State v. Duran

• Decision Date: 20 July 2006
• Docket Number: No. 28,685.,28,685.
• Citation: 140 P.3d 515,2006 NMSC 035
• Court: New Mexico Supreme Court
• Parties: STATE of New Mexico, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Nathaniel DURAN, Defendant-Appellant.

140 P.3d 515

2006 NMSC 035

STATE of New Mexico, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Nathaniel DURAN, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 28,685.

Supreme Court of New Mexico.

July 20, 2006.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

John Bigelow, Chief Public Defender, Sheila Lewis, Assistant Appellate Defender, Santa Fe, NM, for Appellant.

Patricia A. Madrid, Attorney General, Ann M. Harvey, Assistant Attorney General, Santa Fe, NM, for Appellee.

OPINION

CHÁVEZ, Justice.

{1} Defendant Nathaniel Duran ("Defendant") was convicted of first-degree murder, criminal sexual penetration while armed with a deadly weapon, and tampering with evidence. The trial court sentenced Defendant to life in prison for murder in the first-degree, nine years for criminal sexual penetration, and 18 months for tampering with evidence, with each sentence to run consecutively. Defendant appeals his convictions for first-degree murder, see Rule 12-102(A)(1) NMRA 2006 (appeals from sentence of life imprisonment taken to the Supreme Court), and tampering with evidence, asserting on appeal that insufficient evidence exists to support the verdicts. Defendant also asserts that the State committed fundamental error when the prosecutor forced Defendant to comment on the credibility of other witnesses. We affirm Defendant's conviction for first-degree murder, reverse the conviction for tampering with evidence, and hold that, while the questioning by the prosecutor was clearly improper, there was no fundamental error.

I. FACTS AND BACKGROUND

{2} Police were called to investigate the presence of a body on the floor of an apartment at St. Francis Plaza in Ranchos de Taos. The victim was a thirty-six year old woman who had recently moved into the apartment, which was owned by the grandfather of the seventeen year-old Defendant. Although they found no evidence of forced entry, there was blood all over the floor and walls. Defendant became a suspect in the case based on an anonymous call received at the Taos County Sheriff's office.

{3} At trial, the State presented evidence from the medical examination of the victim's body that revealed multiple stab wounds to the head and neck, the chest and abdomen, and additional sharp force injuries to the chest, abdomen, and back. The victim also had wounds on her fingers that were consistent with defensive wounds. The medical testimony characterized the victim's death as resulting from multiple stab wounds rather than from one specific injury, and indicated the wounds were caused by a sharp object, "like a knife." The analysis of vaginal and thigh swabs taken from the victim's body revealed semen. Based on DNA tests, Defendant could not be eliminated as a possible donor of the sperm-cell DNA. Defendant testified that he had engaged in consensual sex with the victim, but denied killing her.

{4} The State also presented testimony from three friends of Defendant who testified about statements made by Defendant. Carlos Mondragon testified Defendant told him that he had hurt a lady and stabbed her eight or nine times. Mondragon's girlfriend, Shonna Romero, testified she heard Defendant say he had hurt some lady and stabbed her with a knife. Michael Romero testified Defendant told him that he "straight-up murdered some bitch." In addition, a Taos County Sheriff's Deputy testified that when Defendant was given a copy of the criminal complaint, Defendant commented "they charged me for killing two people and I only killed one."

II. SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE

{5} The test for sufficiency of the evidence "is whether substantial evidence of either a direct or circumstantial nature exists to support a verdict of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt with respect to every element essential to a conviction." State v. Sutphin, 107 N.M. 126, 131, 753 P.2d 1314, 1319 (1988). In addition, "we must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the guilty verdict, indulging all reasonable inferences and resolving all conflicts in the evidence in favor of the verdict." State v. Cunningham, 2000-NMSC-009, ¶ 26, 128 N.M. 711, 998 P.2d 176. "Contrary evidence supporting acquittal does not provide a basis for reversal because the jury is free to reject Defendant's version of the facts." State v. Rojo, 1999-NMSC-001, ¶ 19, 126 N.M. 438, 971 P.2d 829 (citing State v. Salazar, 1997-NMSC-044, ¶¶ 44, 46, 123 N.M. 778, 945 P.2d 996). In our determination of the sufficiency of the evidence, we are required to ensure that "a rational jury could have found beyond a reasonable doubt the essential facts required for a conviction." State v. Garcia, 114 N.M. 269, 274, 837 P.2d 862, 867 (1992). "We apply these principles to our review of the evidence used to support Defendant's convictions for murder [and] tampering with evidence . . . ." Rojo, 1999-NMSC-001, ¶ 19, 126 N.M. 438, 971 P.2d 829.

A. First-Degree Murder

{6} Defendant asserts on appeal that there was insufficient evidence of deliberate murder to support the first-degree murder conviction and that the State failed to prove deliberate intent beyond a reasonable doubt. In New Mexico, first-degree murder includes "any kind of willful, deliberate and premeditated killing." NMSA 1978, § 30-2-1(A)(1) (1994). Deliberate intention is defined as "arrived at or determined upon as a result of careful thought and the weighing of the consideration for and against the proposed course of action." UJI 14-201 NMRA. In addition, we have stated that a "calculated judgment and decision may be arrived at in a short period of time. A mere unconsidered and rash impulse, even though it includes an intent to kill, is not a deliberate intention to kill." Garcia, 114 N.M. at 271, 837 P.2d at 864.

{7} We believe the State presented evidence from which a reasonable jury could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that Defendant had the deliberate intent necessary to sustain his conviction. "`Intent is subjective and is almost always inferred from other facts in the case, as it is rarely established by direct evidence.'" State v. Sosa, 2000-NMSC-036, ¶ 9, 129 N.M. 767, 14 P.3d 32 (quoting State v. Vigil, 110 N.M. 254, 255, 794 P.2d 728, 729 (1990)). The jury was instructed that the State had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Defendant killed the victim with "the deliberate intention to take away the life" of the victim. The jury was also instructed as to the definition of "deliberate intention":

A deliberate intention refers to the state of mind of the defendant. A deliberate intention may be inferred from all of the facts and circumstances of the killing. The word deliberate means arrived at or determined upon as a result of careful thought and the weighing of the consideration for and against the proposed course of action. A calculated judgment and decision may be arrived at in a short period of time. A mere unconsidered and rash impulse, even though it includes an intent to kill, is not a deliberate intent to kill. To constitute a deliberate killing, the slayer must weigh and consider the question of killing and his reasons for and against such a choice.

{8} Deliberate intent may be inferred from the particular circumstances of the killing as proved by the State through the presentation of physical evidence. See Rojo, 1999-NMSC-001, ¶ 24, 126 N.M. 438, 971 P.2d 829 (deliberate intent to kill established when strangulation took several minutes and defendant had motive to kill victim); Sosa, 2000-NMSC-036, ¶ 14, 129 N.M. 767, 14 P.3d 32 (evidence that defendant went armed to victim's home, waited for victim to arrive, shot at unarmed victim, and continued attack after victim tried to flee supported inference of deliberate intent); State v. Coffin, 1999-NMSC-038, ¶ 76, 128 N.M. 192, 991 P.2d 477 (jury could infer defendant formed deliberate intent to kill victim when defendant told victim to get back in his car then shot victim several times from behind); Cunningham, 2000-NMSC-009, ¶ 28, 128 N.M. 711, 998 P.2d 176 (deliberate intent inferred from defendant firing fatal shot at victim after victim was incapacitated and defenseless). Here, a reasonable jury could have believed Defendant had the deliberate intent to kill the victim by inferring from the physical evidence of a prolonged struggle and multiple stab wounds. The State presented physical evidence based on blood spatter that the victim tried to stop the attacker from entering her bedroom, and that she tried to escape or call for help from a window. The victim was also stabbed in the back and in the jugular veins of the throat, and had several wounds consistent with her attempt to defend herself from the attacker.

{9} In addition to the physical evidence, the statements made by Defendant would also support a jury's finding that the killing was deliberate. The State presented evidence that Defendant claimed to have hurt a lady and stabbed her eight or nine times. There was also testimony that Defendant told his friend he had "straight up murdered some bitch." Cf. State v. Smith, 76 N.M. 477, 482, 416 P.2d 146, 150 (1966) (a jury may consider the animus of the accused toward the deceased in determining deliberate intent). Thus, based on the nature and extent of the victim's injuries, the jury could infer a prolonged struggle where the attacker pursued the victim despite her attempts to withdraw or escape. When combined with evidence of Defendant's attitude toward the victim, this evidence is sufficient to support the jury's finding that the murder of the victim was done with deliberate intent.

{10} Defendant asserts that the evidence could be construed as showing that the murder was rash and uncontrolled, and thus is similar to Garcia, 114 N.M. at 274-75, 837 P.2d at 867-68, where we reversed a conviction for first-degree murder because the evidence did not support a jury finding of deliberate intent. Although we found evidence in Garcia that the act of murder was itself intentional, we could not find any evidence from which the jury could infer that the murder was deliberate....