People v. Oliver

• Decision Date: 29 October 2020
• Docket Number: Court of Appeals No. 17CA1127
• Citation: 480 P.3d 737
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of Colorado, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Jesse L. OLIVER, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: Colorado Court of Appeals

480 P.3d 737

The PEOPLE of the State of Colorado, Plaintiff-Appellee,

v.Jesse L. OLIVER, Defendant-Appellant.

Court of Appeals No. 17CA1127

Colorado Court of Appeals, Division VII.

Announced October 29, 2020

Rehearing Denied December 24, 2020

Philip J. Weiser, Attorney General, Katharine Gillespie, Assistant Attorney General, Denver, Colorado, for Plaintiff-Appellee

Megan A. Ring, Colorado State Public Defender, Stephen Arvin, Deputy State Public Defender, Denver, Colorado, for Defendant-Appellant

JUDGMENT REVERSED AND CASE REMANDED WITH DIRECTIONS

Opinion by JUDGE TOW

¶ 1 Defendant, Jesse L. Oliver, appeals his judgment of conviction entered on jury verdicts finding him guilty of first degree murder and first degree assault. We conclude that the investigatory stop of Oliver became an arrest when officers failed to remove his handcuffs after officer safety concerns were dispelled and the officers ascertained Oliver's identity. Because the officers did not have probable cause at that time, the arrest was unconstitutional. Further, because we cannot conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that there is no reasonable possibility that evidence obtained as a result of this unlawful arrest contributed to the verdicts, we reverse the judgment and remand the case for a new trial. We also direct the trial court to determine whether one witness's in-court identification was sufficiently supported by the witness's independent recollection or, instead, whether it was tainted by the show-up proceeding that itself was a fruit of the unlawful arrest.

I. Background

¶ 2 According to the evidence presented at trial, when A.Q. — one of the victims in this case — and four others arrived at an apartment complex, they encountered three men they did not recognize. One of the men, later identified by members of A.Q.’s group as Oliver, asked "what's bracking," a question that came across as aggressive.¹

¶ 3 Soon after, B.B., a resident at the complex, went out to his car in the parking lot. As he left his car and began walking back towards his apartment, the man witnesses identified as Oliver walked up to B.B. and fired approximately six bullets at him. Two of the bullets struck B.B., killing him, while another bullet hit A.Q. as she stood on the apartment stairs, paralyzing her. A nearby police officer saw Oliver running from the area and apprehended him.

¶ 4 A jury convicted Oliver of first degree murder and first degree assault. He was sentenced to life plus a consecutive thirty-two years in the custody of the Department of Corrections.

II. Sufficiency of the Evidence

¶ 5 Oliver first contends that there was insufficient evidence of intent and deliberation to support his conviction for first degree murder. He also asserts that there was insufficient evidence that he had the intent to commit first degree assault. We disagree.

A. Standard of Review

¶ 6 When evaluating a claim of insufficient evidence, we review the record de novo to determine whether the relevant evidence, both direct and circumstantial, when viewed as a whole and in the light most favorable to the prosecution, is "sufficient both in quantity and quality" to support the conviction beyond a reasonable doubt. Clark v. People , 232 P.3d 1287, 1291 (Colo. 2010). We give the prosecution the benefit of every reasonable inference that may be drawn from the evidence. People v. Perez , 2016 CO 12, ¶ 32, 367 P.3d 695. A conviction will not be set aside merely "because a different conclusion might be drawn from the evidence." People v. Tumbarello , 623 P.2d 46, 49 (Colo. 1981).

B. Additional Facts

¶ 7 The jury heard testimony that Oliver and two other men appeared angry and aggressive several minutes before the shooting. A witness testified that, as she watched B.B. walking away from his car and back to his apartment, she saw Oliver walk "up to [B.B.]’s car." "He walked up to the driver's side in the back," while B.B. stood alone by "the top of his car on the driver's side." When B.B. turned around towards Oliver, Oliver "started shooting him." Standing six feet away, he fired approximately six shots at B.B. and then ran away. Other than firing the gun, Oliver did not move as he shot at B.B. Prior to the shooting, Oliver and B.B. did not speak to one another or interact in any way.

C. First Degree Murder

¶ 8 Section 18-3-102(1)(a), C.R.S. 2019, provides, "[a] person commits the crime of murder in the first degree if ... [a]fter deliberation and with the intent to cause the death of a person other than himself, he causes the death of that person or of another person." "A person acts ‘intentionally’ or ‘with intent’ when his conscious objective is to cause the specific result proscribed by the statute defining the offense." § 18-1-501(5), C.R.S. 2019.

¶ 9 As to intent, a juror could reasonably infer from the evidence that Oliver's conscious objective was to cause B.B.’s death when he fired multiple shots at him at close range. See People v. Madson , 638 P.2d 18, 26 (Colo. 1981) ("The circumstances surrounding the victim's death permit the reasonable inference that the defendant fired a pistol at close range into her skull in a manner clearly intended to cause death."). Therefore, the evidence was sufficient to support the element of intent.

¶ 10 Further, "[t]he term ‘after deliberation’ means not only intentionally but also that the decision to commit the act has been made after the exercise of reflection and judgment concerning the act. An act committed after deliberation is never one which has been committed in a hasty or impulsive manner." § 18-3-101(3), C.R.S. 2019. Deliberation requires that the decision to kill be made after "the exercise of reflection and judgment," but "the length of time required for deliberation need not be long." People v. Bartowsheski , 661 P.2d 235, 242 (Colo. 1983).

¶ 11 Here, the witnesses testified that Oliver had been acting angrily and aggressively, had remained in or near the parking lot for as much as twenty minutes, approached B.B. as B.B. walked from his car toward the apartment building, and, once B.B. turned to face him, shot him multiple times. Providing the prosecution with the benefit of every reasonable inference that might be drawn from this evidence, a fact finder could conclude that Oliver acted after reflection and judgment, rather than with haste and impulsiveness. Thus, the evidence was sufficient to show he acted after deliberation.

¶ 12 Oliver argues that the People failed to establish either intent or deliberation because there was no evidence that he possessed animosity towards B.B. or otherwise had a motive to kill him. But Oliver's argument is unavailing. While often relevant, proof of motive is not necessary to prove the commission of a crime. Wooley v. People , 148 Colo. 392, 400-01, 367 P.2d 903, 907 (1961). The People did not need to prove why Oliver intentionally and deliberately killed B.B., only that he did so. Even without evidence of Oliver's motive, for the reasons we discussed above, a reasonable juror could look to the circumstances surrounding B.B.’s death and infer that Oliver acted with intent and after deliberation.

¶ 13 The evidence was therefore sufficient to support a finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

D. First Degree Assault

¶ 14 Oliver also argues that the evidence was insufficient to establish that he acted with intent when he injured A.Q. because, in his view, there is no evidence that he consciously sought to cause her serious bodily injury. Again, we disagree.

¶ 15 Under section 18-3-202(1)(a), C.R.S. 2019, a person commits first degree assault if "[w]ith intent to cause serious bodily injury to another person, he causes serious bodily injury to any person by means of a deadly weapon." A jury may find that a defendant intended to cause injury to one person but actually caused injury to another. People v. Whittiker , 181 P.3d 264, 278 (Colo. App. 2006) ; cf. People v. Jackson , 2020 CO 75, ¶ 21, 472 P.3d 553 (holding that, because the language of the first degree murder statute references killing the intended victim or another person, the statute "deems the identity of the person harmed immaterial to the issue of intent"). Here, as discussed above, there was sufficient evidence that Oliver intended to cause B.B. serious bodily injury and, in attempting to do so, caused A.Q. serious bodily injury. Thus, the evidence presented was sufficient to support Oliver's conviction of first degree assault.

III. Investigatory Stop and Arrest

¶ 16 Oliver next contends that Officer Joseph Guagliardo was not justified in stopping him and, even if any initial stop was justified, the stop eventually became an arrest unsupported by probable cause. Therefore, he argues, evidence obtained as a result of the stop should have been suppressed. We conclude that the initial stop was proper, but we agree that the stop transformed into an arrest unsupported by probable cause.

A. Additional Facts

¶ 17 Officer Guagliardo was parked in his patrol car near the apartment complex when he heard gunshots. Moments after hearing the shots, he observed a man, later identified as Oliver, running from the complex parking lot. He pursued Oliver in his patrol vehicle. When he attempted to contact Oliver, Oliver proceeded to run faster. During this pursuit, Officer Guagliardo heard screams coming from the complex.

¶ 18 Eventually, Oliver stopped in a yard. Officer Guagliardo stepped out of his vehicle, held Oliver at gunpoint, instructed him to lie on his stomach, and waited until at least one cover officer arrived. Once cover arrived, Officer Guagliardo handcuffed Oliver, performed a pat-down search, and, finding no weapons, placed him in the back of his patrol car. This process took about two minutes. At this point, Officer Guagliardo asked Oliver for his name and date of birth, which Oliver provided.

¶ 19 Over thirty minutes later, gunshot residue (GSR) swabs of Oliver's hands were collected to be tested later at a crime laboratory. And approximately two...