State v. Melegrito

STATE OF WASHINGTON, Respondent, v. REUBEN TALOZA MELEGRITO, Appellant.

No. 80454-5-I

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 1

August 23, 2021

UNPUBLISHED OPINION

Smith J.

Reuben Melegrito shot two men, one of whom later died from complications caused by his injuries. Following an investigation into the murders, the State charged Melegrito with murder in the second degree and attempted murder in the second degree, both with firearm enhancements. At trial Melegrito claimed that he shot both men in self-defense. The jury did not accept Melegrito's defense and found him guilty on both counts. Melegrito appeals, alleging numerous errors, including errors in jury selection, the admission of the State's demonstrative evidence and Melegrito's flight from the scene of the crime and the officers, the validity of the court sending the jury back to correct a blank special verdict form, and his offender score at sentencing.

Because we conclude that the trial court did not err or that the alleged errors did not prejudice Melegrito, we affirm.

FACTS

The parties dispute the facts surrounding the shooting of John Bacani and Mark Gallardo. Melegrito contends that he shot the victims in self-defense. The Citations and pin cites are based on the Westlaw online version of the cited material. State's witnesses, including Gallardo, testified to the contrary.

Shortly before 4:00 p.m. on November 2, 2016, Melegrito showed up at Gallardo's house unannounced. Melegrito testified that he often showed up to Gallardo's house unexpectedly. Krysta Kauk, Gallardo's girlfriend at the time, came out and told Melegrito that Gallardo was not home. Melegrito parked his car on the street and waited for him. Shortly thereafter Gallardo returned with Bacani.

According to Melegrito, the three men spoke on the porch, and Kauk joined them outside where they smoked cigarettes. Eventually Kauk and Gallardo went back inside. After about 10 minutes Gallardo came back out onto the porch and "was looking kind of mad." Melegrito testified that they walked from the porch toward Bacani's and Gallardo's vehicles located in the driveway, planning to drive to someone's house. Melegrito trailed Gallardo and Bacani. Melegrito testified:

John g[a]ve me a cigarette, so we smoked again. And then Mark was just messing with the Honda. That's when -- I don't know if he went in front of -- to pop the hood, but he went all the way over here, and to me, he went to go grab -- you know, he went to go grab his gun or something.

Specifically, Melegrito testified that Gallardo started "grabbing stuff" from the passenger's side of the car but that he could not see "what [Gallardo] grabbed in there."

Melegrito testified that once Gallardo popped the hood of his vehicle, he called Bacani over. Then Melegrito alleged that they were "talking and whispering," and he started to "trip out." At this point, he believed that Gallardo passed Bacani a gun. According to Melegrito, Gallardo got into the vehicle. Melegrito was watching Gallardo, but he turned around and saw Bacani reach his right hand "into his pocket," so Melegrito "pulled [his] gun out." Melegrito alleged that he knew Gallardo and Bacani carried guns, that he had seen Gallardo carrying a gun, and that Bacani had previously shown him his gun. He asserted that when he turned, he "was scared," and he shot from his waist at Bacani, first, and then Gallardo. Melegrito shot Gallardo four times and Bacani twice, which he contended was "just a reflex." He told the jury, "I didn't want to die."

Gallardo, on the other hand, testified that he did not expect Melegrito to show up at his home and that, at one point during their conversations, Melegrito asked Gallardo, "[W]here's your gun at," to which Gallardo responded that he did not have it. Gallardo and Bacani had agreed to go to a friend's home and drive separately, so they exited the house. Gallardo testified that the three men and Kauk went outside to smoke cigarettes.

After they were done, Kauk went back inside the home, and Gallardo and Bacani began walking to their vehicles to go to their friend's house. Gallardo and Bacani told Melegrito that he could not accompany them, which Melegrito resisted. Gallardo testified that, as he and Bacani walked to their respective vehicles, Melegrito walked to his, entered it briefly, and then began walking toward Bacani. Gallardo testified that he put the keys in the Honda's ignition and then heard two gunshots. He saw Bacani on the ground. Gallardo testified that Melegrito then shot him through the car window, and as Gallardo attempted to get out of the vehicle, Melegrito fired his gun at him again.

Kauk testified that a few minutes after she went back inside, she heard gunshots. She came out of the house and saw Melegrito running down the driveway toward his vehicle. She also testified:

I [saw Bacani] laying on the ground and I [saw Melegrito] . . . running to his car as fast as he could. And then [Gallardo] was standing there and saying, "Call the police, we've been shot." Then I ran back inside to grab my phone. Then when I came back out, [Gallardo] was like running towards [Bacani] and asking if he was okay, and then [Gallardo] collapsed to the ground.

Kauk called 911 as Melegrito drove away.

Melegrito testified that he drove home and when he arrived, no one was home, so he drove off and parked about a block away from his home. He eventually went to a family friend's home and asked his friend if he could borrow a shirt. Melegrito testified that he changed his shirt because he "didn't want to be disrespectful" by smelling of cigarette smoke.

Bacani and Gallardo were transported to the hospital, where they remained in critical condition for several days. Gallardo received surgery and had significant portions of his intestines removed. On November 20, 2016, after numerous surgeries, Bacani died.

King County sheriff's deputies began investigating the shooting and sought to apprehend Melegrito at his parents' home. Down the street from their home, the deputies stopped Moredes Melegrito, Melegrito's mother. She attempted to assist the officers in peacefully apprehending Melegrito. The King County SWAT team and Hostage Negotiation Team assembled outside of the Melegrito home and called for Melegrito to exit the house. He eventually did, but he began to turn away, in what deputies later described as an attempt to go back toward the house. The officers then shot rubber bullets at Melegrito and arrested him.

The State charged Melegrito with murder and attempted murder, both in the second degree and both including firearm enhancements.

During voir dire, Melegrito challenged three jurors for cause: juror 34, juror 53, and juror 63. The court denied Melegrito's challenges for cause, and Melegrito then used his peremptory challenges on those three jurors.

Trial began on July 3, 2019. The arresting officer, Sergeant John Pavlovich, testified regarding the force used to arrest Melegrito. Melegrito objected to the testimony and contended that the evidence was irrelevant and unduly prejudicial. The State contended that this testimony was evidence of consciousness of guilt. The court admitted the evidence, concluding that it was relevant as potential consciousness of guilt and potential flight, and its probative value outweighed any unfair prejudice.

During Melegrito's testimony, the State asked Melegrito to reenact the shooting with a plastic gun. The State alleged that the demonstration was necessary to show where Melegrito was when he shot the victims and how he was holding the gun. Melegrito objected. The court overruled his objection, finding that the probative value outweighed the prejudicial effect. Melegrito reenacted the shooting with a plastic gun pointed at a detective and the State's intern.

Before deliberations, the court instructed the jury: "A separate crime is charged in each count. You must decide each count separately. Your verdict on one count should not control your verdict on any other count." The jury instruction for count 1 provided the elements of the charged crime as against Bacani. The jury instruction for count 2 did not specify that the crime pertained to Melegrito's actions against Gallardo. However, during closing arguments, the State differentiated the conduct in both counts: count 1 applying to Bacani's death, and count 2 applying to Gallardo's injuries. In the State's rebuttal, the prosecutor made comments regarding Melegrito's counsel's theory of self-defense, claiming that he "salute[s]" the defense counsel for his presentation.

The jury found Melegrito guilty of both charges, thereby rejecting his claim of self-defense. However, when the jury concluded deliberations and presented the court with its verdict forms, the court discovered that the jury had left blank and unsigned the weapon sentence enhancement form. The court discussed the issue with the presiding juror who explained that the blank form was a mistake. The court asked the jury to return to the jury room to deliberate on the special verdict form. Shortly thereafter, the jury returned a verdict of guilty on both of the weapon enhancements.

At sentencing, the State asserted that Melegrito's firearm sentence enhancements doubled because he had a prior conviction with a firearm enhancement. Melegrito's sentencing brief admitted that he previously pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon. Therefore, the court doubled the weapon enhancements and sentenced Melegrito to a total of 659 months.

Melegrito appeals.

ANALYSIS

Right to a Fair Trial

Melegrito asserts that he was denied his right to a fair trial when the trial court denied his for-cause challenges of three jurors. We disagree.

"The right to trial by an impartial jury is...