Sanchez-Gutierrez v. Commonwealth
| Decision Date | 27 September 2022 |
| Docket Number | 1410-21-3 |
| Parties | ALBERTO TRIBI SANCHEZ-GUTIERREZ v. COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA |
| Court | Virginia Court of Appeals |
FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF ROCKINGHAM COUNTY Bruce D. Albertson Judge
David R. Martin; Law Office of David R. Martin, PLLC, on brief, for appellant. Appellant submitting on brief.
Jason S. Miyares, Attorney General; Matthew P. Dullaghan, Senior Assistant Attorney General, on brief), for appellee. Appellee submitting on brief.
Present: Judges Beales, Fulton and Ortiz
Alberto Tribi Sanchez-Gutierrez appeals from the decision of the Circuit Court of Rockingham County revoking his previously suspended sentence. Sanchez-Gutierrez contends that the trial court abused its discretion by revoking his suspended sentence and ordering him to serve the remaining eight years and six months of the previously suspended sentence. After examining the briefs and record in this case, we find no error and affirm the decision of the trial court.
"On appeal of the revocation of a suspended sentence, the appellate court reviews the evidence in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, the party who prevailed below." Jenkins v. Commonwealth, 71 Va.App 334, 339 n.2 (2019) (quoting Jacobs v. Commonwealth 61 Va.App. 529, 535 (2013)).
On September 22, 2020, the trial court convicted Sanchez-Gutierrez of arson of an occupied dwelling, in violation of Code § 18.2-77, and sentenced him to ten years' incarceration, with eight years and six months suspended, resulting in eighteen months to serve. The trial court also imposed a period of supervised probation for two years. The conditions of Sanchez-Gutierrez's suspended sentence included a requirement that he obey all federal, state, and local laws.
Sanchez-Gutierrez was released from incarceration on January 26, 2021, at which point he began probation. Less than two weeks later, on February 7, 2021, Sanchez-Gutierrez was arrested and charged in Staunton for strangulation, as well as assault and battery. Sanchez-Gutierrez's probation officer subsequently submitted a major violation report and addendum to the trial court, summarizing the new charges and confirming that the Circuit Court of the City of Staunton convicted Sanchez-Gutierrez of those charges on November 1, 2021.
At the revocation hearing, the trial court found that Sanchez-Gutierrez violated the terms and conditions of his probation based on his new convictions. Sanchez-Gutierrez submitted into evidence correspondence from his mother indicating that he was welcome to live with her at her residence, and that she was willing to "transport him to all [of] his appointments." Sanchez-Gutierrez also testified on his own behalf that he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia with psychosis, bipolar disorder, and anxiety disorder. Sanchez-Gutierrez also testified that he had been taking prescribed medication, including Zyprexa and Prozac, to address those conditions and had a plan in place to continue the regimen as prescribed. According to Sanchez-Gutierrez, the medications provided "sufficient help" and put him "in the right state of mind." Sanchez-Gutierrez testified that he planned to live with his mother and his two daughters upon his release, work part-time, and pursue "a finance career online at a choice-school that will accept me."
The trial court received sentencing guidelines which recommended a range of punishment between eight months and two years. The Commonwealth emphasized the violent nature of Sanchez-Gutierrez's crimes committed so soon after his release from incarceration for arson and argued that the sentence "should be somewhere at least in the mid-range [of the sentencing guidelines], as opposed to the low-end of the guidelines." Sanchez-Gutierrez stipulated that he violated the terms of his probation but emphasized the mitigating evidence supporting "a sentence within the guidelines." After considering the evidence and the parties' arguments, the trial court revoked and imposed the entirety of Sanchez-Gutierrez's previously suspended sentence of eight years and six months. This appeal followed.
Sanchez-Gutierrez argues on appeal that the trial court abused its discretion when it sentenced him to eight years and six months' incarceration following his probation violation. After suspending a sentence, a trial court "may revoke the suspension of sentence for any cause the court deems sufficient that occurred at any time within the probation period, or within the period of suspension fixed by the court." Code § 19.2-306(A). "In revocation appeals, the trial court's 'findings of fact and judgment will not be reversed unless there is a clear showing of abuse of discretion.'" Jacobs, 61 Va.App. at 535 (quoting Davis v. Commonwealth, 12 Va.App. 81, 86 (1991)).
Sanchez-Gutierrez maintains that the trial court abused its discretion because it "ignored significant mitigating factors" in reaching its decision. Specifically, Sanchez-Gutierrez argues that the trial court disregarded his testimony regarding his mental health history and his plans for addressing his mental health and housing. Sanchez-Gutierrez also argues that the trial court failed to consider the sentencing guidelines as well as the Commonwealth's own argument for a sentence in the mid-range of the guidelines.
Determining what weight to assign to any mitigating factors Sanchez-Gutierrez presented was within the trial court's purview. See Keselica v....
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