State v. Gonzalez

• Decision Date: 16 June 2021
• Docket Number: No. 19-0775,19-0775
• Parties: STATE OF IOWA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. CARLOS ROIG GONZALEZ, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: Iowa Court of Appeals

STATE OF IOWA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. CARLOS ROIG GONZALEZ, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 19-0775

COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA

June 16, 2021

Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Bradley J. Harris, Judge.

Carlos Roig Gonzalez appeals his convictions for two counts of robbery in the first degree and one count of robbery in the second degree. AFFIRMED.

Timothy J. Tupper, Davenport, for appellant.

Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Tyler J. Buller, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.

Considered by Doyle, P.J., Schumacher, J., and Mahan, S.J.^*

^*Senior judge assigned by order pursuant to Iowa Code section 602.9206 (2021).

MAHAN, Senior Judge.

Three Black Hawk County businesses were robbed over the course of a month in December 2017 and January 2018. Following an investigation, Carlos Roig Gonzalez was charged with the crimes, and he was convicted following two separate jury trials. On appeal, Roig Gonzalez challenges the severance of his charges and the sufficiency of the evidence to support the juries' verdicts, argues his speedy-trial rights were violated, and claims the district court abused its discretion in admitting evidence in his second trial. Facts will be set forth below as relevant to the issues raised.

I. Sufficiency of the Evidence

The jury found Roig Gonzalez guilty of two counts of robbery in the first degree (for robberies occurring at Kay Jewelers on January 22, 2018, and Dollar Tree on December 26, 2017) and one count of robbery in the second degree (for a robbery occurring at Sally's Beauty Supply on December 26, 2017).¹ The jury was instructed the State had to prove the following the elements of robbery in the first degree with regard to the Kay Jewelers robbery:

1. On or about the 22nd day of January, 2018, the defendant had the specific intent to commit a theft.

2. To carry out his intention or to assist him in escaping from the scene, with or without stolen property, the defendant:

A. Committed an assault on [A.W.] and/or [K.P.], or

B. Threatened [A.W.] and/or [K.P.] with, or purposely put [A.W.] and/or [K.P.] in fear of, immediate serious injury.

3. The defendant was armed with a dangerous weapon.

The jury was instructed the State had to prove the following the elements of robbery in the first degree for the Dollar Tree robbery:

1. On or about the 26th day of December, 2017, the defendant had the specific intent to commit a theft.

2. To carry out his intention or to assist him in escaping from the scene, with or without the stolen property, the defendant:

A. Committed an assault on [M.C.] and/or [J.L.] or

B. Threatened [M.C.] and/or [J.L.] with, or purposely put [M.C.] and/or [J.L.] in fear of immediate serious injury.

3. The defendant was armed with a dangerous weapon.

The jury was instructed the State had to prove the following the elements of robbery in the second degree for the Sally's Beauty Store robbery:

1. On or about the 26th day of December, 2017, the defendant had the specific intent to commit a theft.

2. To carry out his intention or to assist him in escaping from the scene, with or without the stolen property, the defendant:

. . . .

B. Threatened [K.G.] and/or [L.M.] with, or purposely put [K.G.] and/or [L.M.] in fear of, immediate serious injury.

Roig Gonzalez challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain his conviction for robbery in the first degree of Kay Jewelers, arguing the State failed to prove "the knife used was a dangerous weapon."² He further challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain all his convictions based on insufficientevidence of identity. We review these claims for correction of legal error. State v. Schiebout, 944 N.W.2d 666, 670 (Iowa 2020). "We will uphold the verdict on a sufficiency-of-evidence claim if substantial evidence supports it." Id. "Evidence is substantial 'if, when viewed in the light most favorable to the State, it can convince a rational jury that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.'" Id. (quoting State v. Trane, 934 N.W.2d 447, 455 (Iowa 2019)).

A. Dangerous Weapon—Kay Jewelers robbery

The jury was instructed:

A "dangerous weapon" is any device or instrument designed primarily for use in inflicting death or injury, and when used in its designed manner is capable of inflicting death. It is also any sort of instrument or device actually used in such a way as to indicate the user intended to inflict death or serious injury, and when so used is capable of inflicting death.

See Iowa Code § 702.7 (2018).

The knife used in the Kay Jewelers robbery was admitted into evidence at trial. An investigating officer testified about finding the knife in a closet at Roig Gonzalez's house. The officer described the "the blade part" of the knife as being "[a]pproximately 2 to 3 inches," and he opined the knife was "[a]bsolutely" "capable of inflicting death."³ A.W. and K.P. were working at Kay Jewelers at the time of the robbery. A.W. testified Roig Gonzalez "entered the store with a knife held out with his arm extended toward [her]." She described the knife as a "hunting knife." Roig Gonzalez "had [A.W.] turn around and then he had put the knife to my left kidney and had the actual blade against [her] skin through [her] sweater." He said, "If youfollow what I say no one gets hurt." A.W., who was six months pregnant, "could feel [the knife] poke [her] skin." A.W. was "[e]xtremely" frightened and thought, "I'm going to die, and my baby's going to die."

In ruling on Roig Gonzalez's motion for judgment of acquittal on this basis, the district court found:

Regarding the question as to whether the knife shown in the video and found would be considered a dangerous weapon, it is clear that a knife is a device or instrument designed primarily for the use of infliction of death or serious injury. Testimony was introduced that when used, that knife would be capable of causing death. The court finds that a jury question has been engendered regarding that as well. Therefore, the robbery-first will also be submitted.

Upon our review, we conclude substantial evidence supports the court's finding that the knife wielded by Roig Gonzalez could be considered a dangerous weapon. We affirm on this claim.

B. Identity

Roig Gonzalez claims the State failed to provide sufficient evidence to establish he was the robber. To support his claim, he argues there were "significant discrepancies between the clothing worn at each robbery." The State responds, "Robbers can change clothes." In any event, we observe that all but one of the employees from the three stores who came in contact with Roig Gonzalez identified him—from a photo, at trial, or both—as the robber. All the employees described Roig Gonzalez as a smaller-statured male, wearing "black" clothing, who spoke with an accent. K.P. recognized Roig Gonzalez's voice and recalled she had helped him "a couple nights prior" when he came to Kay Jewelers "looking for an engagement ring." At that time, Roig Gonzalez told K.P. his name, which she wrote down on a "layaway slip" for an engagement ring and later provided to police. During a search of Roig Gonzalez's person, police discovered a Kay Jewelers business card with K.P.'s name and pricing information for a ring. A search of Roig Gonzalez's house revealed stolen jewelry, knives matching those used in the robberies, and a mask identified as being worn in one of the robberies. And surveillance footage from the investigations showed Roig Gonzalez driving the same silver four-door car with a broken taillight that police found at his house.

The district court ruled on Roig Gonzalez's motion for judgment of acquittal on this claim as follows:

Regarding the identification of the defendant [at the Kay Jewelers robbery], the store employee identified the defendant as the person who had been in two days earlier and that being the same person that was in the store committing what is alleged to have been a robbery. That identification is sufficient in the light most favorable to the State to engender a jury question. She based her decision both upon the voice of the person who was in the store, the mannerisms, the posture, the physical description, all of which are sufficient to bring about a jury question.

. . . .

[With regard to the Dollar Tree and Sally's Beauty store robberies] [t]hat there may be contradictory evidence, evidence that says that there is an accent or not an accent from the two scenes, the court again takes that in the light most favorable to the State that there is, in fact, an accent. That that was testified to that defendant in this case does have—does have an accent. There is that to tie.

In addition, there is the fact that a vehicle is seen in the area of the Dollar Tree store. That vehicle is shown. That it possibly has a driver's side taillight that is broken. At the time that the defendant is arrested, he is driving a vehicle that also has a driver's side taillight that's broken.

The individuals at Sally's had viewed a picture of Mr. Roig [Gonzalez], that they believed that that was the person that they had seen in the Dollar Tree. Although that was an individual picture, it does at this point provide some additional corroboration as to identity.

The State has allowed the Kay Jewelers evidence or some of that to be admitted in this case. When you consider that with the fact that an individual who identified himself as Mr. Roig [Gonzalez] came in to the jewelry store, is shown on the video from December—excuse me, from January 2[2nd], I believe, and that the height, stature, posture and the voice of that individual is similar to the person who is described by all of the incidents, the court finds that a jury question has been engendered, and the motion will be denied.

Upon our review, we concur in the district court's finding that the State presented sufficient evidence for the jury to determine Roig Gonzalez committed the three robberies. See Schiebout, 944 N.W.2d at 670.

II. Speedy-Trial Rights

Roig Gonzalez contends the district court...