State v. Wentz

110 Wash. App. 70, 2002 WL 89299
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedJanuary 24, 2002
DocketNo. 19560-1-III
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 110 Wash. App. 70 (State v. Wentz) 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. Wentz, 110 Wash. App. 70, 2002 WL 89299 (Wash. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

Schultheis, J.

—At the conclusion of a bench trial, Gerald Wentz was convicted of several crimes including burglary and attempted murder. He appeals, claiming the evidence was not sufficient to support the convictions. The State’s cross-appeal on the sentencing issue was abandoned prior to oral argument. We affirm.

FACTS

Deputies responded to a home security alarm in Spokane County in the evening hours of May 29, 1999. The home belonged to Patrick Wheeler. When deputies arrived at the residence they found the back door open and discovered Mr. Wentz hiding under a tarp in a boat that was parked in the backyard. He was read his constitutional rights, which he voluntarily waived. He agreed to talk to officers on the scene and at the public safety building where he was transported after his arrest.

Further investigation by officers revealed that Mr. Wentz had been armed with a gun that had been reported stolen [72]*72that day from a home in The Dalles, Oregon. Officers discovered Mr. Wentz, who is from The Dalles, had driven to Spokane in a vehicle that had also been reported stolen earlier that day in The Dalles. Inside the vehicle the police discovered several notes, including a hand-drawn map to Mr. Wheeler’s residence and journal-type entries, which chronicled the events leading to Mr. Wentz’s arrival in Spokane and his contemplated killing of Mr. Wheeler, Janet McFadden (Mr. Wentz’s ex-wife), and/or himself.

Mr. Wentz was arrested and charged with five felony counts: (1) first degree burglary; (2) second degree possession of stolen property; (3) possession of a stolen firearm; (4) attempted second degree murder of Ms. McFadden; and (5) attempted second degree murder of Mr. Wheeler. Mr. Wentz waived his right to a jury trial. Most of the underlying facts leading to his arrest were not at issue during the trial, but his purpose in driving to Spokane and his mental capacity during the planning stages of the burglary and attempted murders were disputed. The State argued the attempted murders were planned in a thoughtful, strategic manner. The defense argued Mr. Wentz’s actions were the result of a combination of long-term mental illness, sleep deprivation, and substance abuse.

Mr. Wentz was found guilty of all charges at the conclusion of a bench trial. This timely appeal followed.

ANALYSIS

1. Burglary Conviction

Mr. Wentz first claims the evidence is insufficient to support the burglary conviction. He assigns error to finding of fact 681 and conclusion of law 2.2 The court’s review of challenged findings of fact is limited to determining [73]*73whether substantial evidence supports them, and, if so, whether the findings support the conclusions of law and judgment. State v. Macon, 128 Wn.2d 784, 799, 911 P.2d 1004 (1996). Substantial evidence exists when there is a sufficient quantity of evidence in the record to persuade a fair-minded rational person of the truth of the finding. State v. Hill, 123 Wn.2d 641, 644, 870 P.2d 313 (1994).

At trial, officers testified that a six-foot-high, wooden fence secured by locks encloses the yard in which Mr. Wentz was found. In order to reach Mr. Wentz, officers had to climb over the fence. At the conclusion of the trial the court determined the term “building,” as defined in RCW 9A.04.110(5),3 under the facts of this case, included Mr. Wheeler’s fenced backyard. Accordingly, Mr. Wentz was found guilty of the burglary charge.

The court’s decision is supported by the statute, yet conflicts with a prior Division Three decision, State v. Flieger, 45 Wn. App. 667, 726 P.2d 1257 (1986). The Flieger court, on facts quite similar to those at hand, determined that an enclosed residential yard surrounded by a tall wooden fence with locked gates did not constitute a “building” pursuant to the definition set forth in the statute. It determined the language following the words “any other structure” modified all the statutory definitions of “building” and not just the word “structure.” Id. at 670-71. We now disapprove the Flieger court’s reasoning on this subject.

The Flieger interpretation violates the last antecedent rule, a maxim of statutory construction. The last antecedent rule states “unless a contrary intention appears in the statute, qualifying words and phrases refer to the last antecedent.” In re Sehome Park Care Ctr., Inc., 127 Wn.2d [74]*74774, 781, 903 P.2d 443 (1995). A corollary to that rule is “the presence of a comma before the qualifying phrase is evidence the qualifier is intended to apply to all antecedents instead of only the immediately preceding one.” Id. at 781-82.

The portion of the definition of building at issue provides, “in addition to its ordinary meaning, includes any dwelling, fenced area, vehicle, railway car, cargo container, or any other structure used for lodging of persons or for carrying on business thereinl.]” RCW 9A.04.110(5) (emphasis added). The noun being modified is “structure.” The term “used for lodging of persons or for carrying on business therein,” which modifies the antecedent, “any other structure,” is not set off by a comma. Accordingly, it applies only to the preceding term. Finding no contrary intent in the statute and applying the aforementioned rules of statutory construction leads us to conclude the trial court’s interpretation of the statute, while not following legal precedent, was correct.

2. Attempted Murder Convictions

Mr. Wentz also claims the evidence is insufficient to support the two attempted murder convictions. He maintains the evidence supports the view that he intended to commit suicide in front of Ms. McFadden and Mr. Wheeler, but did not intend to kill them. In making this claim Mr. Wentz assigns error to findings of fact 64,4 65,5 66,6 71,7 and [75]*75728 and conclusions of law 59 and 6.10

The well-established test for challenging the sufficiency of the evidence is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, any rational trier of fact could find that each element of the offense has been proved beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Salinas, 119 Wn.2d 192, 201, 829 P.2d 1068 (1992). A person commits attempted second degree murder by taking a substantial step toward intending to cause the death of another. RCW 9A.32.050(l)(a); RCW 9A.28.020.

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Related

Department of Social & Health Services v. Gallardo-Cruz
140 Wash. App. 461 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2007)
In Re SG
166 P.3d 802 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2007)
State v. Wentz
68 P.3d 282 (Washington Supreme Court, 2003)
State v. Lown
66 P.3d 660 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2003)

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110 Wash. App. 70, 2002 WL 89299, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-wentz-washctapp-2002.