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NOTICE: THIS DECISION DOES NOT <strong>CR</strong>EATE LEGAL PRECEDENT AND MAY NOT BE CITED<br />

EXCEPT AS AUTHORIZED BY APPLI<strong>CA</strong>BLE RULES.<br />

See Ariz. R. Supreme Court 111(c); AR<strong>CA</strong>P 28(c);<br />

Ariz. R. Crim. P. 31.24<br />

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS<br />

STATE OF ARIZONA<br />

DIVISION ONE<br />

STATE OF ARIZONA,<br />

Appellee,<br />

v.<br />

STELIOS MALTEPES,<br />

Appellant.<br />

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1 <strong>CA</strong>-<strong>CR</strong> <strong>07</strong>-<strong>0177</strong><br />

DEPARTMENT E<br />

MEMORANDUM DECISION<br />

(Not for Publication -<br />

Rule 111, Rules of the<br />

Arizona Supreme Court)<br />

FILED 8-19-08<br />

Appeal from the Superior Court in Maricopa County<br />

Cause No. <strong>CR</strong>2005-111520-001 DT<br />

The Honorable Bethany G. Hicks, Judge<br />

The Honorable Robert L. Gottsfield, Judge<br />

REVERSED AND REMANDED<br />

Terry Goddard, Attorney General<br />

by<br />

Kent E. Cattani, Chief Counsel,<br />

Criminal Appeals Section<br />

and Michael O’Toole, Assistant Attorney General<br />

Attorneys for Appellee<br />

Law Office of Thomas M. Hoidal PLC<br />

by Thomas M. Hoidal<br />

Attorneys for Appellant<br />

Phoenix<br />

Phoenix<br />

P O R T L E Y, Judge<br />

1 Stelios Maltepes (“Defendant”) appeals from his<br />

convictions for possession of marijuana for sale and conspiracy


to possess marijuana for sale. Because improper hearsay<br />

evidence was admitted at trial, we reverse and remand for a new<br />

trial.<br />

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY<br />

2 On April 15, 2005, Phoenix Police Department<br />

detectives executed a search warrant at a warehouse on West<br />

McDowell. They found five men, including Lucio Lafarga, Roberto<br />

Gonzales and Carlos Escarcega, along with approximately 1100<br />

pounds of marijuana in the process of being concealed inside<br />

pallets of bottled water. The police also discovered a<br />

generator, a heat seal machine, rolls of plastic wrap, heat seal<br />

bags, and a Pelouze scale, which is commonly used by drug<br />

traffickers to weigh marijuana and other drugs.<br />

3 Defendant was not present when the search was<br />

conducted, but had been at the warehouse on two prior occasions<br />

while the police were surveilling the premises. Two days<br />

earlier, Defendant was observed exiting the warehouse with<br />

Lafarga, Gonzales, Escarcega and Daniel Tovar. They stood<br />

outside talking for a few minutes and then left.<br />

Defendant<br />

returned to the warehouse the following morning with Tovar and<br />

Gonzales.<br />

Tovar removed a large box from the vehicle’s trunk<br />

that appeared to contain a generator.<br />

Gonzales pulled the box<br />

into the warehouse using a pallet jack.<br />

Defendant followed<br />

2


Gonzales inside while Tovar took four rolls of industrial sized,<br />

clear plastic wrap from the vehicle and carried them into the<br />

warehouse. About thirty minutes later, they exited the<br />

warehouse and drove off together.<br />

4 After executing the search warrant, the police<br />

arrested Defendant at a hotel.<br />

Inside Defendant’s room, the<br />

police found approximately $6,000 in cash, cell phones, and a<br />

piece of paper with the name “Paco” and a Phoenix phone number.<br />

Paco, whose real name is Franciso Carella Flores, is one of<br />

Lafarga’s drug associates.<br />

5 The police subsequently located and interviewed<br />

Tovar.<br />

Tovar told investigators that he worked for Defendant;<br />

that Defendant ran the operation out of the warehouse; and that<br />

Defendant was transporting large quantities of marijuana to<br />

Philadelphia.<br />

Tovar further stated that Lafarga was supplying<br />

the marijuana to Defendant.<br />

6 Defendant and six co-defendants were indicted for<br />

possession of marijuana for sale over the threshold and<br />

conspiracy to commit possession of marijuana for sale over the<br />

threshold, class 2 felonies. Prior to trial, Defendant moved to<br />

suppress the evidence obtained in the search of the warehouse<br />

and argued the affidavit supporting the search warrant was<br />

3


insufficient. Following an evidentiary hearing, the trial court<br />

denied the motion.<br />

7 At trial, the State presented testimony from<br />

detectives concerning their investigation of the marijuana<br />

operation as well as testimony from Tovar on Defendant’s role in<br />

the operation. The jury found Defendant guilty on both counts.<br />

Defendant was sentenced to two concurrent mitigated 4.5-year<br />

terms of imprisonment. Defendant appeals, and we have<br />

jurisdiction pursuant to Arizona Revised Statutes (“A.R.S.”)<br />

sections 12-120.21(A)(1) (2003), 13-4031 (2001), and 13-<br />

4033(A)(1) (2001).<br />

DISCUSSION<br />

8 Defendant argues that the trial court erred by (1)<br />

denying his motion to suppress challenging the search warrant,<br />

(2) failing to hold a hearing on an alleged violation of an<br />

immunity agreement, (3) admitting testimony in violation of<br />

Defendant’s right of confrontation, and (4) admitting opinion<br />

testimony regarding Defendant’s role in the marijuana operation.<br />

A. Motion to Suppress<br />

9 Defendant argues that the trial court erred in denying<br />

his motion to suppress the evidence obtained in the search of<br />

the warehouse.<br />

He contends that the affidavit submitted in<br />

support of the warrant contains false and misleading<br />

4


information.<br />

He asserts that when the false and misleading<br />

information is redacted, the affidavit is insufficient to<br />

support a finding of probable cause for the search.<br />

10 In general, we will not disturb the denial of a motion<br />

to suppress evidence absent “a clear abuse of discretion.”<br />

State v. Crowley, 202 Ariz. 80, 83, 7, 41 P.3d 618, 621 (App.<br />

2002). Furthermore, we view the facts in the light most<br />

favorable to sustaining the trial court’s ruling on the motion<br />

to suppress. State v. Hyde, 186 Ariz. 252, 265, 921 P.2d 655,<br />

668 (1996).<br />

11 A warrant may be voided if the defendant shows by a<br />

preponderance of evidence that (1) the affidavit contained a<br />

false statement made knowingly, intentionally, or recklessly by<br />

the affiant; and (2) the false statement was necessary to a<br />

finding of probable cause. Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154,<br />

155-56 (1978). If a defendant establishes the first prong of<br />

the test, the court must set aside the false information. State<br />

v. Buccini, 167 Ariz. 550, 554, 810 P.2d 178, 182 (1991). The<br />

court must then view the affidavit’s remaining content to<br />

determine whether it establishes probable cause. Id. If not,<br />

the search warrant is void and anything obtained from the search<br />

must be excluded. Id.<br />

5


12 On appeal, when we review whether an affiant<br />

knowingly, intentionally or recklessly misstated facts and<br />

whether a redrafted affidavit would still establish probable<br />

cause, we apply two different standards.<br />

Unless we find the<br />

court’s decision is “clearly erroneous,” we affirm the court’s<br />

factual determination that the affiant did or did not<br />

“deliberately include[] misstatements of law or exclude[]<br />

material facts.” Id. (citations omitted). If the trial court<br />

made a determination that there has been a knowing, intentional<br />

or reckless misstatement of material fact, we apply a de novo<br />

standard of review to decide the correctness of the court’s<br />

determination that a redrafted affidavit sufficiently<br />

establishes probable cause. Id. at 555, 810 P.2d at 183.<br />

13 Here, the court made no specific findings when it<br />

denied the motion to suppress. Nevertheless, we can affirm the<br />

decision if it is legally correct for any reason. State v.<br />

Perez, 141 Ariz. 459, 464, 687 P.2d 1214, 1219 (1984).<br />

14 The affidavit submitted in support of the search<br />

warrant was prepared by Detective Valadez. The affidavit<br />

details the investigation done by Phoenix police after they were<br />

alerted by a shipping company that marijuana was secreted in a<br />

package of freight to be delivered to Philadelphia. The<br />

affidavit included information that the police gathered between<br />

6


March 18, 2005, and April 15, 2005, that led them from the<br />

warehouse on Montebello, where the shipment originated, to<br />

another warehouse on North 51st Avenue, and finally to the<br />

warehouse on McDowell that was the subject of the search<br />

warrant.<br />

The affidavit further provides information regarding<br />

the activities of various persons, including Defendant, in<br />

relation to the warehouses.<br />

15 Defendant argues that the affidavit should be<br />

redrafted under Franks because Detective Valadez (1) falsely<br />

indicated there was a connection between the Montebello<br />

warehouse and the 51st Avenue warehouse; (2) did not inform the<br />

magistrate that some of the reported observations made at the<br />

McDowell warehouse were made by non-law enforcement sources; (3)<br />

failed to inform the magistrate when reporting on one suspect’s<br />

involvement in prior drug trafficking that the suspect was not<br />

prosecuted for the prior incident; and (4) falsely informed the<br />

magistrate that Defendant was at the warehouse on the morning of<br />

April 15, 2005.<br />

16 To establish that an affiant’s statements were made<br />

with “reckless disregard for the truth” requires a showing that<br />

the affiant “entertained serious doubts about the truth of the<br />

affidavit.” State v. Carter, 145 Ariz. 101, 109, 700 P.2d 488,<br />

496 (1985). Mere innocent or negligent mistakes in an affidavit<br />

7


will not satisfy the first prong of this test.<br />

Id. (citing<br />

Franks, 438 U.S. at 171). Furthermore, to invalidate the<br />

warrant, any “false statement” must not only be made knowingly,<br />

intentionally or recklessly, it must also be a statement that<br />

was necessary to the finding of probable cause. State v.<br />

Nordstrom, 200 Ariz. 229, 245, 42, 25 P.3d 717, 733 (2001).<br />

17 After listening to Detective Valadez’s testimony at<br />

the Franks hearing, the trial court could have found that<br />

Valadez did not make any knowing, intentional or reckless<br />

misstatements or omissions of material fact in the affidavit.<br />

There was nothing false or misleading in the affidavit with<br />

respect to the first three items Defendant challenges.<br />

First,<br />

as Detective Valadez explained, the evidence connecting the<br />

occupants of the Montebello warehouse with the 51st Avenue<br />

warehouse included repair orders showing that a forklift present<br />

at the Montebello warehouse had previously been repaired while<br />

at the 51st Avenue warehouse.<br />

18 Second, there was nothing in the affidavit that would<br />

mislead the magistrate to believe that the information came only<br />

from law enforcement personnel. The affidavit expressly refers<br />

to certain information being obtained from workers in the area<br />

of the McDowell warehouse. Moreover, the fact that the<br />

information was derived from civilians would not have any impact<br />

8


on the determination of probable cause. A citizen informant is<br />

presumed to be reliable. State v. Harris, 131 Ariz. 488, 490,<br />

642 P.2d 485, 487 (App. 1982). Although Detective Valadez did<br />

not identify his sources with particularity in the affidavit,<br />

they were not anonymous. The affidavit and Detective Valadez’s<br />

testimony clearly indicated that he had personal contact with<br />

the workers to obtain the information included in the affidavit.<br />

“An unnamed individual . . . capable of being identified . . .<br />

is not anonymous.” United States v. Brown, 496 F.3d 1<strong>07</strong>0, 1<strong>07</strong>5<br />

(10th Cir. 20<strong>07</strong>).<br />

19 Third, we also reject Defendant’s contention that<br />

Detective Valadez misled the magistrate by failing to include<br />

that Lafarga had not been prosecuted for his alleged involvement<br />

with a 2002 marijuana shipping operation detailed in the<br />

affidavit. Nothing in the affidavit indicates that Lafarga was<br />

prosecuted. In fact, the language stating that the police<br />

“believe[d]” Lafarga was one of the suppliers suggests there was<br />

no prosecution with respect to his role in that prior incident.<br />

As a result, the lack of a statement that he was not prosecuted<br />

does not constitute a material omission. See United States v.<br />

DiCesare, 765 F.2d 890, 895 (9th Cir. 1985) (holding that a<br />

reference to an earlier arrest while failing to relate that the<br />

government subsequently declined to prosecute was insufficient<br />

9


to warrant a Franks hearing), amended by 777 F.2d 543 (9th Cir.<br />

1985).<br />

20 Defendant next contends that the affidavit falsely<br />

identified him visiting the warehouse on April 15.<br />

Detective<br />

Valadez acknowledged the error that he had mistakenly believed<br />

the person he saw that morning was Defendant.<br />

The affidavit<br />

reported that Defendant and Gonzales were observed carrying<br />

containers of gasoline into the warehouse. The person<br />

accompanying Gonzales was actually Kevin Goldsmith, one of<br />

Defendant’s colleagues from Philadelphia, and was discovered<br />

when the warehouse was searched.<br />

Based on Detective Valadez’s<br />

testimony, the trial court could have reasonably found that the<br />

misidentification was simply an innocent or negligent mistake as<br />

opposed to an intentional or reckless misstatement of fact.<br />

There was no claim that the misidentification was anything other<br />

than an honest mistake, and our review of the record does not<br />

suggest a different conclusion.<br />

21 Moreover, the identification of Defendant at the<br />

warehouse on April 15 was not significant to the finding of<br />

probable cause.<br />

The operative fact for purposes of probable<br />

cause was that subjects associated with the warehouse were<br />

bringing gasoline. The misidentification of Defendant for<br />

Goldsmith was immaterial to the determination of probable cause.<br />

10


Thus, notwithstanding the admitted error, Defendant failed to<br />

demonstrate that the affidavit contained any material<br />

misstatements or omissions that would have entitled him to<br />

relief under Frank.<br />

Thus, we conclude that there was no clear<br />

error by the trial court in denying the motion to suppress.<br />

B. Immunity Agreement<br />

22 Following his indictment, Defendant met with<br />

prosecutors to determine whether a plea agreement could be<br />

negotiated. Defendant engaged in a “free talk” interview and he<br />

provided information regarding his conduct in the marijuana<br />

operation.<br />

A letter agreement was executed stating that the<br />

State would not use Defendant’s statements or the fact that he<br />

was interviewed in any litigation or proceeding against him<br />

unless he raised an issue regarding the interview.<br />

23 Defendant filed a motion in limine seeking to preclude<br />

Tovar, who was cooperating with the State, from testifying about<br />

matters “brought forward” by Defendant during his free talk.<br />

Defendant asserted that he believed the State had used his<br />

statements to refresh Tovar’s memory in violation of the free<br />

talk agreement. According to Defendant, when his counsel<br />

interviewed Tovar following Defendant’s free talk, Tovar made<br />

statements about his role in the marijuana operation consistent<br />

with the statements that Defendant made during the free talk.<br />

11


In particular, Defendant identified statements made by Tovar<br />

that he introduced Defendant to “Paco” and Lafarga and that<br />

Tovar was paid for his involvement in the operation.<br />

Because<br />

the discovery provided did not include those statements,<br />

Defendant argued that either (1) the State failed to give<br />

complete discovery of all information provided by Tovar to the<br />

police, or (2) Tovar’s memory was refreshed by information<br />

obtained from Defendant during his free talk. Defendant<br />

suggested that the second possibility was the “more logical<br />

inference” and requested an evidentiary hearing on whether the<br />

State had breached the free talk agreement. After oral<br />

argument, the trial court denied the motion.<br />

24 Defendant contends the trial court erred by failing to<br />

hold an evidentiary hearing on the alleged violation. We review<br />

a trial court’s ruling on whether to hold an evidentiary hearing<br />

for abuse of discretion. State v. Wassenaar, 215 Ariz. 565,<br />

576, 48, 161 P.3d 608, 619 (App. 20<strong>07</strong>). However, construction<br />

of the immunity agreement is a question of law, which we review<br />

de novo.<br />

See Ariz. Biltmore Estates Ass'n v. Tezak, 177 Ariz.<br />

447, 448, 868 P.2d 1030, 1031 (App. 1993) (holding that the<br />

interpretation of a contract is a legal issue).<br />

25 As an initial matter, we reject the State’s contention<br />

that the terms of the free talk agreement only restrict the<br />

12


direct use of information obtained from Defendant. While<br />

insisting there was never any use of Defendant’s statements to<br />

refresh Tovar’s memory, the State argues that such use would<br />

constitute “derivative use” and therefore fall outside the scope<br />

of the agreement.<br />

26 When enforcing an immunity agreement, we look to the<br />

terms of the agreement itself, determined by applying general<br />

contract law. See Brown v. Ariz. Dep’t of Real Estate, 181<br />

Ariz. 320, 327, 890 P.2d 615, 622 (App. 1995) (“Agreements not<br />

to prosecute a witness are viewed under contract law<br />

principles.”).<br />

A review of the free talk agreement finds that<br />

it unambiguously precludes both direct and derivative use of<br />

Defendant’s statements against him.<br />

After providing that the<br />

State “will not use the fact that he was interviewed, or any<br />

statements made by him during the interview, in any litigation<br />

or proceeding,” the next paragraph of the agreement reads:<br />

[Defendant] understands that he will<br />

probably reveal, during the interview,<br />

information not previously known to the<br />

[State] in connection with the abovedescribed<br />

investigation. The parties agree,<br />

in the event that no plea agreement is<br />

reached with [Defendant] within a reasonable<br />

time after the interview, the [State] can<br />

use the “fruits” of statements made by<br />

[Defendant] in any investigation and during<br />

any litigation and prosecution of anyone<br />

other than [Defendant].<br />

13


(Emphasis added.)<br />

The explicit reference to “fruits” clearly<br />

indicates that “not only the direct products, but also the<br />

indirect products” of Defendant’s statements would not be used<br />

by the State against him.<br />

27 Turning to Defendant’s claim of error, the trial court<br />

could have reasonably concluded that Defendant failed to make a<br />

sufficient showing that there had been a violation of the<br />

agreement to justify an evidentiary hearing on his claim.<br />

As<br />

detailed by the State in the response to Defendant’s motion,<br />

Tovar was interviewed by defense counsel the same day, but after<br />

Defendant’s free talk session. Tovar was not present for<br />

Defendant’s free talk and the statements were not recorded.<br />

Thus, the only way that Tovar’s memory could have been refreshed<br />

by Defendant’s statements was if the prosecutor informed him of<br />

the statements.<br />

The prosecutor avowed none of the information<br />

provided by Defendant was conveyed to Tovar.<br />

28 The record does not reflect any challenge by Defendant<br />

to the facts described in the response or the prosecutor’s<br />

avowal. A prosecutor’s avowal based on firsthand knowledge may<br />

be properly considered in ruling on an issue. See State v.<br />

Montano, 204 Ariz. 413, 424, 50, 65 P.3d 61, 72 (2003)<br />

(relying, in part, on the prosecutor’s avowal that there were no<br />

Brady materials in denying the Brady claim), supplemented by 206<br />

14


Ariz. 296, 77 P.3d 1246 (2003); State v. Jones, 197 Ariz. 290,<br />

304, 33, 4 P.3d 345, 359 (2000) (relying, in part, on the<br />

prosecutor’s avowal that the witness’s remarks were unexpected<br />

and unsolicited when determining whether the trial court abused<br />

its discretion in denying the motion for mistrial). Defendant,<br />

on the other hand, merely surmises that Tovar’s memory was<br />

refreshed using his free talk statements.<br />

Based on the record<br />

before us, the trial court did not abuse its discretion by not<br />

conducting an evidentiary hearing before denying Defendant’s<br />

claim.<br />

C. Hearsay<br />

29 At trial, Detective Valadez testified about his<br />

investigation of the marijuana operation at the McDowell<br />

warehouse. He recounted the facts and circumstances giving rise<br />

to the investigation including the earlier incident involving<br />

the controlled shipment of marijuana to Philadelphia from the<br />

Montebello warehouse. Detective Valadez had no personal<br />

involvement in the prior incident and his testimony regarding<br />

what occurred was based entirely on what others told him,<br />

including the connection between the warehouses.<br />

30 Defendant argues that the admission of the secondhand<br />

testimony was hearsay and violated his Sixth Amendment right to<br />

confrontation.<br />

Generally, we review a trial court’s ruling on<br />

15


the admissibility of evidence for an abuse of discretion. State<br />

v. King, 213 Ariz. 632, 636, 15, 146 P.3d 1274, 1278 (App.<br />

2006). However, we review whether testimony violates the<br />

Confrontation Clause de novo. Id.<br />

31 The Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment<br />

prohibits the use of testimonial out-of-court statements where a<br />

witness is absent or unavailable and there has not been a prior<br />

opportunity for cross-examination.<br />

See Crawford v. Washington,<br />

541 U.S. 36, 68 (2004). The State argues that because the<br />

challenged testimony was not offered to prove the truth of the<br />

information Detective Valadez learned from others during his<br />

investigation, the out-of-court statements did not constitute<br />

hearsay and therefore did not violate the Confrontation Clause.<br />

The State argues that these portions of the detective’s<br />

testimony were merely provided as background information to show<br />

the jury why the police ultimately focused on the McDowell<br />

warehouse.<br />

32 Generally, testimony that is not admitted for the<br />

truth of the matter asserted is not hearsay and does not violate<br />

the Confrontation Clause. State v. Tucker, 215 Ariz. 298, 315,<br />

61, 160 P.3d 177, 194 (20<strong>07</strong>). It is recognized that in<br />

certain situations the State will need to provide information to<br />

the jury as to why the police are present at a particular place.<br />

16


See United States v. Silva, 380 F.3d 1018, 1020 (7th Cir. 2004)<br />

(“If a jury would not otherwise understand why an investigation<br />

targeted a particular defendant, the testimony could dispel an<br />

accusation that the officers were officious intermeddlers<br />

staking out [the defendant] for nefarious purposes.”).<br />

This<br />

should not be viewed, however, as providing an open invitation<br />

to evade Crawford and the normal restrictions on hearsay.<br />

As<br />

one of the standard evidentiary treatises explains:<br />

One area where abuse may be a particular<br />

problem involves statements by arresting or<br />

investigating officers regarding the reason<br />

for their presence at the scene of a crime.<br />

The officers should not be put in the<br />

misleading position of appearing to have<br />

happened upon the scene and therefore should<br />

be entitled to provide some explanation for<br />

their presence and conduct. They should<br />

not, however, be allowed to relate<br />

historical aspects of the case, such as<br />

complaints and reports of others containing<br />

inadmissible hearsay. Such statements are<br />

sometimes erroneously admitted under the<br />

argument that the officers are entitled to<br />

give the information upon which they acted.<br />

The need for this evidence is slight, and<br />

the likelihood of misuse great. Instead, a<br />

statement that an officer acted “upon<br />

information received,” or words to that<br />

effect, should be sufficient.<br />

2 Broun, et al., McCormick on Evidence § 249, at 103 (5th ed.<br />

1999).<br />

33 The requisite factor for admissibility of out-of-court<br />

statements for non-hearsay purposes is relevancy. State v.<br />

17


Rivera, 139 Ariz. 409, 414, 678 P.2d 1373, 1378 (1984).<br />

In<br />

other words, there must be a showing of the relevance of the<br />

non-hearsay use of the statement.<br />

Where there is no relevant<br />

use of the statement for other than the truth of the matter<br />

asserted, it is hearsay. See id.<br />

34 “It is the prosecutor’s duty to avoid the introduction<br />

of out-of-court statements that go beyond what is reasonably<br />

necessary to explain police conduct.”<br />

Commonwealth v. Palsa,<br />

555 A.2d 808, 811 (Pa. 1989). The State does not explain why a<br />

recitation of the complete investigation, including all the outof-court<br />

statements made to Detective Valadez by others, leading<br />

up to the surveillance of the McDowell warehouse was necessary<br />

“background information.”<br />

Any question about the reason for<br />

police activity at that location could be readily explained with<br />

the simple statement that it was based “upon information<br />

received,” or similar words to that effect. As the court<br />

observed in Palsa,<br />

[I]t cannot be said that every out-of-court<br />

statement having bearing upon subsequent<br />

police conduct is to be admitted, for there<br />

is great risk that, despite cautionary jury<br />

instructions, certain types of statements<br />

will be considered by the jury as<br />

substantive evidence of guilt. Further, the<br />

police conduct rule does not open the door<br />

to unbounded admission of testimony, for<br />

such would nullify an accused's right to<br />

cross-examine and confront the witnesses<br />

against him.<br />

18


Id. at 118; see also Silva, 380 F.3d at 1020 (“Allowing [police]<br />

to narrate the course of their investigations, and thus spread<br />

before juries damning information that is not subject to crossexamination,<br />

would go far toward abrogating the defendant’s<br />

rights under the sixth amendment and the hearsay rule.”).<br />

35 Moreover, it is not an absolute rule that admission of<br />

a non-hearsay statement will never violate the Confrontation<br />

Clause.<br />

See Lee v. McCaughtry, 892 F.2d 1318, 1325 (7th Cir.<br />

1990). Such testimony may be found to violate the Confrontation<br />

Clause where the prosecutor destroys the non-hearsay nature of<br />

the statement during trial by misusing the testimony for the<br />

truth of the matter asserted. Id. at 1325-27. Notwithstanding<br />

the State’s contention that Detective Valadez’s testimony<br />

describing what he had learned from others was merely background<br />

information, the record reflects that the prosecutor argued the<br />

truth of the out-of-court statements during closing as evidence<br />

of guilt. Because this testimony went far beyond what was<br />

necessary to avoid misleading the jury as to why the police were<br />

investigating the McDowell warehouse and included testimonial<br />

hearsay used by the prosecutor during closing argument, the<br />

admission of this testimony was error.<br />

36 When the trial court errs in admitting evidence, we<br />

review for harmless error. State v. Bible, 175 Ariz. 549, 588,<br />

19


858 P.2d 1152, 1191 (1993). “Error, be it constitutional or<br />

otherwise, is harmless if we can say, beyond a reasonable doubt,<br />

that the error did not contribute to or affect the verdict.”<br />

Id.<br />

37 The State argues that any error in the admission of<br />

the improper hearsay should be found harmless in light of the<br />

other evidence of Defendant’s guilt presented at trial.<br />

Even<br />

though there was substantial evidence to support the verdicts,<br />

“[t]he inquiry . . . is not whether, in a trial that occurred<br />

without the error, a guilty verdict would surely have been<br />

rendered, but whether the guilty verdict actually rendered in<br />

this trial was surely unattributable to the error.” Id.<br />

(quoting Sullivan v. Louisiana, 508 U.S. 275, 279 (1993)).<br />

38 Defendant was not present at the warehouse when it was<br />

searched and the marijuana operation discovered.<br />

While he had<br />

been at the warehouse on two prior occasions in the company of<br />

others involved in the operation, the evidence presented through<br />

the police witnesses regarding his involvement was<br />

circumstantial.<br />

It has long been held that "mere presence of<br />

the defendant where narcotics or marijuana is found is<br />

insufficient to establish that he knowingly possessed or<br />

exercised dominion and control over the drugs.”<br />

State v. Van<br />

Meter, 7 Ariz. App. 422, 427, 440 P.2d 58, 63 (1968). There was<br />

20


direct evidence of Defendant’s participation in the marijuana<br />

operation in the form of testimony from Tovar, but his testimony<br />

was subject to impeachment based on his prior inconsistent<br />

statements to investigators and the State’s agreement to dismiss<br />

charges against him in return for his testimony.<br />

Not only did<br />

the hearsay testimony from Detective Valadez tend to inculpate<br />

Defendant by implicitly connecting him with the marijuana<br />

shipment that originated from the Montebello warehouse, it<br />

further served to bolster Tovar’s testimony that Defendant was<br />

involved in prior marijuana shipments made from the other<br />

warehouses.<br />

Indeed, the State specifically argued in closing<br />

that Tovar’s testimony was corroborated by the “evidence” of the<br />

shipments of marijuana from the other warehouses and the “common<br />

theme” running through them of “marijuana, water, Philadelphia.”<br />

Under these circumstances, we cannot say that the admission of<br />

the testimonial hearsay was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.<br />

Thus, Defendant’s convictions must be reversed and this matter<br />

remanded for a new trial.<br />

D. Expert Opinion<br />

39 Defendant also challenges the admission of Detective<br />

Valadez’s expert testimony about Defendant’s role in the<br />

marijuana operation.<br />

Defendant argues that Detective Valadez’s<br />

testimony was improper because it involved impermissible profile<br />

21


evidence.<br />

Defendant did not raise that objection at trial; he<br />

only objected to the “form of question.”<br />

An objection to the<br />

admission of evidence on one ground is insufficient to preserve<br />

appellate review on other grounds. State v. Hamilton, 177 Ariz.<br />

403, 408, 868 P.2d 986, 991 (App. 1993).<br />

40 Because we are remanding the matter for new trial, we<br />

will not review the issue. If the issue arises and there is a<br />

different objection, the trial court can resolve it.<br />

CONCLUSION<br />

41 Because the trial court abused its discretion in<br />

admitting testimonial hearsay regarding the investigation by the<br />

police, we reverse Defendant’s convictions and sentences and<br />

remand for further proceedings consistent with this decision.<br />

CONCURRING:<br />

___________________________<br />

MAURICE PORTLEY, Judge<br />

____________________________________<br />

PATRICK IRVINE, Presiding Judge<br />

____________________________________<br />

PATRICIA K. NORRIS, Judge<br />

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