1 CA-CR 07-0177-91122
1 CA-CR 07-0177-91122
1 CA-CR 07-0177-91122
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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(Not for Publication -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 />
22