People v. Garcia
| Decision Date | 24 November 2000 |
| Docket Number | No. 99CA0785.,99CA0785. |
| Parties | The PEOPLE of the State of Colorado, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. William J. GARCIA, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | Colorado Court of Appeals |
Ken Salazar, Attorney General, Kathleen M. Byrne, Assistant Attorney General, Denver, CO, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
Elizabeth Booth, Denver, CO, for Defendant-Appellant.
Opinion by Judge TAUBMAN.
Defendant, William J. Garcia, appeals the judgment of conviction entered upon a jury verdict finding him guilty of aggravated robbery. We affirm.
On March 11, 1997, the victim stopped his car to pick up two strangers, a man and a woman, who claimed they needed a ride to their hotel. The victim drove the couple to a deserted industrial park where the man told him to put his wallet on the seat and get out of the car or he would be shot. The victim complied, and the couple stole the victim's car.
During a photo line-up, the victim identified defendant and his companion. The victim also identified defendant during the trial. Defendant represented himself, with assistance from an advisory counsel, and was found guilty of one count of aggravated robbery.
I. Speedy Trial
A. Uniform Mandatory Disposition of Detainers Act
Defendant first contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion to dismiss based upon a violation of his rights under the Uniform Mandatory Disposition of Detainers Act (UMDDA). We disagree.
The UMDDA controls the disposition of detainers within the state of Colorado and guarantees a defendant in a criminal case the right to a speedy trial. Sections 16-14-101 to XX-XX-XXX, C.R.S.2000; People v. Higinbotham, 712 P.2d 993 (Colo.1986). Section 16-14-104(1), C.R.S.2000, provides in pertinent part: "Within ninety days after the receipt of the request by the court and the prosecuting official ... the indictment, information, or criminal complaint shall be brought to trial...."
Failure to hold trial within the ninety-day period set forth in § 16-14-104 requires dismissal of the charges pending against defendant, regardless of prejudice. People v. Naulls, 937 P.2d 778 (Colo.App.1996).
A defendant may waive his or her right to a speedy trial under the UMDDA expressly or by affirmative conduct, such as by participating in setting the trial date outside of the speedy trial provisions. People v. Martinez, 712 P.2d 1070 (Colo.App.1985).
Also, because the speedy trial right conferred by the UMDDA is statutory and not constitutional, a defendant may voluntarily waive his or her rights under the UMDDA without showing that the waiver was knowing or intelligent. People v. Martin, 707 P.2d 1005 (Colo.App.1985).
Any express consent to the delay or other affirmative conduct by the defendant is treated as a waiver of the right to speedy trial. People ex rel. Gallagher v. District Court, 933 P.2d 583 (Colo.1997).
Where motions are made for a defendant's benefit, any reasonable time necessitated by such motions, including continuances, extends the speedy trial time limit. People v. Anderson, 649 P.2d 720 (Colo.App. 1982). Here, defendant formally requested a speedy trial under the UMDDA on January 12, 1998. The trial court set a preliminary trial date for May 1, 1998, and defendant objected on the ground that the date was outside the speedy trial provisions of the UMDDA. The court disagreed, stating that it had 180 days to try the case.
Because the defense attorney's office was representing both defendant and an adverse witness, the court granted that attorney's motion to withdraw and the hearing was continued until January 26, 1998, during which time a new defense attorney was to be appointed by the court.
At the hearing on January 26, 1998, the trial court applied the speedy trial provisions of 180 days contained in § 18-1-405, C.R.S. 2000, and formally set the trial for May 1, 1998. Defendant objected, and the trial court had the following conversation with defendant:
On March 18, 1998, defendant filed a motion requesting a court-appointed expert on the issues of fingerprint and eyewitness identification. This motion was heard on April 20, 1998, and the court informed defendant that, because of the proximity of the trial date, in order to grant the request, it would also have to continue the trial. The court further informed defendant that requesting a continuance would constitute a waiver of his rights to a speedy trial. Defendant requested a continuance, waived his right to a speedy trial, and the trial date was reset for September 29, 1998. Later, the trial date was reset for July 20, 1998.
Also at this hearing, defendant filed a motion to dismiss based on the failure of the trial court to grant him a speedy trial within the ninety-day period guaranteed by the UMDDA. Arguments on this motion were deferred until May 22, 1998.
On May 22, the prosecution argued that Arizona had not released defendant from its custody until April 24, 1998. Consequently, the prosecution asserted that, while defendant had been in the physical custody of Colorado for the past six months, he had been in the legal custody of Arizona.
On May 29, the trial court denied defendant's motion to dismiss, finding that he was not released from Arizona's custody until April 24, 1998. Therefore, the court concluded that pursuant to defendant's request for a speedy trial under the UMDDA, it had ninety days from April 24 to bring defendant to trial.
On July 20, the rescheduled trial date, defendant was in trial in Jefferson County and did not appear for trial in Denver County. Defendant's advisory counsel was present in Denver and objected to the resetting of the trial for September 29, 1998. However, on September 29, 1998, defendant again requested a continuance because he had not received all of the transcripts of the prosecution witnesses' prior testimony. Defendant expressly waived his speedy trial rights, and the trial was reset for November 10, 1998.
Here, even if we assume defendant is correct that the UMDDA speedy trial clock began to run on January 12, 1998, he repeatedly and voluntarily waived his right to a speedy trial. He did so by affirmative conduct, express waivers, and agreements to trial dates outside the speedy trial provisions. People v. Martinez, supra.
Specifically, defendant tolled the speedy trial time limit on March 18, 1998, when he filed a motion for a court-appointed expert. Although the motion was not granted until April 20, 1998, the delay attendant to its consideration was attributable to the defendant, and the speedy trial period was tolled once the motion was filed. See Williamsen v. People, 735 P.2d 176 (Colo.1987)
(). Moreover, on April 20, 1998, while the time limit was tolled, defendant expressly waived his right to a speedy trial in order to obtain a court-appointed expert. This waiver precluded him from challenging any violation of the UMDDA speedy trial provisions. See People ex rel. Gallagher v. District Court, supra.
Therefore, even if we assume defendant's initial speedy trial contention was meritorious, his actions on April 20 and subsequent dates constituted a waiver of his UMDDA claim. Accordingly, we conclude that the trial court did not err in rejecting defendant's speedy trial contention.
B. Interstate Agreement on Detainer
Defendant also contends that the trial court violated his rights under the Interstate Agreement on Detainer (IAD) when the trial court held him in Colorado on a new charge, escape, and refused to send him back to Arizona after the charges upon which the IAD was based had been adjudicated. We disagree.
The IAD governs the disposition of interstate detainers filed by a state against a person imprisoned in another state. Section 24-60-501, C.R.S.2000. Under the IAD, the sending state, which has legal custody of a defendant, may send him or her to the receiving state, which will obtain temporary custody to try the defendant on pending charges in that state. Section 24-60-501 Article V(d), C.R.S.2000, states, in pertinent part:
The temporary custody referred to in this agreement shall be only for the purpose of permitting prosecution on the charge or charges contained in one or more untried indictments, informations, or complaints which form the basis of the detainer or detainers or for prosecution on any other charge or charges arising out of the same transaction. (emphasis added)
Thus, the IAD permits a receiving state to file additional charges against a defendant if those additional charges are based upon the same transaction as the IAD charge. However, the IAD does not permit Colorado authorities to hold and prosecute a defendant who is charged with new and unrelated crimes in Colorado while such defendant is being held in Colorado pursuant to the IAD. Selph v. Buckallew, 805 P.2d 1106 (Colo.1991).
Here, defendant escaped from jail in Colorado on February 19, 1997, and went on a crime spree in Colorado and Arizona. He committed the aggravated robbery that is the subject of this case on March 11, 1997; and on March 17, 1997, he was arrested in Arizona and charged with another count of aggravated robbery. After defendant pled guilty to the Arizona charge, the Denver District Attorney requested Arizona authorities to return him to Colorado pursuant to the IAD so he could be prosecuted on the escape charge.
After defendant was sent to Colorado, the Denver District Attorney filed the...
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