Arizona Criminal Defense Attorney Blog

May 31, 2023

Arizona Defendant in Child Molestation Case Appeals Based on Involuntary Confession

In a recent case before an appeals court in Arizona, the defendant asked for the court to reconsider a decision regarding his conviction for child molestation. Originally, the defendant was charged and convicted after he inappropriately touched a young girl. He confessed to the crime in front of several police officers, but he later claimed he lied during the confession because the police were being so aggressive. Finding no evidence that the defendant was lying, the higher court ultimately denied his appeal.

Facts of the Case

According to the opinion, the defendant lived with his girlfriend, his girlfriend’s daughter, and the couple’s baby son. The couple eventually broke up, and the ex-girlfriend moved out while the defendant cared for the children alone. Once, when the ex-girlfriend came to visit, she looked at the defendant’s phone and found a video of him inappropriately touching her eight-year-old daughter.

The ex-girlfriend called the police, who immediately brought the defendant in for questioning. They interrogated him, first reading him his Miranda rights then asking him about the offense in question. The defendant admitted to having inappropriately touched the girl.

May 13, 2023

Arizona Defendant Involved in Shooting Incident Successfully Appeals Guilty Conviction

by James E. Novak, P.L.L.C.

In a recent case on appeal from a Maricopa County superior court, the defendant asked that his conviction for discharging a firearm at a nonresidential structure be reversed. Importantly, the defendant argued that there was insufficient evidence to support the jury’s finding that he intentionally shot a nightclub building on the night of the incident in question. Agreeing with the defendant’s argument, the court reversed and remanded the case, giving the defendant another chance before the trial court.

Facts of the Case

According to the opinion, the defendant got into an altercation one evening outside of a nightclub with another individual. He ended up trying to shoot the individual, but he missed and hit the actual nightclub instead. No one was injured, but the bullets hit a metal tripod inside the building as well as a block wall on the outside of the building.

The defendant was charged with discharging a firearm at a nonresidential structure, aggravated assault, and endangerment. At trial, he argued that he was acting in self-defense, and the jury found him not guilty of aggravated assault and endangerment. The jury did, however, find him guilty of discharging a firearm at a nonresidential structure, and the defendant was sentenced accordingly.

April 27, 2023

Arizona Defendant Unsuccessfully Appeals Unfavorable Decision on Motion to Suppress

by James E. Novak, P.L.L.C.

Recently, a defendant in a case involving narcotic drugs asked the Arizona Court of Appeals to reverse an unfavorable decision delivered by the superior court. Originally charged with possession of narcotic drugs and misconduct involving weapons, the defendant asked the lower court to suppress incriminating evidence that the government planned to use against him during trial. The superior court denied the motion, the defendant appealed, and the higher court ultimately affirmed, refusing to suppress the evidence in question.

Facts of the Case

According to the opinion, local police officers received a call one evening regarding an alleged abandoned car in a residential neighborhood. Officers arrived to investigate, at which point the car began moving. Officers learned that the defendant was in the driver’s seat, and he started taking the car westbound. As the police car followed, the defendant committed a traffic violation by cutting across several lanes of traffic at once.

The officers conducted a traffic stop and subsequently found marijuana, a gun, and a digital scale in the car. They arrested the defendant, and he was charged accordingly.

April 11, 2023

Defendant in Credit Card Forgery Case Appeals Lower Court’s Decision

by James E. Novak, P.L.L.C.

In a recent case before a court of appeals in Arizona, the defendant asked for a reversal of his guilty verdict based on unfair conduct from the prosecutor at trial. Originally, the defendant was found guilty of several crimes, including identity theft, forgery, and criminal possession of a forgery device. On appeal, the defendant took issue with part of the prosecuting attorney’s closing argument, in which he insinuated the defendant was guilty of activity that was not in the record. Looking at the case, the court of appeals disagreed and ultimately affirmed the defendant’s original verdict.

Facts of the Case

According to the opinion, an officer was on patrol one evening when he got a call about a suspicious-looking car in a parking lot. The officer went to investigate and came upon the defendant, who was alone and asleep in the driver’s seat. When the officer approached, the defendant quickly drove away, crashing the car in front of a nearby house.

The defendant took off on foot, arriving at a shed next to another house in the neighborhood. When the officers arrived, they found the defendant hiding in the shed with a slew of credit cards around him. After further investigation, the defendant was charged, and his case went to trial. He was found guilty of forgery, based in part on the fact that he had dozens of credit cards that were not under his name, as well as the fact that the credit card holders had reported fraudulent charges on those cards.

March 31, 2023

Arizona Defendant in Robbery Case Challenges Guilty Conviction with DNA Evidence

by James E. Novak, P.L.L.C.

In a recent case before an appeals court in Arizona, the defendant asked for a reconsideration of his guilty conviction for armed robbery and aggravated assault. Originally, the defendant was convicted after he and an accomplice robbed a local jewelry store. His case went to trial, and a jury found him guilty. When the defendant appealed, the higher court had to decide whether the evidence supported the verdict, given the defendant’s argument that some of the DNA should have undergone independent testing and was thus unreliable. Ultimately, the higher court denied the defendant’s appeal, and his original verdict was affirmed.

Facts of the Case

According to the opinion, the defendant and his accomplice arrived at a jewelry store on the day in question and held the owner at gunpoint. A passerby came into the store, and when that passerby started to pull out his phone to call the police, the defendant fought him to the ground. Eventually, the defendant and his accomplice both fled the scene, and investigators arrived quickly after they left.

While fleeing, the defendant had left behind a shirt and a hat from the fight with the passerby. Using DNA evidence, the investigators linked the shirt to the defendant, who was in their criminal database. Eventually, the defendant was charged, and his case went to trial. The jury found the defendant guilty as charged.

February 28, 2023

Arizona Court of Appeals Finds Young Defendant’s Confession Was Not Improperly Admitted at Trial

by James E. Novak, P.L.L.C.

In a recent case before an Arizona court of appeals, the defendant in a murder and robbery case asked the court to find that his confession was made involuntarily. The defendant was charged when he was 16 years old, and he argued on appeal that when he confessed to the crime, he did not have the mental capacity to understand what he was doing. On appeal, the higher court affirmed the lower court’s decision and kept in place the original convictions and sentences.

Facts of the Case

According to the opinion, the defendant and a friend of his were found near the body of a murder victim in November 2016. Both individuals were brought in for questioning, and the defendant said he wanted to speak with an attorney before saying anything to the officers. The officers granted this request, and they put both individuals into a room while they waited for attorneys to arrive. The defendant and his friend did not know that the room was being monitored by video and audio recording.

The defendant and his friend began talking, and the defendant stated that he had fired shots into the back of the victim’s head. The State admitted this confession at trial, and the defendant was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment.

February 10, 2023

Arizona Defendant Unsuccessfully Argues for Reversal in Drug Case Before Court of Appeals

by James E. Novak, P.L.L.C.

Earlier this month, an Arizona court considered an appeal from a defendant convicted of transportation of dangerous drugs for sale. In 2018, the defendant was charged after a police officer found methamphetamine and heroin in the trunk of his car. The case went to trial, the defendant was found guilty, and this appeal followed. Looking at the record of the case, the court ultimately denied the defendant’s appeal, affirming the original guilty conviction.

Facts of the Case

According to the opinion, the defendant was driving one evening when an officer stopped him because his license plate lamps were broken. When asked for his license and registration, the defendant admitted that he did not have any registration with him. At that point, the officer arrested and searched the defendant.

The officer quickly found $10,000 in cash as well as a briefcase with methamphetamine, heroin, cash, and firearms. The defendant was criminally charged, and his case went to trial. During trial, the State presented evidence that the defendant had been texting with various individuals about how to sell the drugs in his car.

January 21, 2023

Arizona Defendant in Child Sexual Abuse Case Appeals Guilty Conviction

by James E. Novak, P.L.L.C.

In a recent case before the Arizona Court of Appeals involving sexual assault, the defendant argued that his guilty conviction should be reversed. Originally, the defendant was charged continuous sexual abuse, child molestation, and sexual conduct with a minor. After considering the defendant’s appeal, the higher court ended up affirming the original guilty verdict.

Facts of the Case

According to the opinion, the defendant lived with his wife and two stepdaughters prior to the start of this case. In early 2020, one of the two minor children started acting differently, and her mother asked if anything had been bothering her. At that time, the child said that the defendant had been hurting her. The mother, concerned about the allegations, asked her older daughter whether the defendant had ever acted inappropriately or violently with her. The older daughter told her mother to call the police.

At that point, the defendant was charged with sexual abuse of a child. During trial, both children testified and described multiple specific instances during which the defendant entered their rooms at night and had sex with them. The girls detailed the defendant’s behaviors and the abuse they had endured. A pediatric nurse also testified at trial, and she stated that one of the daughters had visible injuries that likely came from a sexual assault.

The jury found the defendant guilty, and the court sentenced him to life in prison.

January 11, 2023

Defendant in Drug and Sex Abuse Case Asks for New Trial Based on Prosecutorial Misconduct

by James E. Novak, P.L.L.C.

In a recent case before the Arizona Court of Appeals, the court had to decide whether to grant a new trial in a defendant’s drug and sexual conduct case. Originally, the defendant was charged with and convicted of several drug offenses as well as sexual conduct with a minor. He appealed, arguing the prosecuting attorney made a grave error during the trial that merited an entirely new trial. The court of appeals reviewed the record of the case and ultimately disagreed, denying the defendant’s appeal.

Facts of the Case

According to the opinion, the defendant in this case was treating an adolescent girl for ongoing issues with depression. The defendant claimed to have experience with plant medicine, and he told the girl that he could help solve her depression with a certain kind of mushroom.

Over time, the defendant and the girl developed a friendly relationship. Soon, however, the defendant invited the girl on a camping trip, and the relationship quickly took a turn. The defendant told the girl to consume mushrooms that would make her high, and he invited the girl to have sex with him and his wife, who was also on the camping trip.

January 1, 2023

Aggravated Assault Conviction Affirmed Despite Victim’s Attempted Recantation of Complaint

by James E. Novak, P.L.L.C.

A common theme in Arizona domestic violence prosecutions involves the changing stories and testimonies of alleged domestic violence victims as a case progresses toward prosecution and conviction. Often, complaining victims may exaggerate or fabricate evidence of domestic violence in response to a domestic altercation, or to offset allegations of violence against themselves when law enforcement is called to the scene of a domestic dispute. Although domestic violence is never an acceptable response to a relationship or familial dispute, unfounded allegations of domestic violence sometimes result in severe, life-altering consequences to the alleged perpetrator, and sometimes also the alleged victim as well. The Arizona Court of Appeals recently affirmed a defendant’s aggravated assault conviction for a domestic violence crime, despite the victim’s attempt to recant her initial complaint to the police from the day of the alleged incident.

The defendant in the recently decided appeal was arrested and charged with aggravated assault after he allegedly strangled and assaulted the mother of his children during an argument between the parties. Although the visual evidence of strangulation was limited, the police and prosecutors were inclined to prosecute the charges based on the victim’s initial reporting to the police. As the case approached trial, however, the victim’s story changed, and she testified at trial that she was, in fact, not strangled by the defendant, insinuating that her initial report to the police was an emotional response to a personal argument between the parties. The victim’s trial testimony was not persuasive to the jury in their case, and the defendant was convicted of the charges. The defendant was then sentenced to 12 years in prison.

The defendant appealed his conviction, arguing that the statements made by the victim to the investigator should not have been admitted at trial, as they were hearsay. Furthermore, the defendant argued that the evidence at trial was not sufficient to support his conviction. The appellate court rejected the defendant’s arguments, finding that the victim’s statements were admissible at trial specifically because they were inconsistent with her testimony at trial. Additionally, the appellate court gave great deference to the trial judge’s determination that there was sufficient evidence to support the conviction. As a result of the appellate rulings, the defendant will be required to serve his prison sentence.