FILED 

AUGUST 16, 2016 

In the Office of the Clerk of Court 

WA State Court of Appeals, Division Ill 

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON 

DIVISION THREE 

STATE OF WASHINGTON, 

Respondent, 

v. 

STEPHEN GERALD DOUGLAS, 

Appellant. 

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No. 33793-6-III 

UNPUBLISHED OPINION 

SIDDOWAY, J. - Stephen Gerald Douglas was convicted in a 2015 Franklin 

County jury trial of the felony violation of a 2013 no contact order. On appeal, he 

contends the evidence does not support his conviction because the only direct evidence 

that supported the knowledge element of the crime was a certified copy of the no contact 

order that was purportedly signed by him. In his statement of additional grounds for 

review, he challenges his offender score and the validity of the 2013 no contact order. 
No. 33793-6-111 

State v. Douglas 

We hold that Mr. Douglas's signature on the 2013 no contact order and other 

circumstantial evidence are sufficient to support a reasonable juror's decision beyond a 

reasonable doubt that he knew the terms of the order. We also hold that the offender 

score is correct and that Mr. Douglas's challenge of the 2013 order is untimely. 

Accordingly, his judgment and sentence is affirmed. 

FACTS 

Mr. Douglas has a history of domestic violence against his wife, Sheree 

McCullough. In 2013, he was convicted on a guilty plea of felony violation of a no 

contact order related to Ms. McCullough. The 2013 judgment and sentence orders him to 

have no contact with Ms. McCullough for five years and states that a separate domestic 

violence protection order is being filed with the judgment and sentence. Mr. Douglas 

signed the judgment and sentence as well as the no contact order filed on the same date: 

July 23, 2013. One of the terms of the no contact order restrained him from "[e]ntering 

or knowingly coming within or knowingly remaining within 500 feet (distance) of the 

protected person'(s) [X] residence [X] school [X] place of employment." Ex. 3 at 1. The 

order expires on July 23, 2018. 

In early April 2015, a Franklin County deputy stopped Ms. McCullough for 

driving with a suspended license. The deputy noted that Ms. McCullough appeared 

fearful, and she claimed that she was a "damsel in distress" with a domestic violence 

"situation." Report of Proceedings at 65-66. The deputy followed Ms. McCullough to 

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No. 33793-6-111 

State v. Douglas 

her home and found Mr. Douglas hiding in his daughter's bedroom, on the floor between 

her bed and the wall. As deputies arrested him for violation of the no contact order, Mr. 

Douglas showed no confusion about the reason for his arrest. Later, he asked a deputy 

how he could have violated the no contact order if he was not with Ms. McCullough at 

the time she was stopped in her car. He admitted that he had been at her residence all 

day. 

At Mr. Douglas's trial on the charge of felony violation of a no contact order, the 

State presented certified copies of the 2013 judgment and sentence and the attached no 

contact order. A deputy who was a former corrections officer testified that defendants 

typically were given copies of their judgment and sentences and no contact orders after 

sentencing. The jury found him guilty of the charge. Using an offender score of 8, the 

court imposed a standard range sentence of 60 months. 

SUFFICIENCY OF THE SIGNED NO CONTACT ORDER TO SHOW 

KNOWLEDGE OF ITS TERMS 

Mr. Douglas challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction. 

He contends the signed 2013 no contact order is insufficient to show that he knew the 

terms of the order. 

The State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt every element of a criminal 

offense. State v. Colquitt, 133 Wn. App. 789, 796, 137 P.3d 892 (2006). Evidence is 

sufficient to support a guilty verdict if, when viewed in the light most favorable to the 

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No. 33793-6-111 

State v. Douglas 

State, it allows a rational trier of fact to find the essential elements of the crime beyond a 

reasonable doubt. State v. Thomas, 150 Wn.2d 821, 874, 83 P.3d 970 (2004). In 

challenging the sufficiency of the evidence, a defendant necessarily admits the truth of 

the State's evidence and all inferences that arise from that evidence. Id. Circumstantial 

evidence is considered as reliable as direct evidence. Id. 

The four elements of a felony violation of a no contact order relevant here are 

(1) willful contact with another, (2) a valid no contact order that prohibits such contact, 

(3) the defendant's knowledge of the no contact order, and (4) the defendant's prior 

convictions of at least two separate violations of a valid no contact order. State v. 

Clowes, 104 Wn. App. 935,944, 18 P.3d 596 (2001); RCW 26.50.110(5). Mr. Douglas 

challenges solely the sufficiency of the evidence to support the third element: knowledge 

of the no contact order. 

At trial, the State admitted into evidence certified copies of the 2013 conviction of 

a felony violation of a no contact order and the no contact order entered on the same date. 

The 2013 judgment and sentence states that Mr. Douglas was present at sentencing, notes 

that a separate domestic violence protection order is filed with the judgment and 

sentence, and contains Mr. Douglas's signature, with an attestation by the clerk of court 

that Mr. Douglas had affixed his fingerprints and signature on the document. Mr. 

Douglas signed the no contact order below statements that the order expires on July 23, 

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No. 33793-6-III 

State v. Douglas 

2018, and that the order was "Done in Open Court in the presence of the defendant this 

date: 9/22/13." Ex. 3 at 2. 

The certified copy of the valid no contact order containing Mr. Douglas's 

signature is sufficient evidence in itself to establish his knowledge of the order. State v. 

France, 129 Wn. App. 907, 911, 120 P.3d 654 (2005). Additionally, the facts that the 

deputies found him hiding in Ms. McCullough's home and that he expressed no surprise 

when he was told why he was arrested raise a reasonable inference that he knew he was 

violating the terms of the order. Viewed, as it must be, in the light most favorable to the 

State, this evidence is sufficient for a reasonable juror to find beyond a reasonable doubt 

that Mr. Douglas knew the terms of the valid no contact order. 

OFFENDER SCORE 

In his statement of additional grounds for review, Mr. Douglas contends the trial 

court incorrectly computed his offender score. He did not challenge the computation of 

his prior offenses at trial. The issue is not waived, however, because a sentence based on 

an improperly calculated score lacks statutory authority. State v. Wilson, 170 Wn.2d 682, 

688,244 P.3d 950 (2010). Our review is de novo. State v. Hernandez, 185 Wn. App. 

680, 684, 342 P.3d 820 (2015), review denied, 185 Wn.2d 1002 (2016). 

The trial court used an offender score of 8 to determine Mr. Douglas's standard 

sentence range. His criminal history includes five prior felonies: (1) felony domestic 

violence (1/19/00), (2) second degree assault ( 4/04/00), (3) community custody violation 

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No. 33793-6-111 

State v. Douglas 

( 4/29/02), ( 4) theft of rental property ( 4/17 /03), and (5) felony violation of a no contact 

order with domestic violence (7 /23/13 ). Because violation of a no contact order with 

domestic violence is a "nonviolent felony," four of Mr. Douglas's five prior felony 

convictions count as one point each and the 2013 felony violation of a no contact order 

with domestic violence counts as two points. RCW 9.94A.030(34), (55); RCW 

9.94A.525(7), (2l)(a). Mr. Douglas has one countable prior gross misdemeanor for 

domestic violence assault (committed 4/24/13). RCW 9.94A.525(2l)(c). 

With five points for four prior felonies and one gross misdemeanor, two points for 

the 2013 felony violation of a no contact order, and one point for committing the current 

offense while under community custody (RCW 9.94A.525(19)), Mr. Douglas's offender 

score is 8. The trial court thus did not err in computing the offender score. 

VALIDITY OF THE 2013 NO CONTACT ORDER 

Mr. Douglas also challenges the validity of the 2013 no contact order. He 

contends there are no transcripts or recordings that prove the order was ever entered. His 

appeal of this order is untimely. RAP 5.2(a). Furthermore, the certified copy of the 2013 

no contact order that is contained in this record is valid on its face. RCW 10.73.090(1). 

Affirmed. 

A majority of the panel has determined this opinion will not be printed in the 

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No. 33793-6-III 

State v. Douglas 

Washington Appellate Reports, but it will be filed for public record pursuant to RCW 

2.06.040. 

Siddoway, ~w~1J J. - WE CONCUR: 

,~,s. 

Fearing, Pennell, J. 

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