v. Meils ( 2019 )

The summaries of the Colorado Court of Appeals published opinions
constitute no part of the opinion of the division but have been prepared by
the division for the convenience of the reader. The summaries may not be
cited or relied upon as they are not the official language of the division.
Any discrepancy between the language in the summary and in the opinion
should be resolved in favor of the language in the opinion.
SUMMARY
December 12, 2019
2019COA180
No. 16CA2168, People v. Meils — Crimes — Sexual Exploitation
of a Child — Sexually Exploitive Material; Constitutional Law —
Fifth Amendment — Double Jeopardy
A division of the court of appeals considers whether section
18-6-403(3)(b)-(b.5), C.R.S. 2019, prescribes alternative means of
committing sexual exploitation of a child. The division concludes
that, because the legislature wrote the statute in the disjunctive,
listing a series of acts referencing the same subject, governed by a
common mens rea, it prescribes alternative ways of committing the
same offense. Thus, a defendant cannot be convicted of both
possession and creation of sexually exploitative materials for a
single incident.
Additionally, the division rejects the defendant’s contention
that the trial court denied him his right to a complete defense by
excluding certain evidence supporting his alternate suspect theory.
It also rejects the defendant’s argument that the prosecutor
committed misconduct during closing arguments. Finally, the
division concludes that given the weight of the evidence against the
defendant, any error in admitting improper expert testimony in the
guise of lay witness testimony did not affect the outcome of the
trial.
Accordingly, the division affirms the judgment in part, vacates
three of the four convictions, and remands to the trial court for a
correction of the mittimus.
COLORADO COURT OF APPEALS 2019COA180
Court of Appeals No. 16CA2168
Jefferson County District Court No. 14CR2865
Honorable Jeffrey R. Pilkington, Judge
The People of the State of Colorado,
Plaintiff-Appellee
v.
David Lee Meils,
Defendant-Appellant.
JUDGMENT AFFIRMED IN PART, VACATED IN PART,
AND CASE REMANDED WITH DIRECTIONS
Division I
Opinion by JUDGE TAUBMAN
Pawar and Davidson*, JJ., concur
Announced December 12, 2019
Philip J. Weiser, Attorney General, Grant R. Fevurly, Assistant Attorney
General, Denver, Colorado, for Plaintiff-Appellee
Megan A. Ring, Colorado State Public Defender, Jessica Sommer, Deputy State
Public Defender, Denver, Colorado, for Defendant-Appellant
*Sitting by assignment of the Chief Justice under provisions of Colo. Const. art.
VI, § 5(3), and § 24-51-1105, C.R.S. 2019.
¶1 Defendant, David Lee Meils, appeals the judgment of
conviction entered on a jury verdict finding him guilty of four
counts of sexual exploitation of a child. He argues that the trial
court erred in excluding alternate suspect evidence, allowing the
prosecutor to commit misconduct during closing arguments, and
permitting improper witness testimony. He further contends that
his four convictions for sexual exploitation of a child violate his
right to be free from double jeopardy. We affirm in part and vacate
his convictions on counts 2, 3, and 4.
I. Background
¶2 On November 4, 2014, Meils’s wife, H.M., found on Meils work
phone four photos of the naked victim — her ten-year-old daughter
— and two videos of her undressing. The photos showed a time
stamp of November 3, 2014, at 3:58 p.m., and the video showed a
time stamp of November 4. H.M. testified that, based on the
victim’s outfit, she knew the video was taken on November 3,
despite its time stamps of November 4. Both the photos and the
video appeared to have been taken from outside the master
bathroom through a gap between the bathroom door and the floor.
1
¶3 H.M. attempted to send the photos and videos to herself or
take a picture of them with her phone to gather proof, fearing that
they might be deleted. When her efforts failed, she woke up
Autumn Stoffel, a friend living at the house. Stoffel took a photo of
one of the photos, including its time stamp, on Meils’s phone. Both
women then went to a hotel to call the police, leaving Meils’s phone
at the house.
¶4 At trial, both women testified that they initially suspected that
Meils’s thirteen-year-old son, D.M., had taken the pictures and
videos. However, Stoffel stated that she had observed D.M. in the
living room at the time shown on the time stamps. Aside from
Stoffel, Meils was the only other person home at the time. Stoffel
recalled hearing Meils tell the victim to “get in the shower,” seeing
him come downstairs with laundry, and then seeing him run back
upstairs.
¶5 Meils called H.M. while she was at the hotel and again while
law enforcement officers were present at the hotel. Both times, she
answered with the call on speaker phone. During the course of the
calls, she asked him if “there was anything that would make [her]
leave the house.” He responded, “About those pictures,” and “I’m
2
sorry.” He then proceeded to make inculpatory statements. He
explained that H.M. had told him that the victim “was coming into
puberty and it had made him curious.” He blamed H.M. because
she mentioned that the victim’s “breasts were bigger than her own.”
Then, he said that making the videos “was retarded and the biggest
mistake of [his] life,” and he did it out of “[s]heer curiosity and
perversion.” H.M. asked how he did it, and he responded that he
“put the phone outside the door.” He also threated to kill himself at
one point during the call.
¶6 A short time later, law enforcement officers arrested Meils. He
voluntarily surrendered his work and personal phones as well as an
iPad. Though officers did not find the photos and videos when they
initially looked at his phone, a forensic analyst later recovered from
Meils’s work phone two videos and nineteen photographs of the
victim undressing and getting in the shower — all captured between
6:34 p.m. and 6:46 p.m. on October 2, 2014. (The police did not
find images time stamped in November 2014.) The analysis also
uncovered what appeared to be test images of the bathroom viewed
from the gap between the door and the floor taken minutes before
the photos and videos of the victim were taken.
3
¶7 The district attorney charged Meils with four counts of sexual
exploitation of a child and one count of invasion of privacy for
sexual gratification — all with a date range of October 2, 2014 to
November 5, 2014.
¶8 The defense’s theory of the case focused on an alternate
suspect, accusing D.M. of taking the photos and videos of the
victim. Support for the theory included evidence of D.M. hoarding
women’s underwear, including the victim’s, and that on October 2
he did not have access to his cell phone or computer (thus,
suggesting that he had used his father’s phone). The prosecution
emphasized the events of November 3, when D.M. was purportedly
in the living room when the photos and videos were taken. It also
highlighted Meils’s immediate confession and apology when
confronted by H.M.
¶9 The jury convicted Meils of all five counts, and the trial court
sentenced him to a total of ten years in the custody of the
Department of Corrections.
II. Alternate Suspect
¶ 10 Meils contends that the trial court denied him his right to
present a complete defense by excluding certain evidence
4
supporting his alternate suspect theory. We conclude that any
error was harmless.
A. Standard of Review
¶ 11 We review a trial court’s evidentiary rulings for an abuse of
discretion. People v. Elmarr, 2015 CO 53, ¶ 20, 351 P.3d 431, 437–
38. A trial court abuses its discretion when its decision is
manifestly arbitrary, unreasonable, or unfair, or based on a
misapplication or misunderstanding of the law. Id. at ¶ 20, 351
P.3d at 438.
¶ 12 However, we do not reverse unless there exists a reasonable
probability that an error influenced the verdict or affected the
fairness of the trial, contributing to the defendant’s conviction.
Yusem v. People, 210 P.3d 458, 469 (Colo. 2009).
B. Applicable Law
¶ 13 In the case of an alternate suspect theory, evidence of another
person’s motive or opportunity to commit the charged crime “is
insufficient; a defendant must proffer something ‘more’ to establish
the non-speculative connection.” Elmarr, ¶ 34, 351 P.3d at 441
(discussing People v. Mulligan, 193 Colo. 509, 568 P.2d 449 (1977)).
Thus, “the overarching relevance inquiry remains whether the
5
evidence, taken collectively, establishes a non-speculative
connection between the alternate suspect and the charged crime.”
Id. at ¶ 40, 351 P.3d at 441.
C. Relevant Facts and Analysis
¶ 14 Before trial, the defense sought to introduce evidence of D.M.’s
preoccupation with sex that, when taken together with evidence
heard by the jury that he hoarded the victim’s underwear and did
not have his phone on October 2, suggested he was the perpetrator.
The trial court, in a thorough, detailed order, denied introduction of
the alternate suspect evidence because, in essence, the potential for
prejudice or confusion of such evidence substantially outweighed
any probative value.
¶ 15 Our review of the record as a whole leads us to conclude that
overwhelming evidence supported Meils’s conviction. H.M. found
the photos and videos on his phone, and Stoffel testified that Meils
was upstairs and D.M. was downstairs during the November 3
incident. Significantly, during H.M.’s two phone calls with Meils, he
immediately confessed to taking the photos and videos, and he told
H.M. how he had taken them, and made other inculpatory
statements. Moreover, the jury heard evidence of D.M. hoarding
6
women’s underwear in his bedroom and not having access to his
phone on October 2. Notably, none of the evidence excluded by the
trial court related to any interaction between D.M. and the victim.
Under these circumstances, we conclude that any error in denying
admission of the proffered evidence of D.M.’s alleged sexual conduct
did not substantially affect the outcome of the trial, and therefore
any error in the trial court’s exclusion of some of the proffered
alternate suspect evidence was harmless.
III. Prosecutorial Misconduct
¶ 16 Meils argues that the trial court erred by allowing the
prosecutor to commit misconduct by misstating critical evidence
and asking the jury to draw an inference based on the absence of
evidence that had been excluded. We disagree.
A. Relevant Facts
¶ 17 During closing arguments, the prosecutor argued: “[I]n
November of 2014, [D.M.] has his own phone. [D.M.] doesn’t need
to borrow the defendant’s phone. He has his own phone in
November. Interestingly, [H.M.] remembers that specifically on
October 2nd, [D.M.]’s phone was taken away for that one day.”
Defense counsel objected and argued at the bench that the
7
comment was barred by the court’s pretrial ruling to suppress
discussion of the reason D.M. did not have his phone on October 2.
He also voiced concern about the prosecutor’s implication that H.M.
had fabricated that D.M.’s phone was confiscated that day. The
court sustained the objection and issued a curative instruction
stating that “the evidence in this case was that [D.M.] did not have
access to a cell phone on October 2nd. The evidence was not that
he had his cell phone taken away.”
¶ 18 During rebuttal, the prosecutor told the jury that “[H.M.]’s
parental instincts were spot on November 4th of 2014 when she
said, [Meils] did this, the defendant did this which is why she
confronted him.” Defense counsel did not object.
¶ 19 The prosecutor also highlighted that, while H.M. remembered
some details from October 2, she could not recall — or could only
vaguely recall — others.
[S]he doesn’t remember what time the
defendant got home, where the defendant was,
whether he was home for dinner, what phone
she called him on, whether he had his work or
cell phone with him, where his phones were.
She doesn’t remember any of that. So there’s
certain things she remembers. There’s certain
things she doesn’t remember.
8
Again, defense counsel did not lodge an objection.
B. Standard of Review
¶ 20 We engage in a two-step analysis to review claims of
prosecutorial misconduct. Wend v. People, 235 P.3d 1089, 1096
(Colo. 2010). First, we determine whether the prosecutor’s conduct
was improper based on the totality of the circumstances. Id.
Second, we decide whether, under the proper standard of review,
any misconduct warrants reversal. Id.
¶ 21 We review misconduct of nonconstitutional magnitude to
which the defense objected at trial for harmless error. Id. at 1097.
Under this standard, misconduct does not require reversal if there
is no reasonable probability it contributed to the verdict. Crider v.
People, 186 P.3d 39, 44 (Colo. 2008).
¶ 22 However, we review alleged misconduct not objected to at trial
for plain error. Wend, 235 P.3d at 1097. Under this standard,
reversal is warranted only when prosecutorial misconduct is
“flagrantly, glaringly, or tremendously improper,” Domingo-Gomez v.
People, 125 P.3d 1043, 1053 (Colo. 2005) (quoting People v. Avila,
944 P.2d 673, 676 (Colo. App. 1997)), and “so undermines the
9
fundamental fairness of the trial itself as to cast serious doubt on
the reliability of the jury’s verdict.” Id.
C. Applicable Law and Analysis
¶ 23 We address each of the three alleged improper arguments in
turn.
¶ 24 Generally, a curative instruction will remedy any prejudice
caused by an improper argument. People v. Pesis, 189 Colo. 52,
54-55, 536 P.2d 824, 826 (1975); People v. Mersman, 148 P.3d 199,
203 (Colo. App. 2006). Here, the court remedied the first instance
of alleged prosecutorial misconduct with a curative instruction. In
so doing, the court informed the jury that it should not consider the
prosecutor’s statement as evidence. Thus, in regard to the first
alleged instance of misconduct, the court alleviated any improper
argument.
¶ 25 Turning to the second argument, we first note that
prosecutors enjoy broad discretion in crafting their closing
arguments and may argue all reasonable inferences from the
evidence in the record. Domingo-Gomez, 125 P.3d at 1048. “Given
the wide latitude granted to the prosecutor in closing arguments,
the trial court is best positioned to determine whether the
10
prosecutor’s conduct was improper considering contemporaneous
circumstances.” People v. Sandoval, 2018 COA 156, ¶ 39,
___P.3d___, ___. Thus, “[p]rosecutorial misconduct in closing
argument rarely constitutes plain error.” People v. Cevallos-Acosta,
140 P.3d 116, 123 (Colo. App. 2005). Though H.M. admitted that
she initially thought it was D.M. who took the photos and videos,
she testified that, after learning that Stoffel saw D.M. in the living
room when the photos and videos were taken, she felt that the only
person who could have been responsible was Meils. Thus, the
prosecutor did not mislead the jury. Instead, the prosecutor used
the evidence to draw a reasonable inference to explain why H.M.
confronted Meils. We perceive no error, much less plain error, in
this statement.
¶ 26 Similarly, we analyze the third statement by the prosecutor
under plain error review. Meils argues that H.M. did remember that
Meils was late for dinner, that he got home around seven or eight
o’clock, and where he was before that. He further asserts that H.M.
testified that she “probably called him on his personal phone first,”
and, in any event, nobody ever asked H.M. whether Meils had his
work or cell phone with him or where the phones were at the time.
11
¶ 27 H.M. testified that she did not remember exactly what time
Meils arrived home that evening, but “probably . . . around 7:00 or
maybe 8 . . . .” (Emphasis added.) Further, she said that she
probably called him on his personal phone first and she had to call
him to determine where he was at the time. The uncertainty in
H.M.’s testimony suggests that she did not remember these details
clearly; thus, the prosecutor’s arguments that she did not
remember were not precisely based on the evidence presented at
trial. Though H.M. testified that Meils was late for dinner, the
People contend that the prosecutor saying that H.M. did not
remember if he was home for dinner was not so obvious as to alert
the trial judge of an error without Meils’s objection. Moreover,
defense counsel addressed these statements in his closing
arguments, pointing out that “[H.M.] told you she remembers that
day well . . . .”
¶ 28 Therefore, after reviewing the record, we conclude that the
prosecutor’s remarks, though inartful, did not constitute plain
error.
12
IV. Witness Testimony
¶ 29 Meils contends that the trial court erred in admitting expert
testimony in the guise of lay witness testimony by Susan Scohy, an
investigative technician, and unhelpful testimony by Detective Matt
Clark. We conclude that any error was harmless.
A. Relevant Facts
¶ 30 Scohy recovered the two videos and nineteen photos from
Meils’s iPhone and determined they were taken on October 2. At
trial, she explained her training and experience in extracting this
type of data. She also told the jury that to do so, she plugged the
phone into her extracting device, accessed certain software, and
generated a report. She further said that deleted data may
sometimes be recovered, but that the use of a lot of data
subsequent to deletion of the images may erase the images to make
room for more storage. Defense counsel did not object to this
testimony.
¶ 31 During cross-examination, defense counsel questioned Scohy
about her lack of formal training concerning cell phone data
extraction. Defense counsel also inquired about deleted data and
how it is overwritten.
13
¶ 32 The jury later asked Scohy multiple questions. The court
rejected all but one: “Would a phone use up all of its data before
overwriting any files, or would it overwrite deleted files before taking
up new space?” Defense counsel objected, stating that it called for
expert testimony, but the trial court overruled the objection
“because those issues have been gone over in both direct and
cross.”
¶ 33 The prosecution used this testimony to show that there were
two incidents of sexual misconduct — on October 2 and November
3.
¶ 34 Detective Clark was the lead investigator in the case. He
testified that none of the photos found on Meils’s phone from
October 2 matched those on Stoffel’s phone (the photos found by
H.M. on November 4). He explained that, by looking at the photos
side-by-side, he determined that they were different. Through his
comparison, and a comparison of the videos found and those
described by H.M., he concluded there must have been two separate
incidents. Defense counsel did not object.
14
B. Standard of Review
¶ 35 We review a trial court’s evidentiary rulings for an abuse of
discretion. Elmarr, ¶ 20, 351 P.3d at 437-38. For preserved errors,
the standard of reversal is nonconstitutional harmless error. People
v. Stewart, 55 P.3d 107, 122 (Colo. 2002). However, unpreserved
errors are reviewed for plain error, and therefore we reverse only if
the error is obvious and substantial. Hagos v. People, 2012 CO 63,
¶ 14, 288 P.3d 116, 120.
C. Applicable Law and Analysis
¶ 36 Given that all images that Scohy testified about had already
been admitted into evidence, we conclude that any error in
admitting the testimony was harmless and not plain error. Meils’s
argument hinges on his disagreement with the prosecution’s theory
that the images were taken on two separate dates. Defense counsel
emphasized during closing arguments: “It’s about whether David
Meils took the photos and videos.” Meils alleges that he had an
alibi on October 2 but not November 3; thus, without proof that
images were taken on November 3, his convictions cannot stand.
However, even without Detective Clark’s testimony, the jury had
ample evidence from H.M.’s and Stoffel’s testimony and the photos
15
taken of Meils’s phone on Stoffel’s phone to find him guilty of sexual
exploitation. Significantly, as noted, he twice admitted to having
taken the photos and videos during his phone call with H.M.1
¶ 37 Accordingly, we conclude that any error in admitting
testimony by Scohy or Detective Clark did not affect the outcome of
the trial and was therefore harmless.
V. Double Jeopardy
¶ 38 Meils contends that his multiple convictions for sexual
exploitation of a child violate his right to be free from double
jeopardy because section 18-6-403(3), C.R.S. 2019, prescribes
alternative methods of committing the same offense. Therefore, he
argues they must merge, and we must vacate his convictions for
counts 2, 3, and 4. We agree.
1The jury was instructed that, to find Meils guilty of sexual
exploitation in counts 2, 3, and 4, it must find that he knowingly
possessed sexually exploitative material, for any purpose, on or
between November 3 and November 5.
16
A. Standard of Review
¶ 39 We review de novo a claim that multiplicitous convictions
violate a defendant’s right to be free from double jeopardy. Lucero
v. People, 2012 CO 7, ¶ 19, 272 P.3d 1063, 1065.
B. Applicable Law and Analysis
¶ 40 “Multiplicity is the charging of the same offense in several
counts, culminating in multiple punishments.” People v. McMinn,
2013 COA 94, ¶ 19, 412 P.3d 551, 557. Multiplicitous “convictions
are prohibited because they violate the constitutional prohibition
against double jeopardy.” Id.
¶ 41 First, we must identify the unit of prosecution.2 Id. at ¶ 20,
412 P.3d at 558. The unit of prosecution determines whether a
2Another division of our court recently addressed section 18-6-
403(3)(b.5) and (5), C.R.S. 2019, to determine the unit of
prosecution for sexual exploitation of a child. People v. Bott, 2019
COA 100, ¶ 62, ___ P.3d ___, ___. The division concluded:
Under the plain and unambiguous language of
the statute, the unit of prosecution is an act of
possession, not an individual image. The
statute refers to the singular “possession” of
sexually exploitative material and instructs
that, if “[t]he possession” is of more than
twenty images, the defendant may be punished
more severely. § 18-6-403(5)(b)(II) . . . .
17
defendant’s conduct can be divided into discrete acts for purposes
of multiple offenses. Quintano v. People, 105 P.3d 585, 590 (Colo.
2005). Once we determine the unit of prosecution, we must
address whether the evidence supporting each offense justified
multiple charges. People v. Abiodun, 111 P.3d 462, 467-68 (Colo.
2005).
¶ 42 To respond to Meils’s argument, we must consider whether the
statute prescribes alternative means of committing the same offense
under Abiodun. See People v. Friend, 2014 COA 123M, ¶¶ 71–
72, 431 P.3d 614, 629, aff’d in part and rev’d in part, 2018 CO 90,
429 P.3d 1191. As relevant here, the statute reads:
(3) A person commits sexual exploitation of a
child if, for any purpose, he or she knowingly:
....
(b) Prepares, arranges for, publishes, including
but not limited to publishing through digital or
electronic means, produces, promotes, makes,
sells, finances, offers, exhibits, advertises,
deals in, or distributes, including but not
Id. at ¶ 63, ___ P.3d at ___. In so doing, it determined that the
defendant’s “possession of the memory card containing 294 images
subjected him to only one conviction under section 18-6-
403(3)(b.5), C.R.S. 2018.” Id. at ¶ 69, ___ P.3d at 12. We need not
address Bott in the circumstances presented here.
18
limited to distributing through digital or
electronic means, any sexually exploitative
material; or
(b.5) Possesses or controls any sexually
exploitative material for any purpose . . . .
§ 18-6-403, C.R.S. 2019 (emphasis added).
¶ 43 “[B]y joining alternatives disjunctively in a single provision of
the criminal code, the legislature intended to describe alternate
ways of committing a single crime rather than to create separate
offenses.” Abiodun, 111 P.3d at 467; see also Schneider v. People,
2016 CO 70, ¶ 13, 382 P.3d 835, 839; Woellhaf v. People, 105 P.3d
209, 217 (Colo. 2005). Therefore, we conclude that, because
section 18-6-403(3) is written in the disjunctive, constructed as a
series of acts referencing the same subject — sexually exploitative
materials — and governed by a common mens rea, it prescribes
alternative ways of committing the same offense. Id. at 466.
¶ 44 Meils was convicted of four counts of sexual exploitation of a
child under section 18-6-403(3). The date range for all counts was
October 1, 2014 to November 5, 2014. Notably, there is no
indication that the prosecution intended to demonstrate that count
1 occurred at a different time than counts 2, 3, and 4. See
Quintano, 105 P.3d at 592 (stating that the court must “look to all
19
the evidence introduced at trial to determine whether the evidence
on which the jury relied for conviction was sufficient to support
distinct and separate offenses”). In Quintano, the supreme court
determined that, because “the defendant’s conduct was separate in
temporal proximity and constituted a new volitional departure in
his course of conduct,” the evidence supported five separate
offenses. Id. Here, neither party argued that the multiple charges
resulted from discrete offenses committed at different times.
Rather, the only temporal element focused on by the parties was
whether all of the offenses occurred on the November date — when
Meils did not have an alibi — or in October, when Meils had an
alibi. Thus, Meils cannot be convicted of both creating and
possessing sexually exploitative material.
¶ 45 As the People note, multiplicitous convictions must merge, and
in so doing, we must maximize the effect of the jury verdicts. See
People v. Glover, 893 P.2d 1311, 1314-15 (Colo. 1995); see also
Friend, ¶¶ 71-72, 431 P.3d at 629 (maximizing the effect of the jury
verdict by merging convictions that carried different penalties into
the most serious offense). Thus, counts 2, 3, and 4 (class 4
20
felonies) must merge into count 1 (a class 3 felony) because it is the
most serious of the charges.
VI. Conclusion
¶ 46 Accordingly, the judgment is affirmed as to count 1, the
convictions on counts 2, 3, and 4 are vacated, and we remand to
the trial court for correction of the mittimus.
JUDGE PAWAR and JUDGE DAVIDSON concur.
21