State v. Candelaria
State v. Candelaria
Opinion
*1208 {1} Defendants Nora Chee and Karl Candelaria each appeal from separate judgments and sentences following a jury verdict finding them both guilty of fraud, forgery, and conspiracy to commit fraud, and Defendant Chee guilty of embezzlement, arising from a scheme in which they stole over $200,000 from the franchisor of Defendant Chee's business by writing unauthorized checks to themselves. Because the two cases arise from the same facts, and Defendants raise similar claims, we consolidate these cases for decision. See Rule 12-317(B) NMRA.
{2} Defendants make the following claims on appeal: (1) that the evidence was insufficient to support their convictions for forgery, because the checks and signature stamp that they used to carry out their scheme were authentic, even though their use of those items was unauthorized; (2) that the district court erred in denying their motions to dismiss the charges against them on speedy trial grounds on the stated basis that the motions were filed after the deadline for filing pretrial motions in the district court's scheduling order; (3) that the district court erred when it allowed late-disclosed evidence to be used at trial and did not grant a continuance to allow Defendants to further investigate it; (4) that the district court erred when it allowed a substitute witness to testify as a records custodian; and (5) that the district court erred in allowing a variety of unfairly prejudicial evidence to be admitted at trial. Defendant Candelaria also challenges his two convictions for fraud, arguing that they violate his right to be free from double jeopardy. We agree that Defendant Candelaria's two fraud convictions violate the prohibition on double jeopardy, and remand to the district court with instructions that one of the convictions be vacated. We affirm the district court's judgments and sentences in all other respects.
BACKGROUND
{3} Defendant Chee owned a business called Care Connections, which was a franchise of Around the Clock Healthcare Services (ATC), a medical staffing company based in New York. Care Connections, as a franchisee of ATC, provided Registered Nurses (RNs), Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs), and various other healthcare workers to healthcare facilities in need of temporary staff. Ms. Chee was also an RN. Chee's boyfriend, Defendant Candelaria, was an employee of Care Connections, where he performed administrative tasks. He was not an RN, nor was he an employee of ATC.
{4} ATC offered a program called the "daily pay program" or "quick pay program," which allowed RNs to submit a timesheet verifying the work that they had done for a healthcare facility, and be paid by ATC that same day rather than having to wait until the end of the next pay period. ATC provided its franchisees, including Defendant Chee's franchise, with check stock and the signature stamp of ATC's Chief Financial Officer, David Kimbell, to facilitate the quick pay program. ATC placed firm restrictions on Defendant Chee's ability to use the signature stamp and check stock: she was authorized to issue checks only to RNs, for amounts of $500 or less, with a limit of one check per person per day. As a principal of the franchise, Defendant Chee was not authorized to issue quick pay checks to herself, even for services she rendered as an RN. Defendant Candelaria was not entitled to receive quick pay checks, because he was not an RN, and thus could not have provided any services that would have entitled him to receive a quick pay check.
{5} Mr. Kimbell and David Savitsky, the Chief Executive Officer of ATC, discovered in 2009 that Care Connections had issued a number of quick pay checks to Defendants Chee and Candelaria in 2008 and 2009, in amounts totaling over $200,000. No documentation established that Defendants performed any work to justify the issuance of those checks. The checks were deposited into two different bank accounts that Defendant Chee *1209 had opened, and the money was often quickly withdrawn. Defendant Chee was the only person authorized to make withdrawals from those accounts. During the relevant time period, Defendant Chee also wrote checks for large amounts of money from those accounts to Defendant Candelaria.
{6} Both Defendants were arrested on June 3, 2011, and charged with multiple counts of forgery ($2500 or less), contrary to NMSA 1978, Section 30-16-10(A), (B) (2006) ; conspiracy to commit forgery, contrary to Section 30-16-10(A), (B) and NMSA 1978, Section 30-28-2 (1979) ; and fraud (between $2,500 and $20,000), contrary to NMSA 1978, Section 30-16-6 (2006) ; plus one count of conspiracy to commit fraud (between $2,500 and $20,000), contrary to Section 30-16-6 and Section 30-28-2. The State also charged Defendant Chee with multiple counts of embezzlement, contrary to NMSA 1978, Section 30-16-8 (2007), and Defendant Candelaria with one count of fraud (over $20,000), contrary to Section 30-16-6. The district court consolidated Defendants' cases for trial, and Defendant Chee was convicted of twenty-two counts of forgery, one count of embezzlement, one count of fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit fraud. Defendant Candelaria was convicted of ten counts of forgery, two counts of fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit fraud.
DISCUSSION
I. Substantial Evidence Supported Defendants' Forgery Convictions
{7} Defendants claim that substantial evidence did not support their forgery convictions. Specifically, Defendants contend that their conduct did not constitute the crime of forgery because the quick pay checks and signature stamp used in the scheme were genuine, and Defendant Chee endorsed the checks with her own genuine signature. We disagree.
{8} "Although framed as a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, Defendant[s'] argument requires us to engage in statutory interpretation to determine whether the facts of this case, when viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, are legally sufficient to sustain" their convictions for forgery, and we therefore apply de novo review.
See
State v. Barragan
,
{9} "Forgery consists of falsely ... making or altering any signature to, or any part of, any writing purporting to have any legal efficacy with intent to injure or defraud; or knowingly issuing or transferring a forged writing with intent to injure or defraud[.]" Section 30-16-10(A)(1). "Forgery has been defined as a crime aimed primarily at safeguarding confidence in the genuineness of documents relied upon in commercial and business activity."
State v. Baca
,
{10} Attempting to seize upon that distinction, Defendants argue that the checks at issue in this case merely "told lies" by, in effect, falsely representing that Defendants were entitled to deposit the checks, but "were not lies in and of themselves" because both the checks and the signature stamp were genuine. In response, the State, while not disputing that the checks and the signature stamp were genuine, argues instead that Defendants' use of them beyond ATC's authorization to do so constitutes forgery.
*1210
{11} We conclude that the jury could properly find that Defendants committed forgery. Although the checks themselves and the signature stamp were genuine, our appellate courts have long held that a defendant may commit forgery by signing another person's name without authority and, conversely, that signing another's name with authorization is not forgery.
See
State v. Smith
,
{12} In sum, whether a defendant signs another's name by hand, or uses a signature stamp, his or her actions tell a lie about the document itself-that it has been made with the approval of the apparent signer, and is therefore genuine-and does not merely tell a lie about a fact or facts stated in the document. We therefore conclude that Defendants' use of a signature stamp and the checks outside the scope of their authorization to do so were acts which, when combined with the required intent to injure or defraud, constituted forgery.
{13} Defendants rely on several cases in support of their contrary position, but all of them are distinguishable.
See
State v. Carbajal
,
{14} Defendant Candelaria's reliance on
United States v. Hunt
,
{15} Defendant Candelaria also relies on language in
Hunt
indicating that because banks are generally liable if they pay on a forged check, and are rarely aware of private limitations on an agent's authority, "[h]olding banks liable in cases of forgery would make no sense ... if any check signed by an agent without actual authority qualified as 'forged.' "
{16} Finally, contrary to Defendant Chee's assertion,
State v. Deutsch
,
II. The District Court Did Not Err in Denying Defendants' Speedy Trial Motions as Untimely Filed
{17} Defendants claim that the district court erred by summarily denying their speedy trial motions on the ground that they were filed after the deadline for pretrial motions set forth in the district court's scheduling order. We disagree.
{18} We apply a de novo standard of review in deciding whether the district court had the legal authority to require that a motion to dismiss on speedy trial grounds be filed by a certain date before trial.
See
State v. Foster
,
{19} The Local Rules of the Second Judicial District Court required the district court to enter a scheduling order with a pretrial motions deadline. While these cases were pending, our Supreme Court implemented a case management pilot program, Rule LR2-400 *1212 NMRA (2014), in the Second Judicial District Court. 1 Because Defendants' cases were pending on June 30, 2014, they were assigned to a "special calendar." See LR2-400(B)(1), (L). In turn, LR2-400.1 2 governed the process for cases on the special calendar, but those cases were subject to the same sanctions for failure to comply with time limits as those under LR2-400. See LR2-400.1(P)(4). LR2-400(G)(4) required district court judges to issue a scheduling order for criminal cases on various "tracks," and specified the period of time before trial for filing pretrial motions. See LR2-400(G)(4)(a)(vi) (requiring pretrial motions in track 1 cases to be filed at least fifty days before trial); LR2-400(G)(4)(b)(vi) (requiring pretrial motions in track 2 cases to be filed at least sixty days before trial); and LR2-400(G)(4)(c)(vi) (requiring pretrial motions in track 3 cases to be filed at least seventy days before trial). LR2-400(I) stated that "[i]f a party fails to comply with any provision of this rule, including the time limits imposed by the scheduling order, the court shall impose sanctions as the court may deem appropriate in the circumstances[.]"
{20} In accord with LR2-400, the district court issued scheduling orders on January 26, 2015, 3 setting an April 8, 2015 deadline for pretrial motions, and setting Defendants' cases for trial in July 2015. The scheduling order stated, in bold, that "[i]f a party fails to comply with the dates outlined in the [s]cheduling [o]rder, the Court shall impose sanctions. Sanctions may include, but are not limited to, dismissal with o[r] without prejudice, suppression or exclusion of evidence, a monetary fine imposed upon a party's attorney, or a monetary fine imposed on the attorney's employing office with appropriate notice to the office and opportunity to be heard." As provided for under the local rule, the scheduling orders also stated that the district court could grant a twenty-day extension for good cause shown as long as it would not cause the trial date to be extended. See LR2-400(G)(6).
{21} Defendant Chee filed her speedy trial dismissal motion on June 4, 2015, and Defendant Candelaria filed his counterpart motion on June 10, 2015, both well after the April 8, 2015 deadline. Neither motion acknowledged that the pretrial motion deadline had previously expired, nor made any attempt to show good cause to support an extension. The district court, without reaching the merits of Defendants' speedy trial arguments, summarily denied the motions because they were filed after the scheduling order's pretrial motion deadline.
{22} As a threshold matter, we must first decide whether Defendants' challenges to the district court's authority to apply the timeliness requirements of LR 2-400 to their speedy trial motions were preserved for appellate review. The State argues that Defendant Candelaria did not preserve his claim because he never challenged the district court's authority to enforce its scheduling order. Even if not preserved, we exercise our discretion to address it here because the question whether speedy trial motions are subject to the deadlines set forth in pretrial orders presents an issue of law that is likely to recur in the Second Judicial District Court, and perhaps elsewhere, making it a matter of general public interest.
See
Rule 12-321(B)(2)(a) NMRA ;
Azar v. Prudential Ins. Co. of Am.
,
{23} We conclude that the district court had the authority, both inherent and under LR2-400, to deny Defendants' speedy trial motions as untimely under the pretrial scheduling order.
See
State v. Le Mier
,
{24} Defendants do not dispute that they filed their motions to dismiss well after the filing deadline for pretrial motions under the scheduling order, nor do they deny that district courts generally have the authority under LR2-400 and their own inherent powers to sanction parties who fail to comply with pretrial motion deadlines. Nor do Defendants argue that they were unable to file their speedy trial motions before the pretrial deadline passed. Instead, Defendants argue that motions raising speedy trial claims are exempt from the district court's authority to set and enforce a pretrial motion deadline.
{25} In support of this contention, Defendant Candelaria relies on
State v. Taylor
,
{26} Defendant Candelaria also relies on
State v. Aragon
,
{27} Defendants' reliance on
State v. Urban
,
{28} We hold that the district court properly denied Defendants' speedy trial motions as a sanction for their untimely filing.
III. Defendant Candelaria's Two Fraud Convictions Violate Double Jeopardy
{29} Defendant Candelaria claims that his two convictions for fraud violate his right to be free from double jeopardy, arguing that because the two corresponding jury instructions covered overlapping time periods it is possible that he was convicted twice for the same conduct. We review de novo a defendant's claim that his right to be free from double jeopardy was violated.
See
State v. Boergadine
,
{30} Defendant Candelaria was convicted of two counts of fraud-Count 11 (fraud over $2,500 but less than $20,000), relating to conduct occurring between September 22, 2008, and January 22, 2009; and Count 13 (fraud over $20,000), which encompassed acts from July 8, 2008 to January 22, 2009. Aside from the increased dollar amount and the extended date range, the indictment and jury instruction for Count 13 are identical to those relating to Count 11, and nowhere in these documents does the State describe the specific conduct on which these charges are based.
*1215 {31} Defendant Candelaria objected to the overlapping date ranges in the jury instructions at trial, and the State responded that the difference between the two counts was in the way that the various checks were deposited, but did not make it clear what that difference was. The district court ruled that it would allow the date ranges to overlap, but would address the issue at sentencing if it remained an issue at that time. Defendant Candelaria did not raise the matter again.
{32} Both the New Mexico and United States Constitutions guarantee defendants the right not to "be twice put in jeopardy for the same offense."
State v. Armendariz
,
{33} There are two types of multiple punishment cases-unit of prosecution cases and double description cases.
Id.
¶¶ 8-9. This case is a unit of prosecution case, because Defendant Candelaria alleges that his two convictions for fraud violate his right to be free from double jeopardy. "In unit of prosecution cases, the defendant is charged with multiple violations of a single statute based upon acts that may or may not be considered a single course of conduct."
State v. Bello
,
{34} Typically, in a unit of prosecution case, we employ a two-part test to determine the Legislature's intent.
Swick
,
{35} Because the unit of prosecution for fraud has not been clearly defined by the Legislature, the parties each encourage us to apply the six-factor test set forth in
Herron v. State
,
{36} We addressed a similar issue in
State v. Cook
,
{37} Although the two counts in
Cook
covered the same time frame, and here we simply have an overlap of the time period at issue, we believe
Cook
to be instructive. There, we vacated one conviction for tampering with evidence because the jury could have relied on the same evidence in convicting the defendant of the same crime twice.
See
id.
¶¶ 18-19. A similar danger is present here, because the jury could have relied on evidence that fell within the overlapping time period to convict Defendant Candelaria of both counts of fraud. Accordingly, we examine the State's closing argument to determine whether it clarified the factual basis for the fraud counts.
See
State v. Luna
,
{38} During its closing argument, the State attempted to differentiate between the two counts of fraud, but at times appeared to conflate them. The State addressed Count 11 as follows:
[B]asically, this fraud count, this September 22nd to January 22nd, this is referring to the behavior where [Defendants] Chee and Candelaria worked together. [They] would write checks to [Defendant] Candelaria. He would sign them over, 'Pay to the order of Chee,' they would be deposited into her account and then immediately withdrawn. That's what we're looking at.
So we're looking at September through January. We know in that time there was a lot of money taken just by [Defendant Candelaria]. Here we have $15,000 in September; $4,000 in October, $2,000 in January. We have to show that they obtained over $2,500-she obtained over $2,500 as a result of this.
Well, just looking at the [Defendant Candelaria] check, just in October we have $4,500 deposited into her account, immediately withdrawn. So yes, we hit that $2,500 mark.
{39} Later, the State addressed Count 13 as follows:
And lastly, we have fraud over $20,000. We're looking at the time periods between July 8, 2008, and ... January 22nd, 2009. During that time, we have all of those checks deposited into his account. In just August we have $25,000 of checks in his name deposited into Nora Chee's account. And we know also that on months when there weren't any checks in his name, he was receiving payouts from her.... The total obtained between the two of them was $214,000. So we hit that $20,000 amount.... And this happened between July and January of 2009. So during that time, just in checks to him, just in checks deposited into [Defendant] Chee's account, we have $52,000 of checks written to him, deposited into her account, endorsed by him before they're deposited. That's the fraud.
Based on the discussion above, it is not clear how the two counts are distinguishable. In discussing both counts, the prosecutor referred to checks written to Defendant Candelaria, which were then endorsed over to Defendant Chee and deposited into one of her bank accounts.
{40} Because the factual basis for differentiating between Counts 11 and 13 is not clear from the indictment, the jury instructions, or even the State's closing argument, we conclude that the jury could have convicted Defendant Candelaria twice for the same conduct.
See
Cook
,
IV. The District Court Did Not Abuse Its Discretion in Admitting Evidence
{41} Defendants challenge several of the district court's evidentiary rulings. We address
*1217
each of them in turn. "We review the admission of evidence under an abuse of discretion standard and will not reverse in the absence of a clear abuse."
State v. Sarracino
,
A. Late-Disclosed Evidence
{42} Defendants argue that the district court abused its discretion in allowing the State to present evidence that it did not disclose until two weeks before trial, and declining to give them a continuance to further investigate the evidence disclosed, or sanction the State for the late-disclosed evidence. We are not persuaded.
{43} While preparing to be a witness at trial, Mr. Savitsky discovered a letter written in 2000 by Ed Teixeira, then the executive vice president and chief operating officer of ATC, advising Defendant Chee that she was not allowed to write quick pay checks to herself because she was a principal of the franchise, and advising her that nine quick pay checks that she had written to herself had been stopped. Mr. Teixeira also discovered additional checks "tending to incriminate co-defendant Candelaria." He provided the evidence to the State, which turned it over to defense counsel the next day.
{44} We first address Defendant Candelaria's argument that the district court was required to sanction the State for the late disclosure under LR2-400 and Rule 5-501 NMRA. We reject this argument because the State did not violate the rules when it turned over the evidence to the defense one day after it was received from Mr. Teixeira. See LR2-400(D)(3) (2014) ("The state shall have a continuing duty to disclose additional information to the defendant within five (5) days of receipt of such information.").
{45} In deciding whether the district court abused its discretion in admitting the late-disclosed evidence, or declining to grant a continuance for the defense to investigate and respond to it, we consider the following factors: "(1) whether the [s]tate breached some duty or intentionally deprived the defendant of evidence; (2) whether the improperly non-disclosed evidence was material; (3) whether the non-disclosure of the evidence prejudiced the defendant; and (4) whether the trial court cured the failure to timely disclose the evidence."
State v. Duarte
,
{46} With regard to the letter to Defendant Chee from Ed Teixeira, we hold that the district court did not abuse its discretion in admitting it into evidence and not granting a continuance. We have already concluded that the State did not violate any discovery obligation because it produced the letter to Defendants one day after it was received. We do not believe that earlier disclosure of the letter would have changed the result of the case, nor did it unfairly prejudice Defendants, because it was cumulative of Mr. Savitsky's testimony that Defendant Chee was aware that she was not permitted to write quick pay checks to herself, and that the use of quick pay checks was limited to payments for nurses in amounts of $500 or less. Defendants explored this testimony during pretrial interviews with Mr. Savitsky, and were thus aware of this evidence well in advance of trial, regardless of when they received the letter. Moreover, the district court attempted to cure any possible prejudice by granting defense counsel's request "to talk to Mr. Savitsky for five or ten minutes" about the letter before he testified at trial. After this interview, Defendants did not request additional time to discuss the issue with Mr. Savitsky or assert any further need to investigate the letter. Because Defendants were already aware of the substance of this evidence, earlier disclosure of the letter would not have changed the outcome of the trial.
{47} Defendant Chee argues that she was unfairly prejudiced by the late disclosure of *1218 the letter, and that the district court should have granted a continuance, because "[g]iven the eight[-]year gap between the letter and the charging period, it is possible that ATC could have had other letters or correspondence in its possession that were also written to Nora Chee, but which may have told Chee a different and conflicting message." A continuance, she argues, would have allowed her to subpoena ATC's records to discover whether any contrary information existed. But Defendant Chee already knew, before the letter was disclosed, that ATC witnesses would testify that she was aware that she lacked permission to write quick pay checks to herself. Thus, she did not need the letter to alert her to the potential benefit of subpoenaing ATC to discover whether it had any written records that might have contradicted its position that she was not allowed to write checks to herself.
{48} With regard to the late-disclosed checks, Defendant Chee contends that their earlier disclosure might have altered her defense strategy in some unspecified way, or caused her to move to sever the trial, but she does not explain why those checks would have prompted her to do so. We decline to review this undeveloped claim, because "[w]e will not review unclear arguments, or guess at what [a party's] arguments might be."
Headley v. Morgan Mgmt. Corp.
,
B. Testimony of the Substitute Records Custodian
{49} At trial, the district court excluded Stephanie Baca, a records custodian for the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), from testifying as a witness for the State because she was present in the courtroom during the testimony of other witnesses, in violation of Rule 11-615 NMRA. The district court allowed the State to call a different witness, Michael Martindale, who was the civil litigation administrator for MDC, and Ms. Baca's supervisor, to testify as records custodian. Defendant Chee argues that it was improper to allow this "surprise witness" to authenticate a letter written by Defendant Candelaria to Defendant Chee. In the letter, written while both Defendants were incarcerated at MDC, Defendant Candelaria admitted to committing the crimes, and said he would testify that Defendant Chee was unaware of his conduct. Defendant Chee argues that Mr. Martindale did not properly authenticate the letter, and that the district court should not have allowed him to testify because her attorney only had a few minutes to interview Mr. Martindale before he testified.
{50} We reject this claim, because Defendant Chee does not explain how allowing Mr. Martindale to testify prejudiced her.
See
State v. Griffin
,
C. Defendant Candelaria's Challenge to the Admission of His Booking Sheet, Racist Tattoo, and Letter to Defendant Chee
{51} Defendant Candelaria challenges the admission of his letter to Defendant Chee, in which he confessed to committing the crimes, arguing that it was not properly authenticated by Mr. Martindale. Defendant Candelaria also argues that the admission of his booking *1219 sheet at the MDC, and the fact that he was required to show the jury his forearm tattoo, which he contends bore a racist image, exposed the jury to unfairly prejudicial evidence.
1. Defendant Candelaria's Letter to Defendant Chee
{52} Mr. Martindale was called to authenticate a letter that Defendant Candelaria wrote to Defendant Chee, in which he confessed to the crimes, indicated that he intended to "implicate David Savitsky in a plan to take the franchise" from Defendant Chee and to testify that she was unaware of his conduct, and instructed Defendant Chee to destroy the letter. Defendant Candelaria argues that Mr. Martindale was unable to properly authenticate the letter that was admitted into evidence because he did not have personal knowledge of the letter, had not seen the original letter, could not identify Defendant Candelaria's handwriting, and was not able to produce a mail log for the letter.
{53} The envelope that contained the letter was addressed to Defendant Chee in "F8-13[,]" and stated that Defendant Candelaria was in "E-7, Cell 13." Mr. Martindale testified that Defendant Chee was assigned to Unit F, Pod 8, Cell 13, and that Defendant Candelaria was assigned to Unit E, Pod 7, Cell 13, the locations specified in the letter. Mr. Martindale also testified about the general procedures that are followed when an inmate is booked and when an inmate receives mail. He testified that the mail log for the letter was never located despite efforts to find it. He also testified that he had not seen the original letter, but only saw photocopies of the letter and the envelope it purportedly came in.
{54} Our rules of evidence provide that evidence is authenticated if a party can "produce evidence sufficient to support a finding that the item is what the proponent claims it is." Rule 11-901(A) NMRA. A party can authenticate an item by providing evidence of the "appearance, contents, substance, internal patterns, or other distinctive characteristics of the item, taken together with all the circumstances." Rule 11-901(B)(4). A writing can be shown to have come from a specific person "by virtue of disclosing knowledge of facts known peculiarly to him[.]" Fed. R. Evid. 901 advisory committee note, Example (4);
see
State v. Loza
,
{55} We conclude that the evidence was sufficient to permit a reasonable jury to believe that Defendant Candelaria wrote the letter to Defendant Chee. The letter included Defendants' cell numbers in the MDC, and Mr. Martindale confirmed Defendants were indeed housed in those locations. The letter also contained facts peculiarly known to Defendant Candelaria, and statements that only someone in his position would make, including that Defendant Chee's business was a franchise; that David Savitsky was involved in the case; that the case involved writings (as evidenced by the letter's statement that a handwriting expert would exonerate Defendant Chee); and contained several statements that he loved Defendant Chee. To be sure, Defendants made arguments weighing against the letter's authenticity, but those went to the weight of the evidence, not its admissibility. We therefore hold that it was not an abuse of discretion for the district court to determine that the letter had been sufficiently authenticated.
D. The Booking Sheet and Tattoo
{56} Defendant Candelaria argues that allowing his MDC booking sheet to be admitted into evidence, and requiring him to show the jury his forearm tattoo, were unfairly prejudicial, and should have been excluded under Rule 11-403 NMRA ("The court may exclude relevant evidence if its probative value is substantially outweighed by a danger of ... unfair prejudice."). We disagree.
{57} A booking sheet is created by jail staff, based on information that arrestees provide them when they are brought into the jail. The booking sheet here contained Defendant Candelaria's photograph, stated that he had a "Fu Manchu" tattoo, identified Defendant Chee as his emergency contact and as his girlfriend, and stated that they shared *1220 the same address. Defendant Candelaria contends that the booking sheet and the tattoo only demonstrated that Defendant Candelaria knew Defendant Chee, arguing "[t]he State conflates identity with proof that [Defendant] Candelaria committed the crime." Defendant's contention misses the mark. At trial, the State did not present any eyewitness testimony, or photographic or videographic evidence, that Defendant Candelaria had written or cashed the quick pay checks. Defendant Candelaria affirmatively relied on the absence of such evidence at trial, and even moved for a directed verdict on that basis. Admitting the booking sheet, and requiring Defendant Candelaria to show his tattoo to the jury, tended to establish that he was indeed the same person who had been booked into the MDC, that he was there at the same time as Defendant Chee (her booking sheet was also admitted into evidence), and inferentially that he was the author of the letter to Defendant Chee admitting that he committed the crimes. This evidence, combined with the letter itself and Mr. Martindale's testimony linking the letter to Defendants' location within the jail, provided a nexus between Defendant Candelaria and the crimes charged. The evidence therefore had substantial probative value.
{58} As for the other prong of the Rule 11-403 analysis, Defendant Candelaria has failed to demonstrate that the probative value of this evidence was substantially outweighed by a danger of unfair prejudice. Defendant Candelaria argues that the booking sheet was unnecessary because he "never claimed that he was not Karl Candelaria or that police did not arrest him," but this argument misses the point. Defendant Candelaria did not admit that he was the author of the incriminating letter, and the booking sheet helped to show that he was its author. As for the tattoo, Defendant Candelaria's counsel argued that it depicted a "caricature of an Asian man with kind of an exaggerated head dress and mustache, and very slanted eyes[,]" and that it therefore could potentially offend the jury. Defendant Candelaria, however, failed to include a photograph of the tattoo in the appellate record, and we are therefore unable to fairly evaluate the potential for unfair prejudice created by the tattoo. It was Defendant Candelaria's burden to provide a complete record for our review on appeal, and we decline to reverse the district court's ruling on this basis.
Jim
,
CONCLUSION
{59} For the foregoing reasons, we remand this case to the district court with instructions to vacate Defendant Candelaria's fraud conviction carrying the lesser sentence. We affirm the district court's judgments and sentences against Defendant Candelaria and Chee in all other respects.
{60} IT IS SO ORDERED.
WE CONCUR:
LINDA M. VANZI, Judge
JULIE J. VARGAS, Judge
LR2-400 was recompiled and amended as LR2-308 NMRA, effective December 31, 2016. Any reference to the rule in this opinion will be cited as LR2-400, the version of the rule in effect at the time the district court made its ruling.
A copy of LR2-400.1 is available at https://seconddistrictcourt.nmcourts.gov/case-management-order.aspx by selecting "Adopted Rule for 'Special Calendar.' "
The file stamp on the face of the orders mistakenly states that they were filed on January 26, 2014.
The Legislature amended the fraud statute, Section 30-16-6, in 2006, roughly a year after Boergadine was decided. However, the amendments did not affect Boergadine 's unit of prosecution analysis. They simply changed the dollar amounts associated with each level of punishment, and added language stating that the misappropriation or taking of a firearm valued at less than $2,500 is a fourth degree felony. See § 30-16-6.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- STATE of New Mexico, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Karl CANDELARIA, Defendant-Appellant, and State of New Mexico, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Nora Chee, Defendant-Appellant.
- Cited By
- 26 cases
- Status
- Published