State v. Jacobs, 24,062.

CourtSupreme Court of New Mexico
Citation129 N.M. 448,2000 NMSC 26,10 P.3d 127
Docket NumberNo. 24,062.,24,062.
PartiesSTATE of New Mexico, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Shawn JACOBS, Defendant-Appellant.
Decision Date16 August 2000

Phyllis H. Subin, Chief Public Defender, Christopher Bulman, Appellate Defender, Karl Erich Martell, Assistant Appellate Defender, Santa Fe, NM, for Appellant.

Patricia A. Madrid, Attorney General, Steven S Suttle, Assistant Attorney General, Albuquerque, NM, for Appellee.

OPINION

FRANCHINI, Justice.

{1} Defendant Shawn Jacobs appeals his conviction and death sentence for the murder of an eighteen-year-old woman. After the guilt phase of a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of first degree murder (willful and deliberate), felony murder (first degree murder), kidnapping (great bodily harm), attempted criminal sexual penetration (second degree), armed robbery, tampering with evidence (two counts), unlawful taking of a motor vehicle, possession of a stolen vehicle, felon in possession of a firearm, escape from jail, and escape from a peace officer. During the sentencing phase of the trial, the jury found the aggravating circumstance of murder in the commission of a kidnapping and imposed the death penalty under the Capital Felony Sentencing Act (CFSA), NMSA 1978 §§ 31-20A-1 to -6 (1979, as amended through 1991). Defendant also was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of sixty-nine years and six months based on the other convictions and on enhanced penalties as an habitual offender and for the use of a firearm. See NMSA 1978, § 31-18-17 (1993); NMSA 1978, § 31-18-16 (1977).

{2} On appeal, Defendant claims error occurred in both the guilt and penalty phases of his trial. Regarding the guilt phase of the trial, he asserts that (1) the joinder of the escape charge was improper; (2) the trial court improperly excused potential jurors during voir dire; (3) the trial court improperly admitted evidence; (4) there was insufficient evidence of a kidnapping independent of the attempted criminal sexual penetration; (5) the police officers who conducted the criminal investigation lacked jurisdiction; and (6) he was wrongfully convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm. For the sentencing phase of the trial, Defendant contests (1) the jury instructions given in the sentencing phase; (2) the sufficiency of the evidence for the aggravating circumstance of murder during the commission of a kidnapping; (3) the introduction of victim impact testimony; and (4) the constitutionality and implementation of the CFSA.

{3} We affirm Defendant's convictions on all counts. However, because of error in the penalty phase of the trial, we reverse and remand for a new sentencing proceeding on the capital penalty charges.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

{4} On the evening of October 24, 1994, the eighteen-year-old victim was discovered in an arroyo near the Four Hills area of Albuquerque by a man who was riding his bike home from his job at the Sandia Laboratories. He first noticed an abandoned Jeep Cherokee that appeared to be stuck in a ditch. As he traveled farther along the trail, he found a woman's body lying face down alongside the path. She had been shot once in the back of the head and was wearing only her underpants, socks, and shoes. After checking for a pulse and finding none, the man called the Albuquerque Police Department (APD).

{5} The victim had spent the day with two high-school friends, K.P. and J.G. The three friends had cut their afternoon classes and taken a bus to the Coronado Mall. At the mall, they purchased one black tee shirt with an eight-ball design on the front and the words "Smile Now, Cry Later" on the back; they stole two identical tee shirts so that all three would have the same shirt to wear to school the next day. After they left the mall, they were waiting near a bus stop when Defendant, who was driving a new green Jeep Cherokee, offered them a ride. K.P. and J.G. spoke to Defendant and accepted the offer. K.P. rode in the right front passenger seat and J.G. and the victim rode in the back seat. As he drove them to their homes near the intersection of Indian School and Juan Tabo, Defendant told them about an incident that had occurred when he was a student at Highland High School in which he claimed to have been expelled for pulling a gun on a group of athletes. Defendant dropped off K.P. at her home and J.G. next at hers. He and the victim then drove off; no one saw the victim again until her body was found.

{6} The victim's body was taken to the Office of Medical Examiner (OMI) for an autopsy. At trial, the pathologist who performed the autopsy testified that the cause of death was a contact gunshot wound to the back of the head resulting in an excessive amount of sooty black granular residue on the skin and burning of the hair and skin. He also found evidence of blunt trauma: the victim had been struck near the right eye and inside the right ear with a blunt object and there were skin abrasions between the ear and eye, on her right upper arm and shoulder, her back, and her right knee. The autopsy also revealed the presence of two vaginal tears consistent with forced sexual penetration. Gravel and sand were found in the back of the victim's underpants; no semen was found.

{7} A forensic scientist from the APD Crime Lab testified as an expert witness about the results of the DNA testing he had conducted on the blood and tissue found on the barrel of the black powder handgun seized in the search of Defendant's residence. He had conducted tests using blood samples from four subjects: the victim, Defendant, and two witnesses in the case—a boarder in Defendant's home and a friend of Defendant's. The results excluded three of the four individuals as the source of the blood on the gun barrel; the victim could not be excluded. There was testimony that the probability of another Hispanic individual matching the DNA profile of the victim's blood would be approximately 1 in 2000. A firearms expert from the APD Crime Lab testified that he had conducted tests with the black powder handgun found in Defendant's residence. He determined that the caliber of the projectile recovered from the victim's brain and the markings on it were consistent with having been fired from Defendant's gun.

{8} The jury also heard testimony that the Jeep Cherokee found in the arroyo had been stolen from Quality Jeep Eagle sometime over the weekend before the victim's death on Monday, October 24; Defendant had been seen driving a green Jeep between October 22 and October 24; friends had seen him wearing the black eight-ball tee shirt and the Dallas Cowboy jacket after October 24; Defendant had given to a friend the crucifix and chain which the victim had been wearing on the day of her death; and he offered to sell the black powder handgun in question to a friend.

{9} At the conclusion of the guilt phase of his trial, Defendant was convicted of all charges. In the sentencing phase, the jury found the aggravating circumstances of murder in the commission of a kidnapping, determined that the mitigating circumstances did not outweigh the aggravating circumstances, and sentenced Defendant to death.

GUILT PHASE ISSUES
I. Joinder of the Escape Charge.

{10} While awaiting trial on the first degree murder and related charges, Defendant escaped from custody. In response to a medical complaint, Defendant had been taken from the Bernalillo County Detention Center (BCDC) to the emergency room at the University of New Mexico Hospital. While there, Defendant undid the leg cuffs holding him to a hospital bed and fled from the BCDC corrections officer accompanying him. He was subsequently overtaken by the corrections officer, an Albuquerque police officer, and a hospital security officer.

{11} The incident gave rise to an additional indictment charging Defendant with escape from jail under NMSA 1978, § 30-22-8 (1963), or, in the alternative, with escape from a peace officer under NMSA 1978, § 30-22-10 (1963). The State subsequently filed a motion to consolidate the new charges with the original offenses. In its motion, the State argued that the escape attempt would be admissible in the murder trial to show consciousness of guilt and that joinder would promote judicial economy by avoiding two jury trials. Defendant opposed consolidation, arguing that the jury might give the escape evidence improper weight during the penalty phase. After a hearing on the motion, the trial court consolidated the two cases for trial, finding that the escape evidence would be cross-admissible in separate trials, the claim of the possible effect on the jury was speculative, and that any prejudicial effect of the evidence did not substantially outweigh its probative value. See Rule 11-403 NMRA 2000. In response to Defendant's concerns, however, the trial court gave a limiting instruction during the sentencing hearing advising the jury not to consider the escape evidence for any purpose during the penalty phase.

{12} Defendant first argues that joinder of the escape charges was improper because it did not meet the criteria for joinder stated in Rule 5-203(A) NMRA 2000. The State argues that this issue was not preserved because at trial Defendant only argued that the jury would misuse the evidence of escape, not that joinder was improper under the rule. We agree that this issue was not preserved. See Rule 12-216(A) NMRA 2000. In order to preserve an issue for appeal, it is essential that a party must make a timely objection that specifically apprises the trial court of the claimed error and invokes an intelligent ruling thereon. State v. Varela, 1999-NMSC-045, ¶¶ 25-26, 128 N.M. 454, 993 P.2d 1280; State v. Gomez, 1997-NMSC-006, ¶ 29, 122 N.M. 777, 932 P.2d 1. This Court held in State v. Clark, 108 N.M. 288, 297, 772 P.2d 322, 331 (1989), that, absent fundamental error, even in a death penalty case issues must be properly preserved.

{13} Def...

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