Court Opinion

ID: 9555057
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-10 17:03:59.991171+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:41:04.200345
License: Public Domain

NOTICE: NOT FOR OFFICIAL PUBLICATION.
 UNDER ARIZONA RULE OF THE SUPREME COURT 111(c), THIS DECISION IS NOT PRECEDENTIAL
                 AND MAY BE CITED ONLY AS AUTHORIZED BY RULE.

                                    IN THE
             ARIZONA COURT OF APPEALS
                                DIVISION ONE

                       STATE OF ARIZONA, Appellee,

                                        v.

                   MICHAEL ALAN JAYNES, Appellant.

                             No. 1 CA-CR 21-0343
                               FILED 8-10-2023

           Appeal from the Superior Court in Mohave County
                        No. S8015CR201901354
          The Honorable Douglas Camacho, Judge Pro Tempore

                                  AFFIRMED

                                   COUNSEL

Arizona Attorney General's Office, Phoenix
By Celeste Kinney
Counsel for Appellee

Mohave County Legal Advocate, Kingman
By Jill L. Evans
Counsel for Appellant
                             STATE v. JAYNES
                            Decision of the Court

                      MEMORANDUM DECISION

Judge James B. Morse Jr. delivered the decision of the Court, in which
Presiding Judge Jennifer B. Campbell and Judge Randall M. Howe joined.

M O R S E, Judge:

¶1             Michael Alan Jaynes appeals his conviction and sentence for
aggravated assault. He argues the superior court violated State v. Ewer, 254
Ariz. 326 (2023), by instructing the jury on a justification defense that
applied only to the victim's conduct and allowing the State to argue
justification from the victim's perspective. He also asserts the court erred
by giving a flight-or-concealment jury instruction. For the following
reasons, we affirm.

             FACTS1 AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

¶2            In March 2019, E.R.2 began a romantic relationship with
Jaynes's wife, K.P. Jaynes learned about the affair and, in April, left E.R. a
threatening voicemail.

¶3            Over the Memorial Day weekend, Jaynes and K.P. attended a
family event in Laughlin, Nevada. On Saturday, K.P. left the event to visit
her mother in Topock, Arizona, about 45 minutes away. E.R. lived within
walking distance of K.P.'s mother's house. That night, K.P. and her friend,
A.L., went to E.R.'s home to visit.

¶4            Jaynes, suspicious that K.P. was with E.R., drove to Topock
late that night. Shortly before Jaynes reached the area, K.P. called and told
him that she was at E.R.'s home and planned to sleep there.

¶5             Jaynes arrived a few minutes later, still on the phone with K.P.
Without disclosing that he was there, he entered E.R.'s home through the
front door, listened for K.P.'s voice, and found her in a bathroom. K.P. was
"surprised" when Jaynes unexpectedly appeared. The two had a brief

1      We view the evidence and all reasonable inferences drawn
therefrom in the light most favorable to upholding the verdict. State v. Riley,
196 Ariz. 40, 42, ¶ 2 (App. 1999).
2      We identify the victim and civilian witnesses by their initials. See
Ariz. R. Sup. Ct. 111(i).

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                            STATE v. JAYNES
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conversation about leaving E.R.'s home when K.P. became combative
because she wanted to stay.

¶6            Upset, Jaynes walked out the back door of the house and into
E.R.'s backyard where he encountered E.R., A.L., and E.R.'s friend, D.H.
Jaynes approached E.R., telling him to "stay away from [his] wife" and that
he "better watch [his] back."

¶7           Jaynes "rushed" at E.R. and repeatedly struck him with a gun,
causing multiple injuries. While Jaynes and E.R. wrestled on the ground,
the gun discharged, E.R. let go of the gun, and D.H. jumped over the
backyard fence. K.P. told them to stop fighting. Jaynes eventually stood
up, walked away, and pointed the gun at his own head. K.P. pleaded with
Jaynes not to kill himself, and he finally relented when she said that she
would leave with him.

¶8           Jaynes and K.P. soon drove away in his truck. E.R. then called
911, and about 30 minutes later, E.R. called Jaynes. A call log from E.R.'s
phone showed a 43-second call with Jaynes that night.

¶9            Jaynes and K.P. parked and had a conversation about their
relationship before Jaynes dropped K.P. off at E.R.'s home. Jaynes then
drove back to Laughlin before returning to his California home.

¶10           Soon after Jaynes left E.R.'s home, a deputy arrived to
investigate the incident. K.P. told the deputy that Jaynes had pushed E.R.
to the ground and punched him. When she heard the gunshot, Jaynes was
standing with the gun in his hands. She did not see anyone else holding
the gun, nor had she seen E.R. carrying a gun at any point earlier that night.

¶11          The deputy observed three gunshot marks on the deck and
wall around E.R.'s pool. He also saw that E.R. had suffered head injuries.
The deputy did not find the gun or any shell casings or bullet fragments.
The deputy explained at trial that a revolver would not have left any shell
casings behind because that type of gun does not eject them. The deputy
unsuccessfully attempted to contact Jaynes that night.

¶12           A grand jury indicted Jaynes on one count of attempted
second-degree murder of E.R., a class two felony (count one); two counts of
aggravated assault by intentionally placing E.R. in reasonable
apprehension of imminent physical injury while using a deadly weapon or
dangerous instrument (counts two and three); one count of aggravated
assault by intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causing E.R. physical
injury while using a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument (count four);

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                             STATE v. JAYNES
                            Decision of the Court

and one count of aggravated assault by intentionally placing D.H. in
reasonable apprehension of imminent physical injury while using a deadly
weapon or dangerous instrument (count five). Before trial, the superior
court granted the State's motion to dismiss count three, as a duplicate of
count two.

¶13           At trial, Jaynes testified that he intended to go to E.R.'s house
"to grab [K.P.] and bring her back to Laughlin." He further testified that the
front door was open so he walked in and walked down the hall listening
for K.P.'s voice. Jaynes then found K.P. and had what he described as a
"combative" and "emotional" conversation with her in which she refused to
leave with him. Jaynes testified that after K.P. refused, he went through the
backdoor to the backyard to tell E.R. "to stay away from my wife and that
we're leaving." Jaynes said he advanced to about three feet from E.R. when
E.R. pulled a gun from his pocket and pointed it at Jaynes. Jaynes said he
panicked, "grabbed for the gun," and tried to "take it out of [E.R.'s] hands"
by "yanking the gun up and down hitting [E.R.] in the head." During the
struggle for the gun, E.R. and Jaynes tripped over the backyard stairs, and
the gun "went off next to [E.R.'s] head." Jaynes testified he "set the gun
down at the back door" on his way out with K.P. Jaynes also admitted that
he had previously left a threatening voicemail on E.R.'s phone and did not
have permission to enter E.R.'s house or backyard. He also denied
intentionally firing the gun at anyone and denied having a phone
conversation with E.R. that night.

¶14              Conversely, E.R. testified that Jaynes entered his backyard
and fired a gun at him while yelling, "You ruined my life. I'm going
to . . . kill you, [E.R.]" E.R. stated that he tried to stand up when Jaynes
"rushed" at him and struck him with the gun "multiple times." E.R. also
testified that Jaynes fired a shot at D.H., who fled, and that he later spoke
with Jaynes about the incident when Jaynes asked him to "make . . . up that
it was a home invasion robbery."

¶15           A.L. testified in the defense's case. A.L. explained that he saw
E.R. pull a "small, dark" pistol out of his pocket, which Jaynes grabbed.
Jaynes and E.R. tripped over the steps where E.R. was standing, and the
gun went off. Jaynes was on top of E.R. "slapping him"; E.R. was on his
back trying to defend himself. A.L. acknowledged that Jaynes may have
had an item in his hand when he came out of the house.

¶16           While discussing legal matters on the second day of trial, the
State noted that Jaynes's case presented "some interesting issues as to jury
instructions" following this Court's decision in State v. Ewer, 250 Ariz. 561

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                             STATE v. JAYNES
                            Decision of the Court

(App. 2021), vacated in part, 254 Ariz. 326, 331, ¶ 23 (2023).3 In that case, the
defendant shot and killed the victim at the victim's residence during an
altercation over a drug transaction. Ewer, 254 Ariz. at 328, ¶¶ 2-4. The
superior court granted the State's request to replace the word "defendant"
in the Revised Arizona Jury Instructions ("RAJI") on justification defenses
with "person," the term that the justification statutes use. Id. at 328-29,
¶¶ 5-6. The court also allowed the State to argue the victim's conduct was
legally justified. Id. at 329, ¶¶ 6-7. Concluding "[j]ustification presumptions
are not intended to apply to the victim's conduct," we found that the
"modified jury instructions and the state's argument applying them to the
victim, including the presumption of reasonableness, were therefore
improper." Ewer, 250 Ariz. at 567, ¶ 18.

¶17            With Ewer in mind, the State argued that if the superior court
decided to instruct the jury on Jaynes's self-defense claim, it should
additionally "craft" a justification instruction that would allow the jury to
"assess the reasonableness of the defendant's belief that [E.R.] was engaging
in unlawful force." During the settling of final instructions and over
Jaynes's objection, the superior court granted the State's request to provide
a "slightly modified" defense-of-premises justification instruction. The
court later issued the following instruction in the final jury instructions:

       If a person is in lawful possession or control of a premises, it
       is lawful for that person to threaten to use deadly physical
       force in defense of the premises if a reasonable person in the
       situation would have believed it immediately necessary to
       prevent or terminate the commission or attempted
       commission of a criminal trespass by another person in or
       upon the premises. The force threatened may not be greater
       than reasonably necessary to prevent the attempted criminal
       trespass. A person commits criminal trespass by knowingly
       entering or remaining unlawfully in a fenced residential yard
       or a residential structure.

¶18           In relevant part, the superior court also provided the
following instructions on the justified use of force:

3     At the time, the State had a petition for review pending before the
Arizona Supreme Court.

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                             STATE v. JAYNES
                            Decision of the Court

       A defendant is justified in using or threatening physical force
       in self-defense if the following two conditions existed:

       1. A reasonable person in the situation would have believed
       that physical force was immediately necessary to protect
       against another's use or attempted use of unlawful physical
       force; and

       2. A defendant used or threatened no more physical force
       than would have appeared necessary to a reasonable person
       in the situation.

       A defendant is not justified in using or threatening physical
       force against another:

       1. In response to verbal provocation alone; or

       2. If the defendant provoked the other's use of unlawful
          physical force, unless

          a. The defendant withdrew from the encounter or clearly
             communicated to the other person the defendant's
             intent to withdraw, reasonably believing that the
             defendant could not withdraw from the encounter;
             and

          b. The other person nevertheless continued or attempted
             to use unlawful physical force against the defendant.

       A defendant may use deadly physical force in self-defense
       only to protect against another's use or attempted use of
       deadly physical force.

¶19             Furthermore, at the jury instructions conference, the superior
court granted the State's request to provide a flight-or-concealment
instruction ("flight instruction") over Jaynes's objection. The court based its
decision on the State's evidence showing Jaynes "was the last person seen
with the gun" and then left the crime scene, thereby permitting a reasonable
inference "that the defendant concealed the location of the firearm or
perhaps disposed of the firearm." The court further noted that "[t]here's
evidence that the defendant left the scene after the incident and
that . . . could be an inference that the defendant was running away from
the incident."

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                             STATE v. JAYNES
                            Decision of the Court

¶20           In the State's summation, Jaynes "was the aggressor" and thus
could not claim self-defense. The State urged the jury to consider where the
incident occurred and "that the defendant was uninvited, and nobody knew
that he was going to come through that door and out that backyard except
for him." The State asserted, "What [E.R.] did in his own house in his own
backyard on his own property was not unlawful. How could what [E.R.]
did be unlawful? So the justification here clearly does not apply."

¶21            In rebuttal closing argument, the State again explained its
theory: "[F]or you to believe that the defendant was justified, you'd have to
ignore all the evidence that the state presented and have found . . . that the
use by [E.R.] was somehow unlawful physical force." He argued, "The
instruction from the judge is if a person in lawful possession or control[ of]
premises, [E.R.'s] house, it is lawful for that person to threaten or to use
deadly physical force in defense of the premises if a reasonable person in
that situation would have believed it immediately necessary to prevent or
terminate the crime of trespass."

¶22           The jury found Jaynes guilty on count two and acquitted him
of the remaining charges. The superior court sentenced him to a mitigated
term of 5 years' imprisonment. Jaynes timely appealed.

¶23          During this appeal's pendency, the Arizona Supreme Court
granted review in Ewer. Because that decision would likely inform our
resolution here, we stayed Jaynes's appeal and invited the parties to file
supplemental briefs following Ewer's issuance, which occurred in January
2023. The parties subsequently filed supplemental briefing, and we lifted
our stay. We have jurisdiction under A.R.S. §§ 12-120.21(A)(1), 13-4031, and
-4033(A)(1).

                               DISCUSSION

I.     Defense-of-Premises Instruction.

¶24            Relying on Ewer, Jaynes argues the superior court erred by
providing the defense-of-premises instruction. The State counters that the
"jury instructions correctly conveyed the applicable law in accordance with
Ewer" and thus no error occurred. Specifically, the State (1) asserts Ewer is
distinguishable because the self-defense instruction here properly referred
to "defendant" rather than "person"; and (2) cites Ewer, 254 Ariz. at 331, ¶ 22,
for its contention that the court's criminal-trespass instruction permissibly
assisted the jury in assessing Jaynes's justification defense.

                                       7
                             STATE v. JAYNES
                            Decision of the Court

¶25           We review a decision to give a jury instruction for an abuse of
discretion but review de novo whether a given instruction accurately states
the law. State v. Solis, 236 Ariz. 285, 286, ¶ 6 (App. 2014). Because Jaynes
preserved his objection to the instruction, his claim is subject to
harmless-error analysis. State v. Dann, 205 Ariz. 557, 564-65, ¶¶ 14, 18
(2003).

¶26            Courts must instruct the jury on any theory "reasonably
supported by the evidence." State v. Burns, 237 Ariz. 1, 17, ¶ 48 (2015); see
State v. Ruggiero, 211 Ariz. 262, 264-65, ¶ 10 (App. 2005) (explaining courts
err by giving an instruction "unless it is reasonably and clearly supported
by the evidence"). A party is entitled to a justification instruction when the
"slightest evidence" supports it. State v. Almeida, 238 Ariz. 77, 79, ¶ 9 (App.
2015).

¶27           We begin our analysis with the decision in Ewer. Our
supreme court concluded that because "the justification defense provided
by § 13-404(A) only applies to a defendant's conduct," the superior court
erred by replacing "defendant" with "person" in the RAJI justification
instructions. Ewer, 254 Ariz. at 328, 330-31, ¶¶ 1, 17-18, 23. Ewer makes
clear that only criminal defendants may invoke justification defenses and
the superior court may have erred in issuing the defense-of-premises
instruction.

¶28              But "[w]e need not decide whether" the superior court erred
if "any error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt." State v. Armstrong,
218 Ariz. 451, 460, ¶ 33 (2008); see State v. Johnson, 205 Ariz. 413, 421, ¶ 27
(App. 2003) ("When an error has been made in the jury instructions, we
consider whether the error was harmless."). An error is harmless if the State
demonstrates "beyond a reasonable doubt, that the error did not contribute
to or affect the verdict" or sentence. State v. Anthony, 218 Ariz. 439, 446, ¶ 39
(2008). "The inquiry . . . is not whether, in a trial that occurred without the
error, a guilty verdict would surely have been rendered, but whether the
guilty verdict actually rendered in this trial was surely unattributable to the
error." Id. (quoting State v. Bible, 175 Ariz. 549, 588 (1993)). The State may
meet its burden if "the evidence against a defendant is so overwhelming
that any reasonable jury could only have reached one conclusion." Id. at
¶ 41.

¶29           The State argues any Ewer error was harmless because
"[e]very single witness, including Jaynes, testified that Jaynes showed up
unannounced" at E.R.'s home, then initiated the confrontation. Jaynes, on
the other hand, maintains "a reasonable jury could have found that [E.R.]

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                             STATE v. JAYNES
                            Decision of the Court

was the initial aggressor who used deadly force" based on his and A.L.'s
testimony that E.R. "had the gun and pointed it at [Jaynes]."

¶30            Jaynes's sole defense to the charged offenses was justification,
claiming he entered the backyard unarmed and defended himself when
E.R. brandished a handgun. Absent justification, Jaynes does not challenge
the facts proving his commission of aggravated assault. See A.R.S. § 13-205
("Justification defenses describe conduct that, if not justified, would
constitute an offense but, if justified, does not constitute criminal or
wrongful conduct."); State v. Carson, 243 Ariz. 463, 465-66, ¶¶ 9, 11 (2018).
Given this circumstance, our harmless-error analysis thus turns on whether
the State proved Jaynes unjustifiably committed aggravated assault. See
Carson, 243 Ariz. at 466, ¶ 11 ("[O]nce sufficient self-defense evidence is
admitted, the absence of self-defense becomes an additional element the
state must prove to convict.").

¶31            "An essential element of self-defense is the accused's freedom
from fault in provoking the difficulty that gives rise to the use of the force."
State v. Zamora, 140 Ariz. 338, 341 (App. 1984); see A.R.S. § 13-404(B)(3)
(stating "the threat or use of physical force against another is not justified"
when "the person provoked the other's use or attempted use of unlawful
physical force," unless the "person withdraws from the encounter or clearly
communicates to the other his intent to do so . . ."). Thus, our courts have
found that a defendant cannot claim self-defense when his aggressive
conduct or threat provokes a confrontation, and he does not withdraw. See,
e.g., State v. Lujan, 136 Ariz. 102, 105 (1983) (finding defendant's verbal
threat "provoked any threatened use of force" such that "the trial court did
not err in refusing to instruct on self-defense"); State v. Williams, 132 Ariz.
153, 156 (1982) (finding that defendant was not entitled to self-defense
instruction when he provoked an encounter by "ripping his commode from
the wall, throwing p[or]celain, and setting fires"), abrogated on other grounds
by Carson, 243 Ariz. at 465-66, ¶¶ 10-11; State v. Kelly, 149 Ariz. 115, 117
(App. 1986) (affirming denial of self-defense instruction where the
defendant trespassed and defendant's testimony did "not suggest that he
was consciously withdrawing from the confrontation or that he had
communicated his intent to the victim"); State v. Sourivathong, 130 Ariz. 461,
462-63 (App. 1981) (affirming refusal to give self-defense instruction when
defendant entered a home "without invitation," then "searched the premises
until he located" the victim, and did not attempt to withdraw once the
encounter turned physical).

¶32           The rule that one claiming self-defense cannot provoke the
encounter is especially applicable in the context of a home intruder:

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                             STATE v. JAYNES
                            Decision of the Court

       But it is not and never has been the law, even in Arizona, that
       a man who is a trespasser and in a place where he has no right
       to be may stand his ground and slay his assailant, and still
       claim self-defense, when by leaving such place he might
       avoid the conflict. Under the undisputed evidence in this
       case, defendant was in a place where he had no right to be,
       that he had been warned by the owners to stay away from,
       and at a time and under circumstances which made his
       presence utterly inexcusable. It was certainly his duty under
       such circumstances to avoid a conflict, if it were possible to do
       so without endangering his own life or bodily safety; and, if
       he failed to fulfill that duty, he was in no position to claim the
       killing was in self-defense.

Macias v. State, 36 Ariz. 140, 157-58 (1929) (citation omitted); see State v.
Noriega, 142 Ariz. 474, 482 (1984) (affirming denial of self-defense
instruction where defendant burglarized a home and did not attempt to
withdraw other than "to threaten deadly force to escape from the scene of a
crime with stolen property"), overruled on other grounds by State v. Burge, 167
Ariz. 25, 28 n.7 (1990); Kelly, 149 Ariz. at 117 ("Similarly, the defendant in
this case was convicted of the crime of trespass, which shows he provoked
the altercation and cannot now claim self-defense.").

¶33            If the use of physical force is unjustified under § 13-404, it is
inherently unjustified under § 13-405. A.R.S. § 13-405(A)(1)-(2); Carson, 243
Ariz. at 465, ¶ 9. Consequently, "[w]hen it is uncontroverted that the
accused was at fault in provoking the difficulty which necessitated the
defensive use of force, the court should usually refuse to instruct on
self-defense." Sourivathong, 130 Ariz. at 463. These principles hold even
when the other person's responsive use of force is unlawful. Williams, 132
Ariz. at 156; see A.R.S. § 13-404(B)(3).

¶34           In his testimony, Jaynes demonstrated that he provoked the
altercation. At trial, Jaynes acknowledged that he (1) had previously left a
threatening voicemail message on E.R.'s phone; (2) entered E.R.'s home
without permission; (3) engaged in a combative and emotional
confrontation with K.P. in which he demanded that she leave with him;
and, after K.P. declined to leave, (4) advanced into E.R.'s backyard; (5)
moved to within three feet of E.R.; and (6) confronted E.R. and demanded
E.R. leave him and K.P. alone. Supra ¶¶ 2-9, 13. Even if, as Jaynes testified,
E.R. pulled a gun from his pocket when Jaynes advanced on him, Jaynes
testimony shows he provoked the encounter and did not attempt to

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                              STATE v. JAYNES
                             Decision of the Court

withdraw from the situation, nor communicate any intent to do so. See
supra ¶¶ 31-32 (collecting cases).

¶35          Thus, even if the jury accepted Jaynes's version of the events,
no reasonable juror could have failed to find that Jaynes's conduct
provoked the encounter with E.R. Nor does Jaynes point to, or the record
show, any other evidence that he withdrew from the encounter with E.R. or
communicated any intent to do so. Separate from any Ewer error, the
superior court properly instructed the jurors that a defendant is not justified
in the use or threat of physical force when the defendant provoked the
encounter.

¶36          Under these circumstances, we are convinced beyond a
reasonable doubt that the Ewer error did not contribute to the verdict.
Accordingly, Jaynes is not entitled to a new trial.

II.    Flight Instruction.

¶37          Jaynes next protests the flight instruction, asserting the State
presented insufficient evidence "demonstrating the kind of 'eluding'
behavior necessary to justify" it. The decision to give a flight instruction is
reviewed for an abuse of discretion. State v. Parker, 231 Ariz. 391, 403, ¶ 44
(2013).

¶38           A flight instruction is proper when the State presents
evidence of a defendant's post-crime conduct "from which jurors may infer
'consciousness of guilt for the crime charged.'" Id. (quoting State v. Edwards,
136 Ariz. 177, 184 (1983)). More specifically, to warrant such an instruction,
the evidence must support a reasonable inference that (1) the defendant
engaged in open flight or attempted flight, "such as the result of an
immediate pursuit"; or (2) absent open flight, the defendant concealed or
attempted to conceal evidence. State v. Speers, 209 Ariz. 125, 132, ¶ 28 (App.
2004) (quoting State v. Smith, 113 Ariz. 298, 300 (1976)).

¶39           "[M]erely leaving the scene or engaging in travel is not
sufficient to support the giving of a flight instruction." Id. Nor does a
missing weapon automatically entitle the State to such an instruction. State
v. Ceja, 113 Ariz. 39, 41 (1976). Instead, the key inquiry is whether, under
the case's facts, "the defendant engaged in some 'eluding' conduct that
either was an attempt to prevent apprehension, or was an attempt to
postpone apprehension in order to dispose of or conceal evidence that
could tie him to the crime," thereby revealing a consciousness of guilt for
the charged offenses. State v. Cutright, 196 Ariz. 567, 570, ¶ 12 (App. 1999),
overruled on other grounds by State v. Miranda, 200 Ariz. 67, 68-69, ¶¶ 4-5

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                             STATE v. JAYNES
                            Decision of the Court

(2001); see State v. Fulminante, 193 Ariz. 485, 494, ¶ 27 (1999) (noting false or
misleading statements to police tend to "show[] consciousness of guilt").

¶40           As described above, the record contains evidence that Jaynes
was the last person who possessed the gun; the gun was never recovered;
Jaynes asked E.R. to participate in a cover-up; and Jaynes traveled to a
remote area after the shooting. This evidence permitted a reasonable
inference that Jaynes left the scene with the gun and took it to another
location so that he could hide it from the police. Although Jaynes posits
several innocent reasons for his conduct, alternative explanations for a
defendant's post-crime behavior do not preclude a flight instruction.
Parker, 231 Ariz. at 404, ¶ 50. Therefore, the superior court did not abuse its
discretion by giving the flight instruction.

                                CONCLUSION

¶41           We affirm.

                            AMY M. WOOD • Clerk of the Court
                            FILED: AA

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