State of Washington v. Brandon Casey Pries

FILED
MARCH 8, 2016
In the Office of the Clerk of Court
WA State Court of Appeals, Division III
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON
DIVISION THREE
STATE OF WASHINGTON, ) No. 32958-5-111
)
Respondent, )
)
v. ) UNPUBLISHED OPINION
)
BRANDON CASEY PRIES, also known )
as BRANDOND C. PRIES, )
)
Appellant.
PENNELL, J. - Brandon Pries was convicted of failure to register as a sex offender
following a bench trial. He also pleaded guilty to escape from community custody. Mr.
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Pries appeals, arguing ( 1) insufficient evidence supports his conviction for failure to
register as a sex offender, and (2) the trial court abused its discretion when it ordered him
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to submit to another collection of his deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). We find no error and
affirm.
FACTS
In August, 2013, Mr. Pries was released from prison, subject to sex offender
No. 32958-5-111
State v. Pries
registration requirements and Department of Corrections (DOC) supervision. With the
help of a housing allowance from the DOC, Mr. Pries moved into the New Washington
Apartments in Spokane. Mr. Pries was aware that any violation of his community
custody conditions would result in termination of his housing allowance.
I Mr. Pries initially complied with his registration and community custody
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I obligations. However, things soon changed. On September 11, 2013, Mr. Pries failed to
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I report to his community corrections officer. Around the same time, the DOC lost track of
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Mr. Pries, as he stopped charging his GPS (global positioning system) monitoring
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bracelet and then cut the bracelet from his ankle. On September 12, 2013, a DOC warrant
was issued for Mr. Pries's arrest. Mr. Pries's housing allowance was terminated;
however, DOC had already paid September's rent. It is unclear whether the DOC paid
October's rent. In any event, the New Washington Apartments took no eviction action
against Mr. Pries.
From mid-September forward, Mr. Pries and his then-fiance, Mary Blair, actively
avoided the DOC. At trial, Ms. Blair testified she and Mr. Pries left Spokane for
Chewelah, Washington, in October 2013 because Mr. Pries knew the police were looking
for him. Mr. Pries testified to the same, clarifying that the pair left Spokane on
October 8, 2013. Mr. Pries and Ms. Blair stayed in Chewelah for two to three weeks at
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I No. 32958-5-III
State v. Pries
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I the home of Mr. Pries's uncle. During this time period, Ms. Blair testified she and Mr.
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I Pries were effectively homeless. Mr. Pries and Ms. Blair ultimately left Chewelah and
I returned to Spokane because Mr. Pries's uncle found out Mr. Pries was wanted by the
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!I police. Ms. Blair testified she and Mr. Pries would have stayed in Chewelah had Mr.
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i Pries' s uncle not asked them to leave.
Mr. Pries and Ms. Blair arrived back in Spokane on October 19, 2013. Mr. Pries
was located by law enforcement late that night at Freeway Park. According to Ms. Blair,
she and Mr. Pries had intended to sleep at Freeway Park that night.
Mr. Pries was subsequently charged with failing to register as a sex offender
during the period from October 3 through October 15, 2013. He was also charged with
escape from community custody. Mr. Pries pleaded guilty to escape but proceeded to a
bench trial on the failure to register allegation. The trial court found Mr. Pries guilty and
entered written findings of fact and conclusions of law. The judgment and sentences for
both Mr. Pries's convictions contain a DNA collection requirement. This requirement
was set forth pursuant to standard state forms, explaining that no DNA need be collected
"if it is established that the Washington State Patrol crime laboratory already has a sample
from [Mr. Pries] for a qualifying offense." Clerk's Papers at 246, 288.
Mr. Pries has filed this timely appeal.
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No. 32958-5-111
State v. Pries
ANALYSIS
A. Sufficiency of the Evidence
In Washington, a person required to register as a sex offender must regularly
register his or her whereabouts with the county sheriff. RCW 9A.44 .13 0. A change in
residence must be reported within three business days. RCW 9A.44.130(5). The three
day rule also applies to someone who no longer retains a fixed residence and becomes
homeless. RCW 9A.44.130(5)(a). A residence "is the place where a person lives as
either a temporary or permanent dwelling, a place to which one intends to return, as
distinguished from a place of temporary sojourn or transient visit." State v. Pickett, 95
Wash. App. 475, 478, 975 P.2d 584 (1999). To obtain a conviction for failure to register,
the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt the defendant knowingly failed to comply
with his or her statutory registration requirements. RCW 9A.44.132(1 ).
Mr. Pries's argument is the State failed to present sufficient evidence that he
knowingly changed residences. The test for sufficiency of evidence is "whether, after
viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of
fact could have found the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt." State v.
Gentry, 125 Wash. 2d 570, 596-97, 888 P.2d 1105 (1995). All reasonable inferences from
the evidence are drawn in the State's favor and "interpreted most strongly against the
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State v. Pries
defendant." State v. Salinas, 119 Wash. 2d 192, 201, 829 P.2d 1068 (1992). This court
defers to the fact finder on issues of conflicting testimony, witness credibility, and
persuasiveness of the evidence. State v. Emery, 161 Wash. App. 172, 199, 253 P.3d 413
(2011).
Contrary to Mr. Pries's position, this case is not similar to State v. Drake, 149 Wn.
App. 88, 201 P .3d 1093 (2009), where the State lacked evidence of intent to change
residences. In Drake, the defendant had g