State v. Sims

• Decision Date: 18 January 1978
• Docket Number: No. 3959,3959
• Citation: 575 P.2d 1236,118 Ariz. 210
• Parties: STATE of Arizona, Appellee, v. Henry Gonzales SIMS, Jr., Appellant.
• Court: Arizona Supreme Court

Page 1236

575 P.2d 1236

118 Ariz. 210

STATE of Arizona, Appellee, v. Henry Gonzales SIMS, Jr., Appellant.

No. 3959.

Supreme Court of Arizona, In Banc.

Jan. 18, 1978.

Rehearing Denied March 14, 1978.

Bruce E. Babbitt, Atty. Gen. by William J. Schafer, III and R. Wayne Ford, Asst. Attys. Gen., Phoenix, for appellee.

John M. Neis, Pima County Public Defender by James E. Sherman, Asst. Public Defender, Tucson, for appellant.

HAYS, Justice.

Appellant Henry Gonzales Sims, Jr., pled guilty on February 18, 1976 to a charge of voluntary manslaughter with a gun, pursuant to a plea agreement which had been filed with the Pima County Superior Court. Thereafter, on April 19, 1977 he was sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than thirty years nor more than life. We have jurisdiction of his appeal pursuant to A.R.S. § 13-1711 and § 12-120.21(A)(1).

Appellant was originally indicted on October 22, 1975 by the Pima County Grand Jury for one count of first degree murder and one count of assault with a deadly weapon, which offenses were alleged to have been committed on October 18, 1975. The record on appeal includes the grand jury transcript, a typed transcription of statements made by appellant to a Tucson Police Department detective on the date of the offense, and several statements made by appellant during the course of the Superior Court proceedings as to the events of that day; thus, it is possible to summarize the incidents which led to these criminal proceedings, as follows.

Appellant and the homicide victim, Mary Virginia Munguia, lived in separate adjoining apartments at a South Liberty address in Tucson. There is no evidence of any significant prior relationship or acquaintance between the two. On the morning in question, an argument ensued between the appellant and the victim's mother, Anita Garcia, concerning the appellant's automobile. The brief argument occurred in the area in front of the two adjoining apartments and was witnessed by several neighbors. Appellant accused Anita Garcia and her daughter and friends of "messing with" his car, to the extent that it would not start that morning. Anita Garcia denied this and went into her daughter's apartment. Appellant then apparently entered his apartment, secured a loaded .357 magnum pistol from within, tucked it into his belt, and returned to the front yard area where he resumed work on his automobile. Shortly thereafter, Mary Munguia exited her apartment to retrieve one of her small children from the front yard. Appellant likewise accused Mary of tampering with his automobile, which she vehemently denied; he then fired two pistol shots at her, and she fell in the front yard. Anita Garcia's ex-husband, Jose L. Garcia, had been within the Munguia apartment during these events. After the shots were fired, he ran from the residence in an attempt to call police and ambulance services; appellant fired at least two shots at Jose Garcia as Garcia was fleeing, but did not wound him. A subsequent autopsy of Mary Munguia revealed that she was five and one-half months pregnant, and that the cause of her death was severe hemorrhaging from a single gunshot wound. A .357 magnum bullet was found in her blouse; the path of that bullet was traced through the top part of her chest and off the inside of her right arm. Ballistics tests later showed that the bullet was fired from a pistol taken from appellant at the time of his arrest. After the arrest, appellant was appropriately informed of the so-called "Miranda warnings" and gave a full statement to officers of the Tucson Police Department. Appellant indicated that he shot the victim because he was "mad"; that "these people have been messing with me all kinds of ways, they been getting these guys to mess with my car and they been taking my mail, and everything. They been going under my name, and all . . . and all that"; that he did not think "this was self-defense" because "Well, I wasn't afraid of her"; that he knew "right from wrong" and that it was wrong that he shot the victim; but that "I was mad . . . because I'm fed up with what these people being (sic) doing to me all the time . . ."

During the period from October, 1975 until May, 1977, while this case was pending in Superior Court, the appellant underwent a series of eight separate mental examinations, and the court conducted four evidentiary hearings dealing with his competence to stand trial, to enter a plea of guilty, and to be sentenced. On December 3, 1975 appellant's appointed counsel filed a "Motion for Mental Condition Examination and Stay of Proceedings" pursuant to 17 A.R.S. Rules of Criminal Procedure, rule 11. The motion was granted on December 15, 1975, and the court appointed two practicing psychiatrists, Jacob D. Hoogerbeets, M.D. and Allan Beigel, M.D., for the examinations. Dr. Hoogerbeets' examination of appellant was conducted on December 29, 1975, and in his written report to the court Dr. Hoogerbeets concluded that appellant was a chronic paranoid schizophrenic, but that he was "able to understand the nature and quality of the charges and proceedings against him, and he is able to assist counsel in the preparation of his own defense in a basic and factual manner" and that "although in a basic sense he knew the nature and quality of his actions and knew the difference between right and wrong, it is important to remember that this man has been chronically psychotic for a long period of time." Dr. Beigel's examination was given on January 19, 1976, and his written report to the court states also that appellant is a chronic paranoid schizophrenic, but that ". . . he is still able to assist counsel in the preparation of his defense and to understand the nature of the charges against him" and that "this mental illness did not impair his capacity to differentiate between right and wrong at the time of the alleged offense, but did impair his judgment regarding his actions."

On February 18, 1976 the court conducted an evidentiary hearing "to determine the defendant's competency." Rule 11.5, supra. Counsel for both appellant and the State stipulated that the testimony of the two psychiatrists could be submitted on the basis of the written reports referred to above. In addition to these two reports, the court also considered the transcription of the statement appellant had given to Tucson police officers shortly after his arrest on the date of the offenses; the court then questioned appellant extensively, in view of the fact that he had chosen to enter a plea of guilty at that time. Appellant was questioned about his name, education, past occupations, and military service; about the plea agreement which had been filed with the court and his understanding of it; about the nature of the charge (voluntary manslaughter with a gun) to which he was to plead guilty; about the possible range of punishment for that charge, and the court's options as to probation or a prison term for appellant; about the various Constitutional rights he was giving up by pleading guilty; and finally, about the events on the day of the crimes and his statement to the police. During the course of the hearing, the court specifically found: 1) "that defendant is able to stand trial, that he is able to assist counsel in the preparation of his defense"; 2) "that the defendant did know the nature and quality of his acts and the difference between right and wrong at the time of the commission of the offense in question"; 3) "that a factual basis exists for the plea of guilty to the charge of voluntary manslaughter"; 4) "that the defendant understands, appreciates, and has knowingly, intelligently waived the constitutional rights which have been explained to him and outlined to him by the Court"; and 5) "that the defendant has intelligently and voluntarily with a full knowledge of the consequences thereof and with the advice of counsel has (sic) entered a plea of guilty to the charge of voluntary manslaughter". Appellant's appointed counsel further informed the court that based on his investigation, the appellant definitely "does have a mental illness, however, as far as the McNaughton (sic) test and as far as the competency to enter this plea there is no question that he is both competent to enter the plea and he is not McNaughton (sic) insane." At the conclusion of the plea proceedings, the case was continued so that a presentence investigation of appellant could be performed.

During the course of the presentence investigation, appellant was examined on March 9, 1976 by Kevin Gilmartin, Ph.D., a practicing clinical psychologist. In his written report to the court, Dr. Gilmartin stated that the appellant "relates a rather involved delusional system relating to how there is basically a conspiracy against him of men and women who are attempting to manipulate him and use his name against him" and that appellant was suffering from "chronic paranoid schizophrenia" and was "in need of intensive and long term psychiatric treatment at this point in time." Dr. Gilmartin's report did not refer specifically to the M'Naghten standard, nor to appellant's ability to stand trial, to enter a plea, nor to be sentenced. Apparently on the basis of this report by Dr. Gilmartin, appellant's attorney requested another "Rule 11 hearing". By minute entry dated March 19, 1976 the court deferred sentencing and scheduled the requested hearing, appointing Drs. Beigel and Hoogerbeets to re-examine appellant.

Dr. Hoogerbeets examined appellant on April 26, 1976 and made another written report of his findings to the court. He stated that "my conclusions in this case are essentially the same as those which I expressed in my previous report" but that appellant was "a little more deteriorated than he was when I saw him previously" and "more overtly psychotic" and that "he is not able to fully weigh the consequences of pleas or actions with his counsel. I feel that he is not fully competent to be...