STATE OF ARIZONA v. RENE FUENTES

Annotate this Case

Download PDF

IN THE ARIZONA COURT OF APPEALS DIVISION TWO THE STATE OF ARIZONA, Appellee, v. RENE FUENTES, Appellant. No. 2 CA-CR 2016-0412 Filed July 31, 2017 THIS DECISION DOES NOT CREATE LEGAL PRECEDENT AND MAY NOT BE CITED EXCEPT AS AUTHORIZED BY APPLICABLE RULES. NOT FOR PUBLICATION See Ariz. R. Sup. Ct. 111(c)(1); Ariz. R. Crim. P. 31.24. Appeal from the Superior Court in Pima County No. CR20150751001 The Honorable Richard S. Fields, Judge AFFIRMED COUNSEL Law Offices of Cornelia Wallis Honchar, P.C., Tucson By Cornelia Wallis Honchar Counsel for Appellant STATE v. FUENTES Decision of the Court MEMORANDUM DECISION Presiding Judge Vásquez authored the decision of the Court, in which Chief Judge Eckerstrom and Judge Howard1 concurred. V Á S Q U E Z, Presiding Judge: ¶1 Following a jury trial, appellant Rene Fuentes was convicted of theft of a means of transportation, a class three felony. The trial court sentenced him to an enhanced, “partially mitigated” five-year term of imprisonment. Counsel has filed a brief in compliance with Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), and State v. Clark, 196 Ariz. 530, 2 P.3d 89 (App. 1999), stating she has reviewed the record and has found no “arguable question of law” to raise on appeal. Counsel has asked us to search the record for fundamental error. Fuentes has not filed a supplemental brief. ¶2 Viewed in the light most favorable to sustaining the verdict, the evidence was sufficient to support the jury’s finding of guilt. See State v. Martinson, 241 Ariz. 93, ¶ 34, 384 P.3d 307, 315 (App. 2016). The evidence presented at trial showed that an officer saw Fuentes, who had a prior felony conviction, riding a scooter that had been reported stolen, had pry marks visible around the ignition area, and was missing the ignition. When the officer attempted to stop Fuentes, he left the scooter and ran. We further conclude the sentence imposed is within the statutory limit. See A.R.S. §§ 13-703(B), (I); 131814(A)(1), (D). ¶3 Pursuant to our obligation under Anders, we have searched the record for fundamental, reversible error and have found none. We therefore affirm Fuentes’s conviction and sentence. 1The Hon. Joseph W. Howard, a retired judge of this court, is called back to active duty to serve on this case pursuant to orders of this court and our supreme court. 2

Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.