State v. Duran

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1 IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO
2 STATE OF NEW MEXICO,
3 Plaintiff-Appellee,
4 v. No. A-1-CA-36693
5 ALEX DURAN,
6 Defendant-Appellant
7 APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF OTERO COUNTY
8 Angie K. Schneider, Judge
9 Hector H. Balderas, Attorney General
10 Santa Fe, NM
11 for Appellee
12 Law Offices of Adrianne R. Turner
13 Adrianne R. Turner
14 Albuquerque, NM
15 for Appellant
16 MEMORANDUM OPINION
17 VIGIL, Judge.
18 {1} Defendant Alex Duran appeals from the district court’s judgment and partially
19 suspended sentence, which reflects his conviction of one count of trafficking a
1 controlled substance (methamphetamine) (by distribution). [RP 159] We previously
2 entered a notice of proposed summary disposition, proposing to affirm. Defendant has
3 filed a memorandum in opposition to our notice. We are unpersuaded and therefore
4 affirm.
5 {2} On appeal, Defendant raised a single issue, challenging the sufficiency of the
6 evidence to support his conviction. [DS 4] Our notice set forth the relevant facts and
7 the law that we believed controlled. We proposed to hold that the following evidence
8 supported Defendant’s conviction: (1) Otero County Sheriff’s Deputy Matt Mirabal’s
9 testimony that he arranged, through a confidential informant, to make a purchase from
10 Defendant, (2) Deputy Mirabal’s testimony that he did, in fact, purchase
11 approximately eighty-dollars worth of methamphetamine from Defendant, and (3) the
12 stipulation between the State and Defendant that the substance was .09 grams of
13 methamphetamine. See, e.g., State v. Rael, 1999-NMCA-068, ¶ 27, 127 N.M. 347, 981
14 P.2d 280 (concluding that officer testimony that he purchased narcotics from the
15 defendant constituted sufficient evidence to support a conviction for trafficking a
16 controlled substance).
17 {3} In response, Defendant continues to argue that there was insufficient evidence
18 because of a lack of supporting evidence to corroborate Deputy Mirabal’s testimony.
19 [MIO 3-4] We disagree. See generally State v. Soliz, 1969-NMCA-043, ¶8, 80 N.M.
2
 1 297, 454 P.2d 779 (“As a general rule, the testimony of a single witness is sufficient
2 evidence for a conviction.). This is simply an argument directed at the credibility of
3 the officer’s testimony. However, as we pointed out in the calendar notice, the fact-
4 finder is the judge of credibility, and this Court will not reweigh evidence. See State
5 v. Garcia, 2011-NMSC-003, ¶ 5, 149 N.M. 185, 246 P.3d 1057 (“New Mexico
6 appellate courts will not invade the jury’s province as fact-finder by second-guessing
7 the jury’s decision concerning the credibility of witnesses, reweighing the evidence,
8 or substituting its judgment for that of the jury.” (alterations, internal quotation marks,
9 and citation omitted)).
10 {4} In sum, Defendant’s MIO does not supply any new legal or factual argument
11 that persuades us that our analysis or proposed disposition was incorrect. See State v.
12 Mondragon, 1988-NMCA-027, ¶ 10, 107 N.M. 421, 759 P.2d 1003 (stating that “[a]
13 party responding to a summary calendar notice must come forward and specifically
14 point out errors of law and fact,” and the repetition of earlier arguments does not
15 fulfill this requirement), superseded by statute on other grounds as stated in State v.
16 Harris, 2013-NMCA-031, ¶ 3, 297 P.3d 374. Accordingly, for the reasons set forth
17 in our notice of proposed summary disposition and in this opinion, we affirm.
18 {5} IT IS SO ORDERED.
19 _________________________________
3
1 MICHAEL E. VIGIL, Judge
2 WE CONCUR:
3 ____________________________
4 LINDA M. VANZI, Chief Judge
5 ____________________________
6 EMIL J. KIEHNE, Judge
4