STATE OF NEW JERSEY v. STEPHON L. WILSON (17-12-3438, CAMDEN COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) ( 2022 )

RECORD IMPOUNDED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE
APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION
This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court ." Although it is posted on the
internet, this opinion is binding only on the parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R. 1:36-3.
SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
APPELLATE DIVISION
DOCKET NO. A-4132-18
STATE OF NEW JERSEY,
Plaintiff-Respondent,
v.
STEPHON L. WILSON,
Defendant-Appellant.
_______________________
Submitted January 24, 2022 – Decided February 2, 2022
Before Judges Fasciale and Firko.
On appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law
Division, Camden County, Indictment No. 17-12-3438.
Joseph E. Krakora, Public Defender, attorney for
appellant (Brian Plunkett, Designated Counsel, on the
briefs).
Grace MacAulay, Acting Camden County Prosecutor,
attorney for respondent (Kevin J. Hein, Special Deputy
Attorney General/Acting Assistant Prosecutor, of
counsel and on the brief).
PER CURIAM
Defendant appeals from his convictions for second-degree burglary,
N.J.S.A. 2C:18-2(a)(1); first-degree robbery, N.J.S.A. 2C:15-1(a)(2); third-
degree endangering the welfare of a child, N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4(a)(2); two counts
of third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, N.J.S.A. 2C:39-
4(d); two counts of fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, N.J.S.A.
2C:39-5(d); third-degree criminal mischief, N.J.S.A. 2C:17-3(a)(1); fourth-
degree stalking, N.J.S.A. 2C:12-10(b); and fourth-degree certain persons not to
have weapons, N.J.S.A. 2C:39-7(a). He received an aggregate prison sentence
of seventeen and one-half years with thirteen years and seven months of parole
ineligibility.
The State produced evidence that defendant had violent encounters with
the victim and the victim's family on May 14, May 22, and May 28, 2017.
Particularly that defendant stalked the victim and committed the charged
offenses. The evidence included testimony from the victim, testimony from
witnesses, testimony from law enforcement, surveillance video, and DNA from
a knife. Prior to trial, the judge denied defendant's motion to sever the counts
in the indictment pertaining to the May 14 and May 28 encounters. 1 The judge
1
On appeal, defendant does not explicitly challenge the judge's discretionary
denial of the severance motion.
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charged the jury without objection and the jury found defendant guilty on all
charges.
On appeal, defendant argues:
POINT [I]
DEFENDANT'S CONVICTONS SHOULD BE
REVERSED AND A NEW TRIAL ORDERED
BECAUSE THE STATE MISUSED THE STALKING
STATUTE BOTH SUBSTANTIVELY AND AS A
DEVISE TO OBTAIN A TACTICAL ADVANTAGE.
A. The State Misused N.J.S.A. 2C:12-10(b).
B. The State May Not Charge [A] Certain
Offense Solely [T]o Obtain [A] Tactical
Advantage.
POINT [II]
THE FAILURE TO CHARGE DIMINISHED
CAPACITY WAS REVERSIBLE ERROR BECAUSE
THE RECORD CONTAINED SUFFICIENT
EVIDENCE OF A MENTAL DISEASE OR DEFECT
THAT COULD HAVE NEGATED THE STATE OF
MIND REQUIRED FOR THE OFFENSES
CHARGED. U.S. CONST. ART. I, [§] 10.
POINT [III]
BECAUSE THE STATE FAILED TO PRODUCE
SUFFICIENT FACTS AT TRIAL[,] DEFENDANT'S
CONVICTION FOR ARMED ROBBERY SHOULD
BE VACATED AND A JUDGMENT OF
ACQUITTAL ENTERED.
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POINT [IV]
DEFENDANT'S CONVICTION FOR ARMED
ROBBERY SHOULD BE VACATED BECAUSE THE
TRIAL [JUDGE] FAILED TO FULLY EXPLAIN
LEGAL ISSUES CRITICAL TO THE JURY'S
DETERMINATION, DEPRIVING DEFENDANT OF
HIS RIGHT TO DUE PROCESS AND A FAIR TRIAL.
A. The Trial [Judge's] Instruction Failed [T]o
Inform The Jury That [T]o [B]e Guilty [O]f
Robbery Defendant Must Have Formed [T]he
Intent [T]o Commit Theft Before [A]ny
Intimidation [O]f W.K. Occurred.
B. The Trial [Judge] Erred When [He] Failed
[T]o Instruct [T]he Jury That [I]t Must Find That
Defendant's Purpose [F]or Putting W.K. [I]n Fear
[O]f Immediate Bodily Injury [W]as [T]o Coerce
Him [I]nto Relinquishing His Phone.
POINT [V]
THE [JUDGE] VIOLATED DEFENDANT'S RIGHT
TO A UNANIMOUS VERDICT ON COUNT ONE
ARMED BURGLARY WHEN THE JURORS WERE
INSTRUCTED THAT EITHER STALKING,
CRIMINAL MISCHIEF, AND/OR THEFT COULD
BE FOUND AS THE UNLAWFUL PURPOSE FOR
DEFENDANT'S ENTRY BUT WERE NOT
INSTUCTED THAT THEY MUST UNANIMOUSLY
AGREE ON WHICH PURPOSE(S).
POINT [VI]
DEFENDANT SHOULD BE RESENTENCED TO A
LOWER AGGREGATE TERM WITH MITIGATING
FACTOR FOUR CONSIDERED.
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We disagree with defendant's contentions and affirm.
I.
In Point I, defendant challenges the State's decision to try defendant for
stalking. He argues the State misused the stalking statute to gain an unfair
advantage by rebranding "existing crimes [to] recase its allegations of weapons
possession, criminal mischief, and armed robbery into a stalking case." He
contends the State's sole purpose in prosecuting him for stalking was to gain a
"tactical advantage" to present "all of its accusations as one 'continuing course
of conduct' in a single trial."
The text of the anti-stalking statute is clear and unambiguous. Defendant
has not argued otherwise. Instead, defendant suggests that under the facts of
this case, the State misused the statute to obtain a tactical advantage. Defendant
argues for the first time, without statutory authority, that the scope of the sta tute
is limited to harassing or threatening conduct that occurs before crossing the line
to actual violence. Under N.J.S.A. 2C:12-10(b)
[a] person is guilty of stalking, a crime of the fourth
degree, if he purposefully or knowingly engages in a
course of conduct directed at a specific person that
would cause a reasonable person to fear for his safety
or the safety of a third person or suffer other emotional
distress.
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Under subsection (a), the statute defines its terms:
(1) "Course of conduct" means repeatedly maintaining
a visual or physical proximity to a person; directly,
indirectly, or through third parties, by any action,
method, device, or means, following, monitoring,
observing, surveilling, threatening, or communicating
to or about, a person, or interfering with a person's
property; repeatedly committing harassment against a
person; or repeatedly conveying, or causing to be
conveyed, verbal or written threats or threats conveyed
by any other means of communication or threats
implied by conduct or a combination thereof directed at
or toward a person.
(2) "Repeatedly" means on two or more occasions.
(3) "Emotional distress" means significant mental
suffering or distress.
(4) "Cause a reasonable person to fear" means to cause
fear which a reasonable victim, similarly situated,
would have under the circumstances.
Thus, contrary to defendant's assertion that the statute's scope is limited to
situations where there was no actual attack, there is no such limitation expressed
in the statute. To conclude otherwise would mean that no one could be charged
with stalking once the conduct results in an attack. And if that is the case,
stalkers would not be held accountable for stalking when their behavior
escalates. Like here, the State properly prosecuted defendant for stalking and
the other crimes.
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The State introduced evidence that defendant stalked the victim on three
separate days in May. On May 14, 2017, witnesses observed defendant destroy
the windows of the victim's car, which was parked at her mother's house, and
then tell the witnesses that "all I want is her" while pointing at the victim. Eight
days later, on May 22, defendant returned to the victim's mother's house, broke
more windows, and left three red roses behind. On May 28, defendant charged
the victim in the morning while she was driving and then broke into her home
through a bathroom window. Hearing noise from outside his room, the victim's
fourteen-year-old son W.K. called the victim to ask if she was home, and she
instructed him to call 911.
Defendant broke into the son's bedroom with a knife and wanted to know
when the victim would be home. The victim's mother observed the victim on
the phone with the son and watched her leave in a distressed state. The victim's
mother called her grandson's phone, and defendant answered. Defendant told
the victim's mother, "I'm waiting for your daughter here so I can kill her. And
the next one is going to be you." The victim testified that she experienced
emotional distress and could not sleep at night. Suffice to say, he repeatedly
targeted the victim.
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In denying defendant's pre-trial motion to sever the first and third
incidents, the trial judge concluded that each encounter would have been
admissible in separate trials under N.J.R.E. 404(b). The crimes were relevant to
defendant's motive and plan to stalk and harass the victim. They were similar
in that he smashed windows and threatened the same victim. The State offered
overwhelming evidence from witness observations, surveillance footage
capturing defendant's behavior, DNA evidence linking defendant to the knife,
and in-court and out-of-court identifications. And the probative value was not
outweighed by any apparent prejudice, especially because defendant was not
deprived of any available defense. Thus, even if joinder was appropriate—
which is not the case—the evidence of each encounter between defendant and
the victim would have been admissible under N.J.R.E. 404(b).
II.
The trial judge did not err by denying defendant's late request, near the
close of trial, that the judge charge diminished capacity. The record presented
no competent evidence of diminished capacity evidencing a mental disease or
defect that somehow negated defendant's state of mind to commit the offenses
or impact his ability to form the requisite culpability. Contrary to his argument,
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any evidence of defendant's mental health was insufficient to warrant a jury
instruction of diminished capacity.
A defendant asserting a diminished capacity defense carries the initial
burden of "present[ing] evidence of a mental disease or defect that interferes
with cognitive ability sufficient to prevent or interfere with the formation of the
requisite intent or mens rea[,]" and "evidence that the claimed deficiency did
affect the defendant's cognitive capacity to form the mental state necessary for
the commission of the crime." State v. Baum, 224 N.J. 147, 160-61 (2016)
(second alteration in original) (quoting State v. Galloway, 133 N.J. 631, 647
(1993)). Although a defendant must initially "introduce evidence of a mental
disease or defect tending to show that he or she was incapable of forming the
requisite intent, N.J.S.A. 2C:4-2, 'the statute does not shift the burden of proof
to the defendant to disprove an essential element of the case.'" Id. at 161
(quoting State v. Moore, 122 N.J. 420, 431 (1991)). Hence, "the burden of proof
remains on the State to establish the mens rea of the offense." Ibid. Indeed,
N.J.S.A. 2C:4-2 provides:
[e]vidence that the defendant suffered from a mental
disease or defect is admissible whenever it is relevant
to prove that the defendant did not have a state of mind
which is an element of the offense. In the absence of
such evidence, it may be presumed that the defendant
A-4132-18
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had no mental disease or defect which would negate a
state of mind which is an element of the offense.
Without introducing the requisite showing of diminished capacity—through
expert testimony or otherwise—defense trial counsel requested the charge at the
end of the case, pointing to "behavioral things" like "smiling" and "licking his
lips," which were not "typical reactions to a police interview." But defendant
produced no competent evidence of mental disease or defect. Rather, the State
introduced evidence that defendant knew what he was doing as he pursued the
victim at multiple locations. Although defendant behaved strangely, the judge
did not abuse his discretion by denying the request.
III.
In Points III and IV, defendant maintains the State failed to prove that he
intended to steal the son's phone when defendant entered the son's bedroom. He
argues the judge therefore erred by denying defendant's motion for acquittal
after the State rested. And he adds, for the first time, 2 that the judge failed to
instruct the jury that defendant must have formed the intent to commit a theft
2
We consider this argument for plain error. R. 2:10-2.
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before any "intimidating conduct occurred." The judge correctly denied the
Reyes3 motion and properly charged the jury on robbery.
N.J.S.A. 2C:15-1 sets forth the elements of robbery and the gradation of
the offense. A "person is guilty of robbery if, in the course of committing a
theft," that individual:
(1) Inflicts bodily injury or uses force upon another; or
(2) Threatens another with or purposely puts him in fear
of immediate bodily injury; or
(3) Commits or threatens immediately to commit any
crime of the first or second degree.
An act shall be deemed to be included in the phrase "in
the course of committing a theft" if it occurs in an
attempt to commit theft or in immediate flight after the
attempt or commission.
[N.J.S.A. 2C:15-1(a).]
Robbery is a crime of the first degree if "in the course of committing the
theft, . . . the actor is armed with, or uses or threatens the immediate use of a
deadly weapon." N.J.S.A. 2C:15-1(b). Relevant to this case, "the intention to
steal must precede or be coterminous with the use of force." State v. Lopez,
187 N.J. 91, 101 (2006).
3
State v. Reyes, 50 N.J. 454 (1967) (setting forth the test for adjudicating a
motion for judgment of acquittal).
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The State introduced evidence that defendant's intent to steal the phone
was coterminous with defendant putting the son in fear of immediate bodily
injury. The son heard defendant going to the bedroom door, and although the
son tried to barricade it, defendant broke the door down. The son then observed
defendant holding two items: a twelve-inch knife with the blade pointing up,
and a bottle of wine. Defendant demanded the son's phone and told the victim's
mother, "[O]nce I go after [the victim], I'm going for you next." Defendant fled
with the phone and ran from the police.
Our review of a motion for a judgment of acquittal under Rule 3:18-2 is
de novo. State v. Lodzinski, ___ N.J. ___ (2021) (slip op. at 40). Defendant's
motive for entering the house may have been to target the victim. But, looking
at the evidence as we must in the State's favor, defendant formed the intent to
steal the son's phone once he barged through the barricaded door and demanded
the phone with a knife in hand. And he threatened bodily injury while holding
the knife and instilling fear by saying on the phone, "I'm going for you next."
We see no plain error as to the robbery charge. Indeed, when asked
whether there where any concerns about the robbery charge, defense counsel
said, "No." Defendant now argues the charge was flawed because the judge did
not instruct the jury that defendant "must have formed the intent to commit a
A-4132-18
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theft before any intimidating conduct occurred" and the purpose of putting the
son in fear of immediate bodily injury "was to coerce [the son] into relinquishing
the phone." Looking at the charge as a whole, and considering the timing of the
use of force by holding a raised knife while demanding the phone, we conclude
the charge as given was not clearly capable of producing an unjust result.
As part of the robbery charge, the jury asked for the meaning of "with
purpose." In responding to the question, the judge and counsel agreed that the
judge would re-read the definition of "purposely" in the robbery charge. The
judge stated that the State must prove defendant, "while in the course of
committing the theft," threatened the son, or it was his conscious object to put
the son in fear of immediate bodily injury. This part of the model jury charge
was given a second time. The threatening conduct and the theft were
coterminous. There was no error.
IV.
Defendant challenges for the first time the final charge on burglary. He
contends that the judge failed to instruct the jury that it must unanimously decide
which specific unlawful act defendant intended to commit when he broke into
the mother's house. But unanimity is not required as to the specific offense
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defendant intended to commit; only that he intended to commit an unlawful
offense.
Here, there was no ambiguity surrounding defendant's purpose for
entering the structure. The evidence did not suggest both criminal and non -
criminal purposes for entry. Along those lines, the judge instructed the jury that
the "[p]urpose to commit an offense inside means that . . . defendant intended to
commit an unlawful act inside the structure." The State alleged defendant
intended to commit stalking, criminal mischief, and/or theft inside the structure.
The parties never introduced evidence that defendant entered the structure for
any other purpose. The record demonstrates that defendant had no non-criminal
purpose for entering.
As to the obligation to charge unanimity on the purpose for entering the
structure, we explained:
where the circumstances surrounding the unlawful
entry do not give rise to any ambiguity or uncertainty
as to a defendant's purpose in entering a structure
without privilege to do so [and] lead inevitably and
reasonably to the conclusion that some unlawful act is
intended to be committed inside the structure, then
specific instructions delineating the precise unlawful
acts intended are unnecessary.
[State v. Robinson, 289 N.J. Super. 447, 458 (App. Div.
1996).]
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"[I]f the facts presented in evidence were such that [the] defendant's purpose in
entering was unclear and therefore reasonably capable of two interpretations,
one criminal and one non-criminal," then the judge must identify the specific
offense. See id. at 457. Thus, under the facts here, the judge had no obligation
to consider charging the jury that it must agree on which unlawful act defendant
intended to commit inside the structure. Consequently, we see no error, let alone
plain error, that is clearly capable of producing an unjust result.
V.
Finally, defendant requests that we remand for re-sentencing, arguing that
he should receive a lower sentence with mitigating factor four considered. But
the record shows that the judge properly weighed the applicable factors and
imposed a lower sentence than requested by the State. The judge considered
defense counsel's reliance on defendant's emotional, social, and educational
challenges. The judge's findings included consideration of defendant's "young
life."
The scope of our review of sentencing determinations is narrow and those
decisions are examined under a highly deferential standard. See State v. Roth,
95 N.J. 334, 364-65 (1984) (holding that an appellate court may not overturn a
sentence unless "the application of the guidelines to the facts of [the] case makes
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the sentence clearly unreasonable so as to shock the judicial conscience"). Our
review is limited to considering:
(1) whether guidelines for sentencing established by the
Legislature or by the courts were violated; (2) whether
the aggravating and mitigating factors found by the
sentencing [judge] were based on competent credible
evidence in the record; and (3) whether the sentence
was nevertheless "clearly unreasonable so as to shock
the judicial conscience."
[State v. Liepe, 239 N.J. 359, 371 (2019) (quoting State
v. McGuire, 419 N.J. Super. 88, 158 (App. Div.
2011)).]
"[A]ppellate courts are cautioned not to substitute their judgment for those of
our sentencing [judges]." State v. Case, 220 N.J. 49, 65 (2014). A trial judge's
exercise of discretion in accordance with sentencing principles "should be
immune from second-guessing." State v. Bieniek, 200 N.J. 601, 612 (2010).
Sentencing decisions are based on a qualitative rather than quantitative
analytical process. State v. L.V., 410 N.J. Super. 90, 108 (App. Div. 2009)
(citing State v. Kruse, 105 N.J. 354, 363 (1987)); see also State v. Denmon,
347 N.J. Super. 457, 467-68 (App. Div. 2002) (stating "[o]ur sentencing statute
contemplates[, like here,] a thoughtful weighing of the aggravating and
mitigating factors, not a mere counting of one against the other”). We will not
second guess the judge's findings, which reflect a qualitative analysis.
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Affirmed.
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