Fales v. State, 95-52
| Decision Date | 08 December 1995 |
| Docket Number | No. 95-52,95-52 |
| Citation | 908 P.2d 404 |
| Parties | Lacey Ann FALES, Appellant (Defendant), v. The STATE of Wyoming, Appellee (Plaintiff). |
| Court | Wyoming Supreme Court |
Sylvia Lee Hackl, State Public Defender; Deborah Cornia, Appellate Counsel; and Donna D. Hoffdahl, Assistant Appellate Counsel, for Appellant.
William U. Hill, Attorney General; Paul S. Rehurek, Deputy Attorney General; D. Michael Pauling, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Georgia L. Tibbetts, Assistant Attorney General; Theodore E. Lauer, Director of the Prosecution Assistance Program; and Monica Heitzmann, Student Intern for the Prosecution Assistance Program, for Appellee.
Before GOLDEN, C.J., and THOMAS, MACY, TAYLOR and LEHMAN, JJ.
Appellant Lacey Fales appeals from the judgment and sentence which was entered after she was convicted of one count of accessory before the fact to burglary and one count of burglary.
We affirm as modified.
Appellant presents several issues on appeal:
ISSUE I
Did the State fail to meet its burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the Appellant shared the same criminal intent as the principals in the accessory before the fact charge or that the Appellant entered the Sheridan High School with the intent to commit larceny or a felony in the burglary charge?
ISSUE II
Did the Appellant receive effective assistance of counsel?
ISSUE III
Was Appellant denied a fair trial due to the prosecutor's closing remarks?
ISSUE IV
Did the jury instructions on aiding and abetting fail to correctly state the law regarding shared intent to commit a felony and unduly emphasize one aspect of the evidence?
ISSUE V
Did the trial court improperly order restitution for damage done during the commission of a crime that Appellant never admitted to, was never charged with, nor convicted of committing?
Appellant attended a party in Sheridan on April 6, 1994, at which alcohol was being served. Some of the guests discussed the possibility of breaking into the high school. Appellant added that she could recognize the money box which was kept at the high school concession stand. Appellant, three boys, and another girl left the party, walking toward the high school. One of the boys brought along a duffle bag, intending to use it to transport stolen items. As they were walking, one of the boys discovered a van which had its keys in it. Another boy stole the van, and, instead of going to the high school, he drove past the others and went to the junior high school. The others followed.
The three boys decided to break into the junior high school. The girls indicated that they did not want to go into the school, so one of the boys told them to keep watch while the boys were inside. The boys gained entry into the junior high school by breaking a window and entering through it. They engaged in various acts of vandalism while they were inside the school, causing extensive damage. The boys also stole a number of items and handed some of the stolen goods out through a window to the girls who were waiting below.
After the boys exited the junior high school, two of them began arguing about who would drive the van. At that point, the other girl and boy left. When the argument had been resolved, the two boys and Appellant proceeded in the van to the high school. The boys broke a window, and the three cohorts entered the high school. The boys vandalized the high school and stole various items. Appellant took some athletic jacket letters and a case of pop.
Appellant was arrested for her part in the crime spree. A jury convicted her of one count of accessory before the fact to burglary under WYO.STAT. §§ 6-3-301(a) (1985) and 6-1-201 (1983) for the junior high school incident and of one count of burglary under § 6-3-301(a) for the high school incident. She perfected her appeal to this Court after the trial court passed sentence against her.
Appellant contends that Appellee State of Wyoming did not present sufficient evidence for the jury to convict her of either the accessory-before-the-fact charge or the burglary charge. She asserts that the State did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she harbored the requisite intent for her to be found guilty of either crime.
Our standard for reviewing sufficiency-of-the-evidence claims is well established. This Court assesses whether all the evidence which was presented is adequate enough to form the basis for a reasonable inference of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt to be drawn by a finder of fact when that evidence is viewed in the light most favorable to the State. Hodges v. State, 904 P.2d 334, 339 (Wyo.1995); Baier v. State, 891 P.2d 754, 761 (Wyo.1995). We will not substitute our judgment for that of the jury when we are applying this rule; our only duty is to determine whether a quorum of reasonable and rational individuals would, or even could, have come to the same result as the jury actually did. Id.
Appellant claims that the State did not present sufficient evidence at her trial for the Section 6-1-201(a) provides:
jury to convict her of accessory before the fact to burglary. She asserts that the evidence did not establish that she knowingly acted as a lookout for the boys while they burglarized the junior high school or that she knew what the boys were going to do while they were inside the building.
(a) A person who knowingly aids or abets in the commission of a felony, or who counsels, encourages, hires, commands or procures a felony to be committed, is an accessory before the fact.
Section 6-3-301(a) provides:
(a) A person is guilty of burglary if, without authority, he enters or remains in a building, occupied structure or vehicle, or separately secured or occupied portion thereof, with intent to commit larceny or a felony therein.
Under Wyoming law, one who aids and abets another in the commission of a felony is as culpable as the principal is. Jahnke v. State, 692 P.2d 911, 920-21 (Wyo.1984).
To convict a person of aiding and abetting in the commission of a crime, the prosecution must prove that "the crime in question was committed by someone and that the person charged as an aider and abettor associated himself with and participated in the accomplishment and success of the criminal venture."
Jones v. State, 902 P.2d 686, 693 (Wyo.1995) (quoting Virgilio v. State, 834 P.2d 1125, 1127 (Wyo.1992)). In order to be convicted, the aider and abettor must share the principal's criminal intent, but the prosecution is not required to prove that the aider and abettor possessed the identical intent to that possessed by the principal. Jahnke, 692 P.2d at 921. In Haight v. State, 654 P.2d 1232 (Wyo.1982), we upheld the defendant's conviction for aiding and abetting because the evidence which had been presented at the trial was sufficient for the jury to infer that the defendant knew what the principals were doing and that he had acted as a lookout for them. 654 P.2d at 1238.
The evidence presented at the trial in this case showed that Appellant was aware of the plan to break into the high school. One of the boys testified that he wanted to break into the high school so that he could steal money to use in buying drugs. He was the boy who was carrying the duffle bag. Appellant contributed to the plan by telling the others that she could recognize the money box which was kept at the concession stand. Appellant was also aware that one boy had stolen a van on the way to the junior high school. From this evidence, the jury certainly could have inferred that Appellant knew that the boys possessed an intent to commit larceny when they entered the junior high school.
One of the boys stated that he had told Appellant and the other girl to act as lookouts while the boys were in the junior high school. The evidence also revealed that Appellant remained outside the building and responded to the boys' request for her to take some of the stolen goods when they handed them out through the window. The jury was justified in inferring that Appellant had acted as a lookout for the boys while they were burglarizing the junior high school. Sufficient evidence, therefore, supported Appellant's conviction for accessory before the fact to the boys' burglary of the junior high school.
Appellant also asserts that the State did not present sufficient evidence for the jury to convict her of burglary of the high school because it did not establish that she had the requisite intent to commit larceny when she entered the high school. "In order for a defendant to be found guilty of burglary, the State must prove that a person 1) entered a building without authority, 2) with the intent to commit larceny or a felony." Dreiman v. State, 825 P.2d 758, 760 (Wyo.1992).
The evidence presented at the trial established that Appellant accompanied the boys to the high school in the van which she knew had been stolen. She was aware of the original plan to steal items from the high school, and she assisted in the formation of that plan by volunteering the information about the money box which was kept in the
concession stand. Appellant also knew that the boys had stolen items from inside the junior high school. The evidence was, therefore, sufficient for the jury to infer that she intended to commit larceny upon entering the high school.
Appellant contends that she was deprived at her trial of her right to receive effective assistance of counsel. Specifically, she asserts that her trial counsel's performance was deficient because (1) he failed to present a timely motion to suppress the statements which Appellant had made to the police, (2) he failed to request that the jury be instructed on the lesser-included offense of criminal entry, and (3) he failed to object to the improper comments which the prosecutor had made in his...
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