State v. Morales, 111318 NJSUP, A-0036-17T2
| Opinion Judge | PER CURIAM. |
| Party Name | STATE OF NEW JERSEY, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. JULIAN MORALES, a/k/a BENITO GUITERRES, BEN GUITERRES, BIENGENID GUTIERRES, DAGOBERTO R. POZO, BEN GUTIERRES, and JULIO HERNANDEZ, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Attorney | Joseph E. Krakora, Public Defender, attorney for appellant (Monique D. Moyse, Designated Counsel, on the brief). Michael A. Monahan, Acting Union County Prosecutor, attorney for respondent (James C. Brady, Special Deputy Attorney General/Acting Assistant Prosecutor, of counsel and on the briefs).... |
| Judge Panel | Before Judges Yannotti and Rothstadt. |
| Case Date | November 13, 2018 |
| Court | New Jersey Superior Court |
NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION
Submitted October 16, 2018
On appeal from Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Union County, Indictment No. 10-01-0028.
Joseph E. Krakora, Public Defender, attorney for appellant (Monique D. Moyse, Designated Counsel, on the brief).
Michael A. Monahan, Acting Union County Prosecutor, attorney for respondent (James C. Brady, Special Deputy Attorney General/Acting Assistant Prosecutor, of counsel and on the briefs).
Appellant filed a pro se supplemental brief.
Before Judges Yannotti and Rothstadt.
PER CURIAM.
Defendant appeals from an order entered by the Law Division on July 27, 2017, which denied his petition for post-conviction relief (PCR). We affirm.
A Union County grand jury returned an indictment charging defendant with first-degree attempted murder of M.S., N.J.S.A. 2C:5-1, N.J.S.A. 2C:11-3 (count one); second-degree aggravated assault by causing or attempting to cause serious bodily injury to M.S., N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1(b)(1) (count two); third-degree aggravated assault by causing or attempting to cause bodily injury to M.S. with a deadly weapon, N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1(b)(2) (count three); second-degree aggravated assault by causing or attempting to cause serious bodily injury to H.P., N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1(b)(1) (count four); third-degree aggravated assault by causing or attempting to cause bodily injury to H.P. with a deadly weapon, N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1(b)(2) (count five); second-degree burglary, N.J.S.A. 2C:18-2 (count six); fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5(d) (count seven); and third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, N.J.S.A. 2C:39-4(d) (count eight).1
Defendant was tried before a jury. The evidence presented at trial indicated that M.S. and H.P. resided in separate apartments in the same building in Elizabeth. H.P. shared his apartment with M.S.'s sister, E.S. M.S. lived on the second floor, while H.P. and E.S. had a residence on the first floor. Defendant previously lived at that address with M.S. for about a year, but he was not residing at that location on the date of the incident that led to the charges.
M.S. testified that in the early morning hours of July 14, 2009, defendant came to the building and she found him in the hallway. He was holding a cellular phone from her room, which he said he was going to sell to get money to purchase crack cocaine. When M.S. protested, defendant struck her with a box cutter, slashing her face, neck, arms, and hands.
H.P and M.S. testified that, after hearing the commotion, H.P. came out of his room. He tried to get defendant to stop attacking M.S. Defendant then cut H.P. on the hand. M.S. stated that she tried to retreat, but defendant followed her into another room and continued to strike her. M.S. hit defendant with an empty bottle, but he cut her again. When E.S. said she was going to call the police, defendant left.
Later, officers from the Elizabeth Police Department and ambulance responded to the scene. They found M.S.'s injuries were severe. While traveling in the ambulance to the hospital, M.S. told an officer defendant was her assailant. H.P. also identified defendant as the perpetrator. M.S. lost about one-third of her blood in the attack. She was hospitalized for five days and is permanently scarred.
Defendant testified that on the evening of July 13, 2009, he spoke with M.S. on the phone. She told him she wanted to see him and spend time with him. Defendant went to Elizabeth and waited at his son's house until M.S. called him around 1:00 a.m. When defendant arrived, he knocked on the window and M.S. let him in the front door. He claimed he paid M.S. $80 and they had sexual relations.
Afterwards, defendant and M.S. went downstairs. M.S. knocked on E.S.'s door. According to defendant, H.P. attacked him and cut him. Defendant said he ran from the apartment and met up with a person named "Melissa." He did not, however, call "Melissa" as a witness.
The jury found defendant guilty of aggravated assault upon M.S. (count two), aggravated assault upon M.S. and H.P. with a deadly weapon (counts three and five), possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose (count seven), and unlawful possession of a weapon (count eight). The jury found defendant not guilty of aggravated assault upon H.P., but guilty of the lesser-included disorderly persons offense of simple assault, N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1(a)(1) (count four). In addition, the jury found defendant not guilty of attempted murder (count one) and burglary (count six).
The trial judge granted the State's motion for an extended term. The judge merged counts three, seven, and eight with count two and sentenced defendant on count two to seventeen years of imprisonment, with an eighty-five percent period of parole ineligibility, pursuant to the No Early Release Act (NERA), N.J.S.A. 2C:43-7.2. The judge also merged count four with count five and sentenced defendant on count five to a five-year term of imprisonment, with twenty-four months of parole ineligibility, to run consecutively to the sentence on count two.
In addition, the judge imposed various fees and monetary penalties. At sentencing, the judge stated on the record that he was imposing monetary penalties under N.J.S.A. 2C:43-3.1(a)(1). Such penalties are imposed on persons convicted of crimes of violence, and any monies paid are forwarded to the Victims of Crime Compensation Board (the V.C.C.B. penalties). N.J.S.A. 2C:43-3.1(a)(1) to (3).
The judge stated he was imposing a $1000 penalty for the second-degree aggravated assault upon M.S. (count two), and a $50 penalty for the...
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