an affair with Zina. Stewart, who remained in his house next door, and Deleon, who went to Richards’s house, testified that they could hear raised voices but no shouting.

Stewart asked Deleon if he should call the police. Deleon answered that maybe he should. Stewart then called the police.

At approximately 11:26 p.m., two uniformed West Valley police officers, Plotnik and Bankhead, arrived. Bankhead was in a patrol car and Plotnik in a police service dog truck. The officers talked to Stewart briefly, confirming that Stewart was concerned about Zina’s welfare.

As the two officers approached the trailer, they heard raised voices inside and saw three men arguing. They described the men as “squaring off.” Neither officer, however, observed any of the men pushing, shoving, or fighting.

Plotnik knocked on the door of the trailer. Richards answered the door. Plotnik told Richards that he was responding to a family fight call, and that he wanted to see Mrs. Richards. Richards responded that there was not a problem and that his wife was fine. The officers described Richards’s response as agitated, stressed, and tense. Plotnik testified that he did not see Zina at that time. Zina testified that she spoke to Bankhead through an open window, and told him that everything was alright. Both officers denied hearing this comment.

After Richards spoke to Plotnik, he began to close the door. Plotnik, however, put his foot inside the doorway to prevent the door from closing.

Testimony differs as to what occurred next. Both officers testified that Richards shoved Plotnik in the chest to prevent his further entry into the house. Witnesses for Richards testified that no such action occurred and that Richards did not strike Plotnik in any way.

Plotnik pushed his way into the room, informed Richards that he was under arrest, and electronically signalled for his police dog to enter the trailer. Bankhead entered the trailer to assist in the arrest.

Bankhead again told Richards that he was under arrest. As Bankhead attempted to effect the arrest, a struggle ensued. Richards attempted to escape from Bank-head’s grip by pulling his hands away and tensing his arms. He then grabbed a door knob in an effort to avoid being handcuffed. However, he did not strike, threaten, or hit the officer. During this melee, the dog was barking and snapping. Eventually, the officers subdued Richards, took him out of the trailer, shackled him, and transported him to jail.

Richards was charged with unlawfully assaulting a police officer, interfering with a police officer making a lawful arrest, and engaging in disorderly conduct. A jury concluded that Richards did not assault Plotnik, but convicted him of interfering with a lawful arrest and disorderly conduct.

Richards raises two issues on appeal: (1) was his warrantless arrest lawful, and (2) was there sufficient evidence to find him guilty of disorderly conduct?

We review the evidence of a jury verdict and all inferences that can be drawn therefrom in the light most favor[691]*691able to the verdict. State v. Tolman, 775 P.2d 422, 424 (Utah Ct.App.1989); See also State v. Booker, 709 P.2d 342, 345 (Utah 1985) (quoting State v. Petree, 659 P.2d 443, 444 (Utah 1983). We reverse such a verdict “only when the evidence is so lacking and insubstantial that a reasonable person could not have reached that verdict beyond a reasonable doubt.” State v. Walker, 743 P.2d 191, 192 (Utah 1987) (quoting State v. Isaacson 704 P.2d 555, 557 (Utah 1985)).

INTERFERENCE WITH A PEACE OFFICER

Plotnik and Bankhead were responding to a domestic violence complaint, one of the most potentially dangerous, volatile arrest situations confronting police. Zina reportedly was upset, crying, and afraid of her husband because they had had an argument earlier that evening and he had allegedly been using LSD. After the earlier argument, he left. When he returned later, Zina went to the Stewarts to call her brother-in-law for help. She testified that she wanted to leave with her children, but was afraid that there would be a fight over the children and that Richards would not let her take them. The police, upon their arrival, observed a confrontation taking place, inside the trailer home, between Richards and his brothers, all of whom were obviously agitated and angry. When Plotnik went to the door and asked to see and talk to Zina in order to ascertain her safety, Richards refused. As Richards was closing the door, Plotnik attempted to enter the house because he had reasonable cause to be concerned for Zina’s safety. Although the evidence is controverted as to whether or not Zina told Bank-head everything was alright, both Bank-head and Plotnik testified that they did not hear her make this statement. Under these exigent circumstances, Plotnik was justified in entering Richards’s home. See Utah Code Ann. § 77-7-2(3) (1982); State v. McIntire, 768 P.2d 970, 973 (Utah Ct.App.1989); State v. Ayala, 762 P.2d 1107, 1111-12 (Utah Ct.App.1988).

Richards, in an effort to prevent the entry, allegedly pushed Plotnik, which caused him to place Richards under arrest. Utah Code Ann. § 77-7-2(1) (1982) provides that a peace officer may make an arrest without a warrant for a public offense committed or attempted in his presence. Richards argues that because the jury acquitted him of assaulting a police officer, the arrest was unlawful and, therefore, he was justified in resisting the arrest. However, we note that there is a significant difference between the quantum of evidence required for conviction and that required to constitute sufficient probable cause for an arrest.

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State v. Richards
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Bluebook (online)
779 P.2d 689, 116 Utah Adv. Rep. 31, 1989 Utah App. LEXIS 141, 1989 WL 102803, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-richards-utahctapp-1989.