Opinion
Court of Appeals No. A-11000 Trial Court No. 3AN-09-4599 CR No. 5942
04-24-2013
CHESLEY L. GREENO, Appellant, v. STATE OF ALASKA, Appellee.
Appearances: Dan S. Bair, Assistant Public Advocate, Appeals & Statewide Defense Section, and Richard Allen, Public Advocate, Anchorage, for the Appellant. Joe Kovac, Assistant District Attorney, Ketchikan, and Michael C. Geraghty, Attorney General, Juneau, for the Appellee.
NOTICE
Memorandum decisions of this court do not create legal precedent. See Alaska Appellate Rule 214(d) and Paragraph 7 of the Guidelines for Publication of Court of Appeals Decisions (Court of Appeals Order No. 3). Accordingly, this memorandum decision may not be cited as binding authority for any proposition of law.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Appeal from the Superior Court, Third Judicial District, Anchorage, Michael L. Wolverton, Judge.
Appearances: Dan S. Bair, Assistant Public Advocate, Appeals & Statewide Defense Section, and Richard Allen, Public Advocate, Anchorage, for the Appellant. Joe Kovac, Assistant District Attorney, Ketchikan, and Michael C. Geraghty, Attorney General, Juneau, for the Appellee.
Before: Mannheimer, Chief Judge, Allard, Judge, and Smith, Superior Court Judge .
Sitting by assignment made pursuant to Article IV, Section 16 of the Alaska Constitution and Administrative Rule 24(d).
Judge MANNHEIMER.
Chesley L. Greeno had a sexual encounter with a woman, F.S., in April 2009. Based on allegations that Greeno attacked F.S. and threatened her with a knife during this sexual encounter, Greeno was indicted on various counts of sexual assault, as well as one count of second-degree assault under AS 11.41.210(a)(2) (for recklessly inflicting serious physical injury on F.S.) and one count of third-degree assault under AS 11.41.220(a)(1) (for recklessly placing F.S. in fear of imminent serious physical injury by means of the knife).
Greeno was acquitted of the sexual assault charges. With respect to the second-degree assault charge, Greeno was found guilty of the lesser offense of fourth-degree assault (on the theory that the State proved only that he inflicted "physical injury" on F.S., rather than "serious physical injury"). Finally, with respect to the third-degree assault charge, Greeno was found guilty as charged.
In this appeal, Greeno contends that the evidence presented at his trial was insufficient, as a matter of law, to support his conviction for third-degree assault. But at trial, F.S. testified that Greeno threatened her with the knife — telling her that if she "tr[ied] to do anything, he was going to stab [her]". This testimony, if believed, was sufficient to support the jury's verdict.
In his brief to this Court, Greeno points to various potential inconsistencies and weaknesses in F.S.'s testimony, and in the State's case in general. But when a defendant claims that the evidence is insufficient to support a criminal conviction, an appellate court must decide that claim by viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the jury's verdict, even though contrary evidence may have been presented at trial. Viewing the evidence at Greeno's trial in that manner, it was sufficient to support his conviction for third-degree assault. Accordingly, the judgement of the superior court is AFFIRMED.
See, e.g., Berezyuk v. State, 282 P.3d 386, 402 (Alaska App. 2012).
--------