State of Iowa v. Jackson Christopher Eugene Calaway ( 2024 )

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 23-1096
Filed November 13, 2024
STATE OF IOWA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
vs.
JACKSON CHRISTOPHER EUGENE CALAWAY,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Heather Lauber, Judge.
A defendant appeals his convictions for interference with official acts with a
weapon and person ineligible to carry a dangerous weapon. AFFIRMED.
Martha J. Lucey, State Appellate Defender, and Michelle E. Rabe (until
withdrawal) and Nan Jennisch, Assistant Appellate Defenders, for appellant.
Brenna Bird, Attorney General, and Martha E. Trout, Assistant Attorney
General, for appellee.
Considered by Tabor, C.J., Sandy, J., and Carr, S.J.*
*Senior judge assigned by order pursuant to Iowa Code section 602.9206
(2024).
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CARR, Senior Judge.
Jackson Calaway appeals his convictions for interference with official acts
with a weapon, pursuant to Iowa Code section 719.1(1)(f) (2023) (count I), and
person ineligible to carry a dangerous weapon, pursuant to section 724.8B (count
II). We affirm.
I. Background Facts and Procedure
At around 5:00 p.m. on December 24, 2022, Windsor Heights 9-1-1
dispatch received a report of three men walking around a Walmart parking lot. The
caller stated they saw one of the men brandish a gun at a passing motorist. The
caller also reported that the men then got into an older, white car and provided a
license plate number. Windsor Heights Police Officer Matthew Palmer responded
to the call and did not find the men or the vehicle in the parking lot.
Clive Police Officer Odessa Clark, who responded to assist, saw the
reported vehicle enter a convenience store parking lot and observed three men in
the vehicle. Officer Clark saw the three men exit the vehicle. Officer Clark
informed Officer Palmer that he had located the suspect’s vehicle. Officer Palmer,
who was in unform and operating a marked vehicle, then entered the parking lot
and noticed the three men walking towards another vehicle. Officer Palmer
reported that, as soon as he entered the parking lot, the individual who he later
identified as Calaway “shoved his hand deep in his sweatshirt pocket and turned
180 degrees away from his three-man group and proceeded towards a dark
section of the parking lot.”
Officer Palmer activated his overhead red and blue lights. He intended to
detain Calaway, believing his behavior suggested he was the individual with the
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reported weapon. Officer Palmer then stepped out of the vehicle and instructed
Calaway to stop. Calaway turned and ran toward a nearby building. Palmer
claimed he was a “hundred percent” certain he saw Calaway throw a gun into a
bush. Officer Palmer stopped to pick up the weapon from the bush. Officer Clark
caught up to Officer Palmer at that point and continued the pursuit without
stopping. Officer Clark informed Calaway that he would tase Calaway if he did not
stop. Calaway then halted and was taken into custody.
Meanwhile, after Officer Palmer secured the gun in his “left pocket,” he
turned around to confront an individual who he believed was chasing him and had
been shouting at Officer Palmer to, “Put the fucking gun away.” Officer Palmer
“issued him commands,” but he failed to listen. Fearing that individual may have
also been armed, Officer Palmer then tackled the individual, who he identified to
be one of the other two individuals from the white vehicle. During that struggle,
the gun Officer Palmer had collected fell out of his pocket and onto the ground.
Once the struggle ended and Officer Palmer had the individual in custody, he kept
his “eye on the gun.” Officer Clark picked up the gun shortly thereafter. Officer
Palmer was wearing a body camera but there was no footage because of a
suspected malfunction.
Calaway was charged by trial information, and trial was held April 24-25,
2023. The jury returned a guilty verdict on April 25, 2023. Calaway was sentenced
on June 29, 2023. The district court sentenced Calaway to a five-year prison
sentence on count I and a one-year sentence on count II, to run concurrently with
each other. He now appeals.
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II. Standard of Review
We review challenges to sufficiency of the evidence for correction of errors
at law. State v. Petithory, 702 N.W.2d 854, 856 (Iowa 2005). “The jury’s verdict
binds this court if the verdict is supported by substantial evidence,” which “is
evidence sufficient to convince a rational trier of fact the defendant is guilty beyond
a reasonable doubt.” State v. Crawford, 972 N.W.2d 189, 202 (Iowa 2022). We
review the evidence “in the light most favorable to the State” which include any
“legitimate inferences and presumptions that may fairly and reasonably be
deduced from the record evidence.” Id. (citation omitted).
III. Discussion
Calaway argues the State presented insufficient evidence that he was in
possession of a firearm—a required element of both of his convictions.
Iowa Code section 719.1(1)(f) makes it a class “D” felony for any individual
to commit interference with official acts while displaying a “dangerous weapon” or
“armed with a firearm.” Under Iowa Code section 724.8B a person “who is
committing an indictable offense is prohibited from carrying a dangerous weapon.”
As defined in the jury instructions, a “dangerous weapon” is
any device or instrument designed primarily for use in inflicting death
or injury, and when used in its designed manner is capable of
inflicting death. It is also any sort of instrument of device which is
actually used in such a way as to indicate the user intended to inflict
death or serious injury, and when so used is capable of inflicting
death.
See Iowa Code § 702.7. Under section 702.7, a firearm qualifies as a dangerous
weapon.
Calaway’s sole argument is that neither officer actually saw him in
possession of the firearm. This assertion is untrue. Officer Palmer stated that he
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was a “hundred percent” sure he saw Calaway toss the weapon “into the bushes,”
even identifying that he disposed of the weapon “with his left arm.” Calaway could
not toss a weapon he did not possess.
Calaway also objects to Officer Palmer’s testimony that he suspected
Calaway was in possession of a weapon based on Calaway’s actions when Officer
Palmer first pulled up in the convenience store parking lot. Not only was this
suspicion consistent with the report provided by the 9-1-1 caller, but Officer
Palmer’s suspicion was proved true when Calaway then tossed the weapon in the
bushes shortly after Officer Palmer first observed Calaway in the convenience
store parking lot.
Officer Palmer’s immediate retrieval of a firearm from the exact bush he saw
Calaway drop it in would allow a jury to easily infer that Calaway was in possession
of that weapon. The jury found the officers credible, and the jury was in the best
position to accept or reject their credibility. See State v. Thornton, 498 N.W.2d
670, 676 (Iowa 1993). We thus affirm, holding there was sufficient evidence
presented by the State for the jury to find Calaway was in possession of a
dangerous weapon.
AFFIRMED.