Opinion ID: 2380639
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: facts

Text: [¶ 3] In April of 2009, Christopher Howard was charged with three counts of interference with a peace officer (two felonies and one misdemeanor). Pursuant to a plea agreement, Howard pleaded guilty to one of the felony counts, after which a sentence of three to seven years was imposed. That sentence was suspended in favor of three years supervised probation. As a condition of probation, Howard was to complete the Volunteers of America (VOA) program at its facility in Gillette. [¶ 4] Less than two months after his probation was imposed, on January 29, 2010, the State filed a petition to revoke Howard's probation. The State alleged that Howard violated the probation terms by being terminated from the VOA program because he violated the program rules. The State alleged the violations were twofold: (1) Howard went to an Osco Pharmacy to obtain prescription medication, and (2) Howard lied to VOA staff when questioned about going to Osco. It is a violation of the VOA program rules for a participant to pick up his own medication at the pharmacy. [¶ 5] A probation revocation hearing was scheduled. Prior to the hearing, however, Howard filed a motion to modify his sentence, requesting that his probation be modified to require him to complete a different treatment program. At the hearing, the parties stipulated to the following: Howard failed to complete the VOA program; Howard had a valid prescription for medication; VOA was aware of Howard's prescription; and the prescription was a refill that VOA personnel had previously picked up for Howard. Howard conceded that he failed to complete the VOA program, to which the judge stated during the hearing, [t]hat takes us from the adjudicatory phase to the dispositional phase of this hearing, at which the State must prove that [Howard] acted willfully. The parties agreed. [¶ 6] Two witnesses testified during the State's attempt to prove that Howard acted willfully. A probation agent testified that Howard went to Osco, but on cross-examination, the agent testified that she was only told this fact by the VOA director, who received the information fourth hand. Counter to what the probation agent stated during her examination, Howard testified that he never entered Osco, but instead merely telephoned the store to ensure his insurance had paid for the medication so that a staff member from VOA could pick it up. Howard's girlfriend also testified that Howard never entered Osco. [¶ 7] The district court nevertheless revoked Howard's probation and re-imposed the underlying sentence of three to seven years. This appeal followed.