Opinion ID: 1176143
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: A.R.S. Section 13-703(F)(5): Pecuniary Gain

Text: ¶ 55 Where a defendant commits murder in anticipation of pecuniary gain, the (F)(5) factor is invoked. A.R.S. § 13-703(F)(5). To establish murder for pecuniary gain, evidence must show that financial gain was a motive. Soto-Fong, 187 Ariz. at 208, 928 P.2d at 632. Defendant argues that, although he removed and retained items from the Luna home, his motive was not pecuniary gain, but revenge on Luna. ¶ 56 The argument lacks merit because, after gaining entry to the Luna home, defendant immediately forced Patricia to place items of personal property into the family car. Then, after fleeing the scene in the car, defendant removed and kept those items before leaving the car in the parking lot. The trial court correctly found that the state had proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the (F)(5) aggravating factor of pecuniary gain exists.