State of Washington v. Gerrit Jon Kobes ( 2017 )

FILED
JULY 13, 2017
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. 34232-8-III
Respondent, )
)
V. )
)
GERRIT JON KOBES, ) UNPUBLISHED OPINION
)
Appellant. )
KORSMO, J. - Gerrit Kobes appeals his convictions for residential burglary and
violation of a no contact order, arguing that the location was not the victim's residence
since she was away for a week at the time of the crimes. We affirm.
FACTS
Mr. Kobes was granted a four day furlough from the Stevens County Jail to attend
his grandmother's funeral. His father drove him to Mr. Kobes' wife's house at 1365
Kettle Park Road in Kettle Falls in order to obtain his wallet and boots. At that time, a no
contact order prohibited Mr. Kobes from coming within 100 yards of her "residence."
That order also provided that law enforcement would provide a "civil standby" if Mr.
No. 34232-8-III
State v. Kobes
Kobes needed to recover personal property from the address of 1365 Kettle Park Road.
However, Mr. Kobes also knew that Erica Kobes had checked into a Spokane treatment
facility for a week and was not present. Instead, her mother was in the house watching
the children during her absence.
Kobes retrieved his items from the house. When Mrs. Kobes discovered that Mr.
Kobes has been there, she reported the incident to law enforcement. The prosecutor
ultimately filed a felony charge of residential burglary as well as a gross misdemeanor
count of violation of a no contact order.
The defense argued that the Kettle Falls address was not a protected "residence"
since Erica Kobes was "residing" in a treatment center in Spokane at the time.
Nonetheless, the jury convicted Mr. Kobes on the two counts as charged. He promptly
appealed to this court.
ANALYSIS
Mr. Kobes argues that the term "residence" used in the no contact order is vague
under the facts of this case, thus rendering the evidence insufficient to support the
convictions. We tum to the "residence" contention before briefly discussing the
sufficiency of the evidence.
To resolve a contention that a court order is vague, courts will treat the order as if
it were a statute and apply standard rules of statutory construction. State v. Bahl, 164
Wash. 2d 739, 753-754, 193 P.3d 678 (2008). The test of vagueness is whether an ordinary
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State v. Kobes
person would understand the meaning of the statute. State v. Halstien, 122 Wash. 2d 109,
117, 857 P.2d 270 (1993). It is the burden of the challenger to establish that the statute is
vague. Id. at 118. When a term is undefined, courts can tum to a dictionary to provide
the plain and ordinary meaning of the language in question. Bahl, 164 Wash. 2d at 754. In
addressing an "as applied" challenge, such as that raised here, the question is whether
"the statute as applied to the particular facts of the case and the party's conduct" is so
indefinite as to fail to "provide ascertainable standards of guilt to protect against arbitrary
enforcement." State v, Peterson, 174 Wash. App. 828, 845, 301 P.3d 1060 (2013).
We do not believe an ordinary person would believe that someone leaving her
home for a week, leaving her children there with her mother as babysitter, and leaving
her possessions behind, would think that the residence has been abandoned. Temporary
domicile for a brief, fixed period has never been commonly understood as a ch(lnge of
residence.
Appellant notes that the term "residence" has been defined in varying different
ways depending on the statutory context, and relies on the definition used in a sex
offender registration case, State v. Jenkins, 100 Wash. App. 85, 995 P.2d 1268 (2000).
Jenkins adopted the following definition found in an earlier case, State v. Pickett, 95 Wn.
App. 475,478, 975 P.2d 584 (1999):
"Residence as the term is commonly understood is the place where a person
lives as either a temporary or permanent dwelling, a place to which one
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State v. Kobes
intends to return, as distinguished from a place of temporary sojourn or
transient visit."
Jenkins, 100 Wash. App. at 91 (quoting Pickett, 95 Wash. App. at 478). We agree that this is
an appropriate definition to apply here. But we disagree that this definition helps Mr.
Kobes. 1
His argument essentially relies on the first half of the definition by emphasizing
that a temporary dwelling can be a permanent residence. However, the second half is
critical to understanding the whole definition. In addition to being a temporary dwelling,
the location must be a place to which the person intends to return and distinguishable
from "' a place of temporary sojourn or transient visit.' " 2 Id.
Here, Mr. Kobes knew that his wife intended to return to her home. The children
continued to reside in the house and their personal property (such as his wallet) was
maintained there. She had arranged for a live-in caregiver during her absence. In short,
he knew that her absence was temporary and that she intended to return to the family
home. In contrast, there is no evidence supporting a belief that Ms. Ko bes intended to
1
In Jenkins, the key issue was defining the words "residence address." The word
"residence" served as an adjective describing the key word, "address." Here, the word
"residence" is a noun carrying a somewhat different meaning than the adjective at issue
in Jenkins.
2 Washington law generally recognizes that residence, once established, is
presumed to continue until the person claiming a change in residence establishes that fact.
E.g., State v. Burns, 59 Wn.2d 197,200,367 P.2d 119 (1961); Fiske v. Fiske, 48 Wash. 2d
69, 72,290 P.2d 725 (1955).
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State v. Kobes
return to the Spokane facility after her week of treatment was complete. It may have
been a temporary dwelling, but it was not a temporary residence.
Accordingly, a person of reasonable intelligence would not believe that Ms. Ko bes
no longer maintained the Kettle Falls address as her residence. The word "residence"
was not vague under the facts of this case.
That determination simplifies the remaining issue. A person commits the crime of
residential burglary when he enters or remains unlawfully in a dwelling with the intent to
commit a crime therein. RCW 9A.52.025(1). Entry is unlawful when made in violation
of a court order, even when the violator acts with the permission of the protected person.
State v. Sanchez, 166 Wash. App. 304, 307-312, 271 P.3d 264 (2012).
Appellate courts review sufficiency of the evidence challenges to see if there was
evidence from which the trier of fact could find each element of the offense proved
beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Green, 94 Wash. 2d 216, 221-222, 616 P.2d 628 (1980)
(citing Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307,319, 99 S. Ct. 2781, 61 L. Ed. 2d 560 (1979)).
The reviewing court will consider the evidence in a light most favorable to the
prosecution. Id. It also must defer to the finder of fact in resolving conflicting evidence
and credibility determinations. State v. Camarillo, 115 Wash. 2d 60, 71, 794 P.2d 850
(1990).
The only contested element in this appeal is the "unlawful entry" aspect of the
cnme. That argument is predicated on both the theory that the house was no longer Erica
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State v. Kobes
Kobes' residence while she was in Spokane for the week and that her mother allowed Mr.
Ko bes into the house. The "residence" discussion earlier is dispositive of these
arguments. The no contact order excluded Mr. Kobes from the Kettle Falls house
because it was Erica Kobes' residence. Neither Erica Kobes nor her mother could grant
Mr. Kobes permission to enter the house. Sanchez, 166 Wash. App. at 310. Only a court
could alter that order. Id. at 310-311.
Accordingly, the evidence supported the unlawful entry element of the crime. The
evidence therefore supported the jury verdict and was sufficient.
Affirmed.
A majority of the panel has determined this opinion will not be printed in the
Washington Appellate Reports, but it will be filed for public record pursuant to RCW
2.06.040.
WE CONCUR:
j
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