State v. Bustos, A13–0961.
| Decision Date | 01 April 2015 |
| Docket Number | No. A13–0961.,A13–0961. |
| Citation | 861 N.W.2d 655 |
| Parties | STATE of Minnesota, Respondent, v. David Muniz BUSTOS, Appellant. |
| Court | Minnesota Supreme Court |
Lori Swanson, Attorney General, Saint Paul, MN, and Michael K. Junge, McLeod County Attorney, James A. Schaeffer, Assistant County Attorney, Glencoe, MN, for respondent.
Cathryn Middlebrook, Chief Appellate Public Defender, Sharon E. Jacks, Assistant Public Defender, Saint Paul, MN, for appellant.
A jury found David Muniz Bustos guilty of first-degree murder while committing domestic abuse, Minn.Stat. § 609.185(a)(6) (2014), second-degree intentional murder, Minn.Stat. § 609.19, subd. 1(1) (2014), second-degree felony murder, Minn.Stat. § 609.19, subd. 2(1) (2014), and third-degree murder, Minn.Stat. § 609.195(a) (2014). In this direct appeal, Bustos seeks a new trial on the first-degree domestic-abuse murder charge, arguing that the district court committed reversible error when it instructed the jury on the law and when it limited defense counsel's closing argument. Bustos also argues that he is entitled to a new trial on the charge of second-degree intentional murder because the district court committed reversible error when it excluded relevant and material evidence.
We reverse Bustos's first-degree murder conviction and remand for a new trial on that charge because the district court committed multiple plain errors that, taken cumulatively, seriously affected the fairness, integrity and public reputation of the judicial proceedings. We also conclude that any alleged error based on the exclusion of Bustos's preliminary breath test results was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.
In 2011, Bustos and Dominga Limon began a romantic relationship that, by February 2012, had lasted for eight months. During part of that period, Bustos and Limon lived together in Silver Lake. After Limon moved to Glencoe to start a new job, the couple continued to date. On the night of the murder, February 21, 2012, Bustos went to Limon's apartment around 7:00 p.m. Prior to arriving, Bustos drank 18 cans of beer. The record is not clear on when Bustos consumed the beer, but Bustos testified on cross-examination that he had “drunk the beer in the morning, and then by the evening, I had already had some food and everything, so I wasn't ... drunk.” Limon left the apartment around 9:00 p.m. to meet her daughter, who was planning to stay at Limon's apartment. While Limon was away, Bustos drank shots of vodka.
After Limon and her daughter returned to the apartment, Limon prepared for work. Limon asked her daughter to hide the alcohol from Bustos because he was intoxicated. Limon's daughter overheard Limon and Bustos arguing. During the argument, Bustos accused Limon of preparing to see her new boyfriend rather than preparing for work. Limon told Bustos that he could either sleep until he was sober or leave right away.
Limon's daughter went outside to retrieve the rest of her belongings from her car and send a text message to her boyfriend. She was outside the apartment for approximately 10 minutes when she heard her mother yelling for her. As she went inside, she looked through the window and believed she saw Bustos striking her mother. Limon's daughter ran inside and forced Bustos to leave the apartment by hitting him with her keys and throwing a pan at him. She called 911 as Bustos left the apartment.
After leaving the apartment, Bustos walked up and down the street in front of the apartment, yelling that he was part of a gang and that he was not afraid of the police. When Limon's daughter returned to the apartment, Limon was lying on the floor, surrounded by blood. The police arrived shortly after the emergency call and observed Bustos running in the street near the apartment. Bustos first ran toward the police; then he stopped and ran in the opposite direction. The police reached Bustos and handcuffed him. One arresting officer testified that Bustos smelled “very heavily of alcohol.” The other arresting officer testified that Bustos's speech was very slurred and his balance was staggered. The officers took Bustos into custody.
One of the responding officers entered the apartment, where she saw Limon on the living-room floor surrounded by blood and vomit. Limon had seven stab wounds to her chest and left arm along with three stab wounds to her right hand. Limon told the paramedics that Bustos had stabbed her with a knife. An officer later recovered a bloody knife from underneath an entertainment center in the living room. After Limon arrived at the emergency room, she was airlifted to Hennepin County Medical Center, where she died from a lack of oxygen to her brain due to blood loss caused by the multiple stab wounds.
Bustos, who became increasingly uncooperative at the jail, was placed in a holding cell because of his conduct. Several officers observed that Bustos appeared intoxicated at the time of his arrest. Around 7:30 a.m. the following morning, the police chief met with Bustos to take his statement. Because the police chief believed Bustos was still impaired, the police chief had a preliminary breath test (PBT) administered. The PBT registered an alcohol concentration of .153. The police chief decided not to take Bustos's statement at that time. Instead, Bustos's statement was taken approximately 12 hours later, at around 7:00 p.m. Bustos stated that he did not remember anything except waking up, seeing Limon lying on the floor, and running away.
A grand jury indicted Bustos for first-degree murder while committing domestic abuse and second-degree intentional murder. A jury trial followed. At the beginning of the trial, Bustos moved to admit the results of the PBT. The district court denied the motion because Minn.Stat. § 169A.41, subd. 2 (2014), prohibited the test from being admitted as evidence and, alternatively, because the PBT lacked evidentiary foundation.
At trial, the State introduced evidence of seven incidents of domestic abuse by Bustos against four different people. Two of the alleged offenses were against Limon. On February 19, 2012, just two days before the murder, Limon placed an emergency call while riding in a car with Bustos. The recording of the call was introduced as evidence during the trial. Limon stated during the call that Bustos was threatening her and she was afraid Bustos would harm her. The second alleged incident of domestic abuse committed against Limon was introduced through Limon's daughter, who testified that on the night Limon was murdered, Limon yelled at Bustos, “Are you going to hit me again like you did previously, the other day?”
The State also alleged five incidents of alleged domestic abuse committed by Bustos against his daughters and estranged wife. The first incident occurred in 2002 when Bustos and his estranged wife argued and Bustos threw a phone at her face. Bustos's estranged wife also testified that in 2005 she and Bustos argued about a van, and during the argument, he pushed her. Bustos's daughter testified that in 2006 her father became very angry with her when she told him that she was pregnant; during the ride home, Bustos repeatedly hit a window with a box cutter in a manner that frightened her, and when they arrived home, Bustos pushed her into the house. When Bustos's other daughter called the police, Bustos raised his fist as if he was going to strike her. The final incident occurred at a family gathering in 2010. Bustos grabbed a banana and threw it at his estranged wife. She told him to leave her alone and threw it back at him. Bustos became angry and grabbed her by the neck. She testified that she was scared because everyone else was scared. Bustos's daughter testified that Bustos was holding a knife by his side during the incident.
Before closing arguments, the district court advised defense counsel that he could not argue that the State was required to prove any alleged incident of prior domestic abuse beyond a reasonable doubt. However, defense counsel was allowed to argue that a pattern requires more than one incident, and that the State was required to prove a pattern of domestic abuse beyond a reasonable doubt.
The district court gave the following instructions to the jury regarding first-degree murder while committing domestic abuse:
The jury returned a guilty verdict on each charged offense. The district court adjudicated Bustos guilty of first-degree domestic-abuse murder and sentenced him to life in prison with the possibility of release. The district court did not enter convictions on the other counts. Bustos now appeals.
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