United States v. Sanchez

26 M.J. 564, 1988 CMR LEXIS 241, 1988 WL 37600
U S Coast Guard Court of Military Review·Decided April 13, 1988·No. CGCM 0001. Docket No. 898·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinion

DECISION — PANEL ONE

BAUM, Chief Judge:

Appellant pled guilty to a variety of offenses committed while a member of the security force at the Coast Guard Yard, Baltimore, Maryland. Pursuant to those pleas, he was convicted of five specifications of larceny in violation of Article 121, 10 U.S.C.A. § 921, Uniform Code of Military Justice; five specifications of housebreaking in violation of Article 130, 10 U.S.C.A. § 930, Uniform Code of Military Justice; one specification of unauthorized possession of keys to buildings at the Coast Guard Yard and two specifications of securing stolen property all in violation of Article 134, 10 U.S.C.A. § 934, Uniform Code of Military Justice; one specification of dereliction of duty in violation of Article 92, 10 U.S.C.A. § 892, Uniform Code of Military Justice; and one specification of conspiracy in violation of Article 81, 10 U.S.C.A. § 881, Uniform Code of Military Justice. Appellant was sentenced by military judge to a bad conduct discharge, confinement for twelve months and reduction to pay grade E-l. Complying with a pretrial 'agreement, the convening authority initially approved the sentence and suspended the bad conduct discharge, confinement in excess of eleven months and reduction below E-2. Subsequently, in a supplemental action, the convening authority suspended the unexecuted portion of confinement. At that time, the accused had served approximately six months of this portion of the sentence. Appellant has now assigned five errors before this Court. We agree with the first assignment but reject the remainder.

In assignment one, it is asserted that the military judge erred at the sentencing stage by admitting in evidence a Government offered hearsay statement depicting appellant as the instigator of thefts of television sets, an account at variance with the accused’s description of events. The complained of evidence was part of a statement made to Coast Guard investigators by a co-conspirator who, after being advised of his rights as a suspect, described events in a manner that minimized his criminal involvement and portrayed appellant as the more culpable party. Under the circumstances, we do not believe the portion of the statement offered met the terms of Military Rule of Evidence 804(b)(3), the rule under which it was admitted. That provision, the “statement against interest” exception to the hearsay rule, is based on the supposition that “a reasonable person in the position of the declarant would not have made the statement [against interest] unless the person believed it to be true.” Id. The evidence [566] in question, which casts appellant in a light more unfavorable than the declarant, was neither contrary to the declarant’s interest in its thrust nor was it supported by other circumstances that would indicate its trustworthiness. The Air Force Court of Military Review addressed the same question in United States v. Garrett, 17 M.J. 907 (AFCMR 1984) and, in finding the statement there inadmissible, said:

It has been consistently held that a statement given by a suspect after advisement of rights wherein he seeks to describe the events in such a manner so as to minimize his criminal involvement and, at the same time, inculpate the accused, does not possess that degree of reliability necessary to satisfy the confrontation requirements of the Sixth Amendment.5 Dutton v. Evans, 400 U.S. 74, 91 S.Ct. 210, 27 L.Ed.2d 213 (1970); Bruton v. United States, 391 U.S. 123, 88 S.Ct. 1620, 20 L.Ed.2d 476 (1968); Douglas v. Alabama, 380 U.S. 415, 85 S.Ct. 1074, 13 L.Ed.2d 934 (1965); Lyle v. Koehler, 720 F.2d 426 (6th Cir. 1983); Olson v. Green, 668 F.2d 421 (8th Cir.1982), cert. denied, 456 U.S. 1009, 102 S.Ct. 2303, 73 L.Ed.2d 1305 (1982); United States v. Palumbo, 639 F.2d 123 (3rd Cir.1981); United States v. Sarmiento-Perez, 633 F.2d 1092 (5th Cir.1981); United States v. Garrett, 16 M.J. 941 (N.M.C.M.R.1983). As such, the statement is not admissible over defense objection under either Mil.R.Evid. 804(b)(3) or (5). See generally, 5 Wigmore, Evidence, Sec. 1477 (Chadbourne Rev.1974); 4 J. Weinstein & M. Berger, Weinstein’s Evidence, paragraph 804(b)(3)[3] (1977).

For the same reasons, we find the judge erred in the case before us by admitting the co-conspirator’s statement in evidence. Through its admission, appellant was denied his Constitutional right to confront the witness. Mindful of our analysis in United States v. Miller, 23 M.J. 837 (CGCMR 1987), we are unable to say this error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Accordingly, we will reassess the sentence.

The second assignment of error, which contends that the housebreaking offenses are multiplicious for sentencing with the larceny offenses, is rejected based on United States v. Weaver, 18 USCMA 173, 39 CMR 173 (1969) and United States v. Gibson, 3 USCMA 746, 14 CMR 164 (1954). The holdings in those cases, that offenses of housebreaking with intent to commit larceny are not multiplicious with larceny offenses committed after entry, have not been overruled either expressly or by implication, despite subsequent cases expanding on the concept of multiplicity.

Appellant asserts in his third assignment that the judge erred in equating for sentencing purposes the unauthorized key possession offense with the Article 134, Uniform Code of Military Justice offense of unauthorized pass possession. At trial, the accused and his counsel did not object to such a comparison when the judge proposed that elements for the two offenses be treated as the same. (R. 83). The accused and counsel also had no objection to a maximum sentence that was computed by utilizing the pass offense maximum sentence for the key offense. (R. 110). Any error in this regard was waived and assignment of error three is rejected.

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United States v. Sanchez, 26 M.J. 564, 1988 CMR LEXIS 241, 1988 WL 37600 (cgcomilrev 1988).

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