State v. Murillo, 030321 IWCA, 19-2080
| Opinion Judge | SCHUMACHER, JUDGE. |
| Party Name | STATE OF IOWA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. JESUS ANTONIO MURILLO, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Attorney | Jeffrey L. Powell of Powell & McCullough, PLC, Coralville, for appellant. Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Timothy M. Hau, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee. |
| Judge Panel | Considered by Mullins, P.J., and May and Schumacher, JJ. |
| Case Date | March 03, 2021 |
| Court | Iowa Court of Appeals |
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Muscatine County, Mark R. Lawson, Judge.
Jesus Antonio Murillo appeals his conviction for willful injury causing bodily injury.
Jeffrey L. Powell of Powell & McCullough, PLC, Coralville, for appellant.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Timothy M. Hau, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.
Considered by Mullins, P.J., and May and Schumacher, JJ.
SCHUMACHER, JUDGE.
Jesus Antonio Murillo appeals his conviction for willful injury. His sole challenge on appeal is whether sufficient evidence was presented to support his conviction. Specifically, Murillo argues the State failed to prove intent to commit serious injury and therefore the district court's denial of his motion for judgment of acquittal was in error. We find the record contains substantial evidence to support the conviction. Accordingly, we affirm.
I. Background and Prior Proceedings
On July 11, 2019, Ricardo Trevino and Murillo began drinking in a wooded area of a park in Muscatine, Iowa.[1] At some point after the two consumed alcohol in the park, Trevino and Murillo traveled to the home of Trevino's stepfather, Jose Gomez-Medina.
While at the home, Murillo began repeatedly punching Trevino. Trevino was knocked unconscious and fell to the ground. Murillo, however, continued punching and kicking Trevino in the head and ribs. The force of Murillo's kicks left shoelace imprints on Trevino's torso.
As Murillo continued to inflict blows on Trevino outside the residence, Gomez-Medina rushed out of his home to intervene. However, Murillo charged Gomez-Medina, causing Gomez-Medina to retreat into his home.
Deanna Reed, who was driving by the Gomez-Medina home, witnessed Murillo punching and kicking Trevino. Reed pulled her vehicle over, exited, and began to shout at Murillo in an attempt to stop the assault. Reed, who did not know the identity of either man at the time, observed Murillo strike Trevino multiple times. Murillo charged Reed, causing Reed to retreat into her vehicle. At the time, Reed believed Trevino was dead. Murillo turned his attention back to Trevino, continuing to kick the unconscious Trevino. At some point, Murillo was able to enter the Gomez-Medina home and officers took him into custody at this location.[2]Trevino sustained a broken nose and a fractured orbital bone in his left eye.
Murillo was charged with willful injury in violation of Iowa Code section 708.4(1) (2019), a class "C" felony. At Murillo's jury trial on September 20, 2019, Murillo filed a motion for directed verdict, arguing the State had not proven by a preponderance of the evidence the alleged victim received a serious injury as defined by law. The trial court granted the motion for directed verdict and dismissed the charge of willful injury under Iowa Code section 708.4(1). The court allowed the jury to consider the lesser charge of willful injury under Iowa Code section 708.4(2), a class "D" felony.3
The jury returned a guilty verdict on the willful injury charge. Murillo was sentenced on December 13, 2019, to an indeterminate five years of incarceration but was granted a suspended sentence. The minimum fine was imposed, and Murillo was ordered to successfully complete programming at the Residential Correctional Facility in Davenport. Murillo now appeals.
II. Sufficiency of the Evidence
A.
Standard of Review
Sufficiency-of-evidence claims are reviewed for correction of errors at law. State v. Sanford, 814 N.W.2d 611, 615 (Iowa 2012). A verdict is binding upon this...
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