State v. Cecala
| Decision Date | 16 December 2021 |
| Docket Number | 20190689-CA |
| Citation | 502 P.3d 790 |
| Parties | STATE of Utah, Appellee, v. Gino James CECALA, Appellant. |
| Court | Utah Court of Appeals |
Gregory W. Stevens, Salt Lake City, Attorney for Appellant
Sean D. Reyes and Jeffrey D. Mann, Salt Lake City, Attorneys for Appellee
Opinion
¶1 After his girlfriend left him and her new boyfriend beat him up, Gino James Cecala wanted revenge. He fired a handgun multiple times through the boyfriend's bedroom window, but ended up striking and killing his ex-girlfriend instead. A jury convicted Cecala of first-degree murder and other crimes. Cecala now appeals, arguing that the district court erred when it admitted testimony from the lead detective, which, Cecala contends, bolstered the testimony of the State's principal witness, Todd Hull.1 He also asks us to reverse his convictions on the ground that the court erred when it denied his motion for a directed verdict. Because the district court did not err in either respect, we affirm Cecala's convictions.
¶2 Cecala also seeks remand under rule 23B of the Utah Rules of Appellate Procedure to supplement the record with evidence related to defense counsel's alleged conflict of interest and failure to investigate or call exculpatory witnesses. Because Cecala has failed to allege nonspeculative facts that, if true, would support his ineffective assistance of counsel claim, we deny the motion.
¶3 Cecala's ex-girlfriend left him for another man. Later, the new boyfriend and two others beat Cecala, striking him in the face with a hammer. Cecala wanted to "even the score." Multiple witnesses saw Cecala with a handgun, and a mutual friend, Lexi,3 heard Cecala say "he was going to kill" the boyfriend. Lexi proceeded to warn the boyfriend that Cecala had a gun and "was going to hurt him."
¶4 Three days after making the threat, just a week after being pummeled with a hammer, Cecala was ready to "exact revenge." In the early morning of July 16, 2017, Cecala met with his friend Todd Hull at a motel. According to Hull, he had agreed to "have [Cecala's] back" by "even[ing] up the numbers" in what he expected to be a fight between Cecala and the boyfriend. The two men left around 4:00 a.m. in a white Chevy Cruze and drove to the boyfriend's house in Magna.
¶5 About a mile away from the boyfriend's house, Cecala pulled over to the side of the road where the two men smoked bath salts then disguised themselves with black shirts, bandanas, beanies, and gloves that Cecala had packed in a backpack. Hull saw that Cecala had packed a handgun as well. When the men finished changing clothes, they switched seats.
¶6 With Hull now driving, they slowly circled the block to see if the boyfriend's car was parked outside his house, then they stopped nearby to "get [their] bearings" before circling back. Cell phone records showed that Cecala received two calls, the first at 4:34 a.m. and the second at 4:48 a.m.; both calls were routed through the cell tower in Magna, establishing that he was "in the Magna area" at that time.
¶7 Around 5:00 a.m., Hull stopped the car in the middle of the street, and Cecala got out. Hull watched as Cecala walked briskly to a basement window that was covered inside by a dark curtain, crouched down on one knee, and fired his gun. Hull would later testify that he heard ten shots. A neighbor testified that he counted "about six to eight." Both witnesses testified that there was a pause followed by a few more shots. Police later collected fifteen 9mm bullet casings from outside the window, all fired from the same gun. At trial, the State presented trajectory evidence, photographs, and testimony showing that the shots were fired from outside the house, through the closed window and curtain, and into the room.
¶8 None of the bullets hit the boyfriend. Unbeknownst to Cecala, the victim had been sitting across from the window in the boyfriend's bedroom. Thirteen of Cecala's bullets lodged into the bed; two bullets struck the victim—one in the leg and one in the back of her head, killing her.
¶9 Cecala ran back to the car, commanding Hull to "[G]o, go, go!" The neighbor heard a car door slam, and saw a small white car drive away. A nearby security camera also recorded footage of a white car.
¶10 About a mile down the road, the two men began shedding their clothes and throwing them out the window. After another couple miles, Hull pulled into an unfinished subdivision, stopping at a dead-end street by a vacant lot. Cecala got out of the car and buried the gun behind a pile of dirt. Back on the road, Cecala told Hull that he had "methodically placed every shot."
¶11 A few hours after the shooting, Lexi learned that the victim had been killed. She called Cecala and told him, "You killed [the victim], I hate you." Cecala said nothing and hung up.
¶12 The next day, Hull went with a woman and another man to recover the gun from where Cecala had buried it. Hull testified that they could not find it.
¶13 That same evening, police learned that Hull, who was booked on an unrelated charge, may have been involved in the shooting and interrogated him. At first, Hull denied knowing anything about the shooting, but after police claimed that a witness placed him at the scene of the crime, Hull confessed that he had driven Cecala to the boyfriend's house and had witnessed the shooting. Hull maintained that he did not know what happened to the gun, but he admitted the next day that he knew where it was. He led two homicide detectives to the dirt pile where Cecala had buried the gun, but it was not there.
¶14 Police spoke to a nearby resident who reported seeing two women behind some dirt piles carrying a duffel bag and a small shovel the day before. The women walked south to meet up with a man, and then the three of them got into a car and drove away. Shortly thereafter, police stopped the woman who had accompanied Hull to look for the gun the day after the shooting. They found a shovel in the trunk of her car, which the nearby resident identified as "very similar" in size and color to the one he had seen being carried by the women coming from the piles of dirt. A search of the woman's home uncovered Cecala's identification card, wallet, and a couple of Cecala's cell phones. The gun was never found.
¶15 Not long after the shooting, Cecala disappeared. Months later, police found him in Texas. Cecala had changed his appearance and was now sporting "a full beard," and "his hair had grown."
¶16 Cecala was transported to Utah and charged with murder, obstruction of justice, possession of a firearm by a restricted person, one count of felony discharge of a firearm with serious bodily injury (for the bullet that struck the victim's leg), and thirteen counts of felony discharge of a firearm (for the bullets that missed).
¶17 At trial, the State relied heavily on Hull's testimony to establish what happened before, during, and after the shooting. The State also called the lead detective to testify about Hull's police interview. During the State's redirect of the detective, the following exchange occurred:
The prosecutor quickly wrapped up the examination.
¶18 After the prosecution rested, Cecala moved for a directed verdict on the grounds that the State had presented insufficient evidence to prove that he had the mental state required to commit certain crimes. With respect to the murder charge, defense counsel argued that there was insufficient evidence that Cecala "intentionally or knowingly caused the death" of the victim or that "he intended to cause bodily injury to another, and therefore caused her death." With respect to the lesser included offense of manslaughter, defense counsel argued that there was insufficient evidence to prove that Cecala was "reckless in causing" the victim's death because there was no "evidence that he knew or should have known that she was in there." Finally, regarding the obstruction of justice charge, defense counsel argued that there was "no evidence that [Cecala] knew there was an active warrant for him" when he fled the jurisdiction, even assuming that such conduct amounted to obstruction of justice.
Cecala never argued that Hull's testimony was inherently improbable or should otherwise be disregarded.
¶20 The jury convicted Cecala of murder, obstruction of justice, felony discharge of a firearm with serious bodily injury, and the remaining thirteen counts of felony discharge of a...
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State v. Aguilar
...a different result had counsel interviewed Mother and further cross-examined Victoria.11 See State v. Cecala , 2021 UT App 141, ¶ 42, 502 P.3d 790 (rejecting a request for remand under rule 23B because the defendant did not establish that a witness, if called, would have provided testimony ......
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State v. Phillips
...for a finding of ineffective assistance of counsel but which do not appear in the record." State v. Cecala , 2021 UT App 141, ¶ 32, 502 P.3d 790 (cleaned up). "A remand under rule 23B is available only upon a nonspeculative allegation of facts, not fully appearing in the record on appeal, w......
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State v. Aguilar
...a different result had counsel interviewed Mother and further cross-examined Victoria.[11] See State v. Cecala, 2021 UT App 141, ¶ 42, 502 P.3d 790 (rejecting a request remand under rule 23B because the defendant did not establish that a witness, if called, would have provided testimony fav......