Opinion
2 CA-CR 2023-0039
08-25-2023
The State of Arizona, Appellee, v. Gregory Tyrone Ware Jr., Appellant.
Matthew O. Brown, Chandler Counsel for Appellant
Not for Publication - Rule 111(c), Rules of the Arizona Supreme Court
Appeal from the Superior Court in Maricopa County No. CR2021142131001DT The Honorable Jeffrey A. Rueter, Judge
Matthew O. Brown, Chandler Counsel for Appellant
Judge Gard authored the decision of the Court, in which Chief Judge Vasquez and Presiding Judge Eppich concurred.
MEMORANDUM DECISION
GARD, Judge
¶1 After a jury trial, appellant Gregory Ware Jr. was convicted of kidnapping, armed robbery, and three counts of aggravated assault. The trial court sentenced him to concurrent prison terms, the longest of which are fifteen years.
¶2 On appeal, counsel has filed a brief in compliance with Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), and State v. Clark, 196 Ariz. 530, ¶ 30 (App. 1999), asserting he has reviewed the record and "has found no arguable question of law that is not frivolous." Consistent with Clark, 196 Ariz. 530, ¶ 30, counsel has provided "a detailed factual and procedural history of the case, with citations to the record," and has asked this court to search the record for reversible error. Ware has filed a supplemental brief, in which he suggests he was inappropriately sentenced as a category-three repetitive offender and challenges the credibility of the victim, D.G., who he maintains "lied on the stand."
¶3 Viewed in the light most favorable to affirming the jury's verdicts, see State v. Holle, 240 Ariz. 300, ¶ 2 (2016), the evidence is sufficient here, see A.R.S. §§ 13-105(13), 13-301, 13-303(A)(3), 13-1203(A)(1), (2), 13-1204(A)(2), (3), 13-1304(A)(3), 13-1904(A)(1). In November 2021, as D.G. was leaving a club, he found three armed, masked men in his car, and they forced him to follow another vehicle. The men later forced D.G.-who feared for his life-into that other vehicle, took him to a house, and repeatedly punched and hit him. D.G. was subsequently forced into another vehicle, where he was stripped of his clothing, cash, and belongings, hit with a rifle, and choked. When the driver, who had a gun, took off his mask, D.G. identified him as Ware. The men took D.G. to an apartment where they burned his penis with a heated spoon; poured boiling water on his genitals, stomach, and back; and smashed his hand, which ultimately required surgery. D.G. was left in a stream in the desert and told to run, before hearing a gunshot.
¶4 The sentences imposed are within the statutory ranges. See A.R.S. §§ 13-702(D), 13-704(A), 13-1204(E), 13-1304(B), 13-1904(B). We have reviewed the arguments Ware identified in his supplemental brief and have concluded none are arguable issues requiring further briefing. See State v. Thompson, 229 Ariz. 43, ¶ 3 (App. 2012).
¶5 Pursuant to our obligation under Anders, we have searched the record for reversible error and have found none. See State v. Fuller, 143 Ariz. 571, 575 (1985). Accordingly, we affirm Ware's convictions and sentences.