State v. Smith

• Decision Date: 23 January 2001
• Docket Number: No. 25,106.,25,106.
• Parties: STATE of New Mexico, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Darcy SMITH, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: New Mexico Supreme Court

19 P.3d 254

130 N.M. 117

2001 NMSC 4

STATE of New Mexico, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Darcy SMITH, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 25,106.

Supreme Court of New Mexico.

January 23, 2001.

Michener Law Firm, L.L.C., Roger E. Michener, Placitas, NM, for Appellant.

Patricia A. Madrid, Attorney General, Arthur W. Pepin, Assistant Attorney General, Santa Fe, NM, for Appellee.

OPINION

FRANCHINI, Justice.

{1} In March 1998, Defendant Darcy Smith was convicted of first degree felony murder in violation of NMSA 1978, § 30-2-1(A)(2) (1980, prior to 1994 amendment) and false imprisonment in violation of NMSA 1978, § 30-4-3 (1963). She was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder and to eighteen months for false imprisonment with the sentences to be served consecutively. We review this case on direct appeal under Rule 12-102(A)(1) NMRA 2001. On appeal, Defendant raises the following challenges to the convictions: (1) there was insufficient evidence to convict her of either felony murder or false imprisonment; (2) the trial court erred in admitting certain evidence, in restricting Defendant's cross-examination of two witnesses, and in refusing two of her proposed jury instructions; and (3) the prosecutor improperly commented on Defendant's right to silence and character. We affirm Defendant's convictions.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

{2} On the morning of November 24, 1992, the body of the seventeen-year-old murder victim was discovered in a remote area near Bernardo, New Mexico, in Socorro County. The state police were able to establish his identity from a gift certificate found on the body which had been given to him by his grandparents for his birthday on November 23. The crime remained unsolved until late 1993, when the New Mexico State Police arranged for a Crime Stoppers television program about the murder. Several weeks after the broadcast, Defendant's friend, Jennifer Jones, contacted Michael Davies, who was in charge of the state police investigation. Ms. Jones provided information implicating Defendant, Eric Smith (Smith), and Mark Apodaca (Apodaca) in the murder of the victim. At the time of the murder, Smith and Apodaca had been good friends for some time, and Apodaca was married to Defendant's sister. Defendant and Smith had married in June 1993 and shortly after their marriage, began a house sharing arrangement with the Jones couple which continued until Defendant and Smith were arrested in December 1993.

{3} Apodaca was arrested first and gave a voluntary statement about the killing. Defendant and Smith were subsequently arrested and charged in the victim's death. In a separate trial, Smith was convicted of felony murder, false imprisonment, aggravated assault, conspiracy, tampering with evidence, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Apodaca pleaded guilty to second degree murder and related crimes in a plea agreement. As part of that agreement, Apodaca agreed to testify truthfully about Defendant's participation in the victim's death. Defendant, who was seventeen years old at the time of the murder, was charged initially in children's court. See In re Darcy S., 1997-NMCA-026, ¶ 1, 123 N.M. 206, 936 P.2d 888. In January 1994, the State filed a motion to transfer Defendant to district court to be tried as an adult. Id. ¶ 2. After an evidentiary hearing on the motion, the children's court transferred Defendant to district court for trial as an adult. Id. ¶ 3. Defendant subsequently filed an appeal with the Court of Appeals contesting the transfer decision and raising claims of due process and speedy trial violations Id. ¶ 1. The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's actions. Id. ¶ 36.

{4} At trial, Apodaca testified about the events on the night of the murder. Ms. Jones, and her estranged husband, Brian Jones, also testified about Defendant's later admissions regarding that evening's events. Apodaca stated that he, Smith, and Defendant had spent the evening drinking and then decided to go out and shoot rabbits. Each was armed with a weapon: Smith with a .44 caliber revolver, Defendant with a 9 millimeter handgun in a holster on her right hip, and Apodaca with a 12 gauge shotgun. Apodaca testified that they had gone shooting before and Defendant was proficient in the use of various weapons, including the type of handgun she had with her that night.

{5} At some point, the three of them decided to pick someone up at random to "scare the hell" out of that person. In an area near the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, they spotted the victim. Smith forced him into the backseat of his two-door car at gunpoint, and they all drove off. Apodaca said that, as they were driving, Smith became angry with the victim. He asked Apodaca to steady the steering wheel so that Smith could turn around in the driver's seat to hit the victim in the face with the butt of his .44 revolver. While Apodaca steered the car during the beating, Defendant put her foot on the gas pedal to maintain the car's speed. Smith left Interstate 25 at the Bernardo exit and drove a short distance from the exit. After he stopped the car, Smith took the victim out of the car and had him stand at the back of the car where Defendant and Apodaca joined them. After further angry words, Smith began to beat the victim and then shot him twice with the .44 revolver. After the victim fell to the ground, Defendant then shot him twice with her 9 millimeter handgun. Apodaca testified that after she shot the victim, Defendant picked up one of the spent casings from her gun as a souvenir. Smith next retrieved the shotgun from the car, and he and Apodaca each shot the victim three more times. Afterward Defendant, Smith, and Apodaca got back in the car and left the victim there. Apodaca described Defendant as being excited about the shooting and "hyped" during the ride back to Albuquerque.

{6} At trial, Dr. Ross Zumwalt, chief medical investigator for the Office of the Medical Investigator, testified as an expert in forensic pathology about the autopsy of the victim. The autopsy revealed that the victim had been shot ten times and had bled to death from his wounds, although given the extent and severity of his injuries, it was unlikely that he could have survived. The victim also had numerous injuries to the face including bruises and lacerations caused by a blunt object. Dr. Zumwalt testified that the injuries were consistent with being struck by the butt of a revolver. Additional bruising found on the victim's forearms and the back of his hand also was caused by a blunt object. These bruises were described as defensive injuries which can occur when a person raises his or her arms or hands as protection from blows. The supervisor of the firearms identification section at the Department of Public Safety's Crime Lab testified as an expert witness. He described the testing process he used on the bullets and shotgun pellets retrieved from the victim's body during the autopsy and those found at the scene. He testified that weapons involved in the murder had been a 12 gauge shotgun, a .44 caliber revolver, and a 9 millimeter weapon.

II. SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE

{7} Defendant contends that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support either her conviction for false imprisonment or for felony murder. We review the sufficiency of the evidence under a substantial evidence standard. State v. Sutphin, 107 N.M. 126, 131, 753 P.2d 1314, 1319 (1988). "[T]he relevant question is whether, after reviewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt." State v. Garcia, 114 N.M. 269, 274, 837 P.2d 862, 867 (1992) (quoting Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 317-19, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979)). In evaluating the sufficiency of evidence in a criminal case, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, resolving all conflicts and indulging all permissible inferences to uphold the conviction, and disregarding all evidence and inferences to the contrary. State v. Rojo, 1999-NMSC-001, ¶ 19, 126 N.M. 438, 971 P.2d 829. In making this determination, the Court does not substitute its judgment for that of the factfinder, nor does it reweigh the evidence. State v. Hernandez, 115 N.M. 6, 26, 846 P.2d 312, 332 (1993). The evidence presented in this case supports the convictions for false imprisonment and felony murder.

A. False Imprisonment

{8} Defendant was charged as both a principal and an accessory to the crime of false imprisonment. See Section 30-4-3; NMSA 1978, § 30-1-13 (1972). To convict Defendant of false imprisonment, the State had to prove the following beyond a reasonable doubt:

1. The defendant confined [the victim] against his will;

2. The defendant knew she had no authority to confine [the victim][.]

See UJI 14-401 NMRA 2001. The jury was also given the following instruction on accessory liability:

The defendant may be found guilty of a crime even though she herself did not do the acts constituting the crime, if the state proves to your satisfaction beyond a reasonable doubt that:

1. The defendant intended that the crime be committed;

2. The crime was committed;

3. The defendant helped, encouraged or caused the crime to be committed[.]

This instruction does not apply to the charge of felony murder.

See UJI 14-2822 NMRA 2001.

{9} The State presented evidence about the events of that night through the testimony of the eyewitness, Apodaca, and that of Jennifer and Brian Jones, who testified about Defendant's separate admissions to each of them about the victim's death. The jury heard testimony that (1) Defendant was armed; (2) she decided, along with Smith and Apodaca, to snatch a stranger off the street; (3) the victim was forced into the back of a two-door car from which he could not get out except through the driver door or the passenger side door; and (4) as they drove from...