State Of Iowa v. Serrato

• Court: Iowa Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: BAKER
• Citation: State v. Serrato, 787 N.W.2d 462 (Iowa 2010)
• Decision Date: 25 August 2010
• Docket Number: No. 08-0859.,08-0859.
• Parties: STATE of Iowa, Appellee,v.Victor SERRATO, Appellant.

787 N.W.2d 462

STATE of Iowa, Appellee,v.Victor SERRATO, Appellant.

No. 08-0859.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

July 9, 2010.

Rehearing Denied Aug. 25, 2010.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Mark C. Smith, State Appellate Defender, and Theresa R. Wilson, Assistant State Appellate Defender, for appellant.

Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Sheryl A. Soich and Laura M. Roan, Assistant Attorneys General, Gary R. Allison, County Attorney, and Alan R. Ostergren, Assistant County Attorney, for appellee.

BAKER, Justice.

The State seeks further review of the court of appeals opinion reversing the defendant, Victor Serrato's, convictions for first-degree murder and nonconsensual termination of a human pregnancy. The State claims the court of appeals erred in finding there was insufficient evidence establishing that any of the conduct constituting the defendant's alleged offenses had occurred in Iowa, and thus the State had failed to establish territorial jurisdiction. Serrato resists the State's claim and further argues that the State failed to prove he was even the individual who killed the victim, Mimi Carmona, and ended her pregnancy. After reviewing all the evidence, we find that, taken as a whole, substantial evidence exists to support the jury's verdict and to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Iowa had territorial jurisdiction to prosecute Serrato for first-degree murder and nonconsensual termination of a human pregnancy. Serrato's conviction is affirmed.

I. Background Facts and Proceedings.

On November 9, 2006, Victor Serrato was initially charged by trial information with the first-degree murder of Mimi Carmona in violation of Iowa Code sections 707.1, 707.2(1), and 707.2(2) (2005); kidnapping in the first degree in violation of Iowa Code sections 710.1 and 710.2; and nonconsensual termination of a human pregnancy in violation of Iowa Code section 707.8(1).¹ All of these charges stem from a series of events that took place between Serrato, Carmona, and Serrato's pregnant girlfriend on the evening of October 21 and the early morning hours of October 22. Many of these events took place in Muscatine, Iowa, a town bordering the Mississippi River. Carmona's body, however, was found in a rural area in Illinois, directly across the river from Muscatine.

Serrato filed a motion to dismiss the remaining charges claiming the State could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he murdered Carmona or that any of his alleged crimes occurred, in whole or in part, within the State of Iowa. The motion was denied.

A jury trial was held, and after the State rested its case, Serrato moved for a verdict of acquittal, arguing that the State provided insufficient evidence that Serrato caused the death of Carmona and, alternatively, that any part of the offenses charged took place in Iowa. The State resisted arguing there was sufficient evidence tying Serrato to the murder and that there was sufficient evidence from which the jury could infer that his intent to kill with premeditation and malice aforethought were formed in Iowa. The district court denied Serrato's motion.

The jury found Serrato guilty of all counts. Serrato filed a motion in arrest of judgment and a motion for a new trial, claiming the evidence was insufficient to prove the crimes took place in Iowa and insufficient to convict him of the crimes. The court denied his motions. He appealed.

The appeal was routed to the court of appeals. The court of appeals concluded that the element of intent was sufficient to invoke the state's territorial jurisdiction; however, the court found the State failed to present sufficient evidence that Serrato formed the intent to kill and malice aforethought necessary to invoke Iowa's territorial jurisdiction while he was in Iowa. The court reversed the jury's verdict and remanded for dismissal. The State then filed an application for further review with this court, which we granted.

II. Discussion and Analysis.

A. Scope of Review. The principles governing our review of a district court's denial of a criminal defendant's motion for judgment of acquittal are well-established. State v. Henderson, 696 N.W.2d 5, 7 (Iowa 2005). A motion for judgment of acquittal is a means of challenging the sufficiency of the evidence, and we review such claims for correction of errors at law. Id. A guilty verdict must be supported by substantial evidence. Id.

“ ‘Substantial evidence’ is that upon which a rational trier of fact could find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.” In conducting our review, we consider all the evidence, that which detracts from the verdict, as well as that supporting the verdict.

State v. Hagedorn, 679 N.W.2d 666, 668-69 (Iowa 2004) (quoting State v. Pace, 602 N.W.2d 764, 768 (Iowa 1999)). “However, in making such determinations, we also view the ‘evidence in the light most favorable to the State, including legitimate inferences and presumptions that may fairly and reasonably be deduced from the record evidence.’ ” State v. Quinn, 691 N.W.2d 403, 407 (Iowa 2005) (quoting State v. Biddle, 652 N.W.2d 191, 197 (Iowa 2002)).

B. Sufficiency of the Evidence to Prove Serrato Was the Perpetrator. In his appeal, Serrato claimed that the State failed to present sufficient evidence that he was the perpetrator of the charged offenses, and his convictions should be vacated. After reviewing all of the evidence in the record, we conclude that the jury's verdict is supported by substantial evidence.

The jury found Serrato guilty of first-degree murder and nonconsensual termination of a human pregnancy. The jury was presented with the following evidence. On October 21, sometime between 11:00 and 11:30 p.m., friends Esmerelda Perales and Angelica Chavez went to the Escorpion Bar in Muscatine, Iowa. At the bar, the women encountered Chavez's former friend and roommate Carmona. Both Carmona and Chavez were pregnant at the time. Carmona approached the women and tried to give Chavez a hug, but Chavez put up her hand blocking Carmona's attempt. Carmona asked Chavez if she was mad at her, to which Chavez replied, “I have nothing to say to you.” A few minutes later, Carmona slapped Chavez, and a fight ensued. The fight was quickly broken up by the bartender and the owner of the establishment. Carmona was escorted outside by the bartender but ran back inside a few minutes later to continue the fight. Chavez and Perales left the bar soon afterwards. Carmona remained at the Escorpion Bar.

The two women were fighting over the paternity of their unborn babies. During the argument, Perales overheard Carmona say to Chavez, “We have the same baby” and “[o]ur babies have the same blood running through their veins.” To these comments Chavez replied, “Whose blood? Chutarro's or Juan's?” Chutarro is the nickname of Serrato, Chavez's boyfriend at the time. Juan was the defendant's brother.

On the drive home, Chavez and Perales decided to call Serrato to tell him about the fight with Carmona. After several failed attempts to contact Serrato on his cell phone, the women decided they were going to drive to West Liberty, Iowa, where Serrato was attending a dance. However, Serrato called Perales's cell phone just as the women reached the outskirts of Muscatine. Phone records place this call at 12:47 a.m. on October 22. Perales relayed the details of the physical altercation to Serrato. Serrato told the women to meet him at Chavez's house in Muscatine. Perales and Chavez arrived at the house around 1:00 a.m.

Serrato arrived at Chavez's house sometime between 1:00 and 1:30 a.m. Serrato was upset when he arrived at the residence. Neither Chavez nor Perales would tell him more about the altercation at the Escorpion Bar. Perales estimated that he was at the residence for about ten minutes; he then left without telling either woman where he was going.

At around 1:30 or 1:45 a.m., Marciela Garcia, a friend of Carmona, and four passengers in her car, saw Carmona with Serrato in the parking lot of the Escorpion Bar. Serrato and Carmona were standing beside a little black truck. Serrato was on the driver's side of the truck and Carmona on the passenger side. Garcia got out of her car and approached Carmona. When Carmona turned around, Garcia could see she had been crying. Garcia asked Carmona why she was upset. Carmona replied, “Because this bastard is denying my baby” and pointed to Serrato. Serrato, who had been on the driver's side of the truck, came around the vehicle and approached Carmona at this point. He mumbled something in Spanish to the effect of, “Are you sure this is my baby?” whereupon Carmona smashed her cell phone into his face and kicked him in the shin. The couple physically struggled, Carmona attempting to hit Serrato and he attempting to grab Carmona's hands and push her against the truck. At this point, a passenger in Garcia's car, a man named Dago, got out of her car and grabbed Serrato, throwing him to the ground. Dago told Serrato, “You're never to hit a woman when-especially when she's pregnant.”

Fearing that the police would be called, Garcia told Dago to get back into her car. Before leaving, Garcia told Carmona not to move, that she would be right back. Garcia drove to a convenience store approximately a block away where Dago was supposed to meet a friend to catch a ride to Iowa City. Garcia left Dago there and returned to the parking lot of the Escorpion Bar, but Carmona, Serrato, and the little black truck were gone.

According to Perales, Serrato returned to Chavez's home approximately twenty-five minutes after leaving or sometime around 2:00 or 2:15 a.m. Chavez also testified Serrato was gone for approximately thirty minutes. She stated that when he returned he had a scratch on his face and several scratches on his arms. Perales then left Chavez's residence and returned home. Cell phone records show that Serrato received a call from Chavez at 2:04 a.m., and Chavez received a call from Serrato at 2:06 a.m. According to Chavez, Serrato spent the rest...