Background
Gabriel Christopher Heredia went to the apartment of his daughter’s grandmother to drop off the four-year-old under a custody agreement. When the child began crying for her mother, Heredia kicked and banged on the apartment door, then entered through an open balcony door after being told to leave. The evidence showed that he pushed the grandmother down, took the child, and left. A jury convicted him of third degree criminal trespass.
Before trial, the prosecution failed to disclose the relevant 911 recording because police had provided a different call in discovery; when the error was identified, the recording had already been deleted under the department’s retention policy. The trial court barred the granddaughter who made the call from testifying about it, but declined to give Heredia’s requested spoliation instruction. Heredia also challenged several prospective jurors for cause.
The Court’s Holding
The Colorado Court of Appeals affirmed. It held that the trial court did not abuse its broad discretion in declining to give a spoliation instruction. The prosecution did not call the granddaughter as a witness, so Heredia received one of his requested remedies, and the jury heard only that a 911 call occurred and when it was made—not its contents. Defense counsel also argued in closing that the prosecution had failed to preserve the call.
The court further held that any asserted error in denying challenges for cause to three prospective jurors was harmless because Heredia removed them with peremptory strikes and no biased juror deliberated. It found no error concerning the two jurors who served: one’s hearing concerns were accommodated and did not prevent participation, while the other affirmed she could concentrate and be fair.
Key Takeaways
- A discovery violation does not require reversal without demonstrated prejudice to the defendant.
- A trial court may choose a narrower discovery sanction that restores fairness without imposing a harsher remedy.
- An erroneous denial of a challenge for cause is harmless when the juror is removed peremptorily and the seated jury is impartial.
Why It Matters
The decision illustrates the deference Colorado appellate courts give trial judges in tailoring discovery sanctions. A missing recording alone does not compel an adverse-inference instruction where another remedy addresses the violation and the defendant cannot show resulting prejudice.