Opinion Information Sheet

			

                                                                     FILED

                                                                  JAN 24  2012

                                                          In the Office of the Clerk of Court
                                                        WA State Court of Appeals, Division III

       IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON

STATE OF WASHINGTON,                                      No.  29540-1-III
                                                )
                             Respondent,        )
                                                )         Division Three 
         v.                                     )
                                                )
VIANNEY VASQUEZ,                                )
                                                )         PUBLISHED OPINION
                             Appellant.         )
                                                )

       Sweeney, J.  --  Possession of a forged instrument is illegal if the possessor 

intended to defraud.  Here, a forged social security card and a forged permanent resident 

card were seized from the defendant after he shoplifted goods from a grocery store.  The 

question is whether this is sufficient to show intent to defraud.  We conclude that the 

evidence is sufficient when the facts and reasonable inferences are viewed in a light most 

favorable to the State.  We therefore affirm the convictions for two counts of forgery. 

                                            FACTS

       Vianney Vasquez picked up and used a considerable amount of hand lotion at a  

No. 29540-1-III
State v. Vasquez

Safeway store in Yakima without paying for it.  He then went to the front of the store and 

looked at the movie display for a long time.  Timothy Englund was the Safeway store 

security guard.  He approached Mr. Vasquez and identified himself as such.  

       Mr. Englund ushered Mr. Vasquez into the store's management office to fill out 

paperwork for shoplifting.  He asked Mr. Vasquez for his name, address, telephone 

number, height, weight, age, hair color, and eye color.  Mr. Englund then patted down 

Mr. Vasquez for weapons and to locate identification.  He found Mr. Vasquez's wallet 

and it contained a social security card and a permanent resident card.  

       Mr. Vasquez said he got the social security card and permanent resident card from 

a friend in California for $50 each.  He admitted that the cards belonged to him and were 

fakes.  The cards listed his real name, Vianney Vasquez.  Mr. Vasquez said he had

previously worked in the area.  Mr. Englund called the police because he could not verify 

Mr. Vasquez's identity.  

       The State charged Mr. Vasquez with two counts of forgery for the fake social 

security card and permanent resident card.  Mr. Vasquez moved to dismiss the charges

and argued that he had not offered the cards, they were taken from him, and therefore the 

State had not shown the intent to defraud. The court denied the motion and the matter 

proceeded to trial.  A jury found Mr. Vasquez guilty on both counts.  

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No. 29540-1-III
State v. Vasquez

                                        DISCUSSION

       Mr. Vasquez contends here, as he did in the trial court, that the State has failed to 

show that he intended to injure or defraud by his possession of these forged documents.  

       So the question then becomes whether, as a matter of logical probability, the jury 

could infer intent to defraud from Mr. Vasquez's possession of these cards, his conduct,

and his exchanges with the security officer.  Said another way, is the evidence of intent to 

defraud substantial when we consider the reasonable inferences available to the jury.  

State v. Sweany, 162 Wn. App. 223, 233, 256 P.3d 1230 (2011). 

       The State had to show intent to injure or defraud by Mr. Vasquez's possession of 

these forged cards.  Under the statute, "[a] person is guilty of forgery if, with intent to 

injure or defraud . . . [he] possesses, . . . a written instrument which he knows to be 

forged." Former RCW 9A.60.020(1)(b) (2003) (emphasis added).  A forged instrument is 

"a written instrument which has been falsely made, completed, or altered." RCW 

9A.60.010(7).  The intent to commit the crime of forgery may be inferred from 

surrounding facts and circumstances if such intent is "'a matter of logical probability.'"  

State v. Esquivel, 71 Wn. App. 868, 871, 863 P.2d 113 (1993) (quoting State v. Woods, 

63 Wn. App. 588, 591, 821 P.2d 1235 (1991)).  Indeed, Esquivel suggests that the 

unexplained possession of a forged instrument makes out a prima facie case of guilt 

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No. 29540-1-III
State v. Vasquez

against the possessor because forgery does not require that anyone actually be defrauded.  

Esquivel, 71 Wn. App. at 871.  And here why else would Mr. Vasquez have them.  

       Mr. Vasquez, nonetheless, asserts that since he never presented his identification 

cards to Mr. Englund, there is no evidence that he possessed the cards with intent to 

defraud.  He distinguishes Esquivel by pointing out that there the defendant actually 

presented the forged documents.  Id. at 869.  

       In Esquivel, two separate defendants in the consolidated case showed police fake 

immigration cards.  Id. They admitted that the documents were forged but maintained 

that they did not intend to defraud since all of the information listed on the cards was 

truthful.  Id. at 870.  We rejected the argument, concluded that there was no other reason 

to have the cards, and upheld the forgery convictions: "Indeed, the instruments' only 

value would be to falsely represent the defendants' right to legally be in this country."  Id.

at 872.

       Here, the cards belonged to Mr. Vasquez and were fakes.  The cards had his real 

name on them but someone else's social security number.  Mr. Vasquez reported that he 

had previously worked in the area.  Like the immigration cards in Esquivel, the only value 

of the cards would be to falsely represent Mr. Vasquez's right to legally be in the

country.  The jury here could reasonably infer intent to defraud from his possession of the 

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No. 29540-1-III
State v. Vasquez

fake cards and his admission that he had previously worked in the area.  

       We conclude there is sufficient evidence to support the convictions for forgery

when the evidence is viewed in the light most favorable to the State.  

       We affirm the convictions.

                                                    _______________________________
                                                    Sweeney, J.
WE CONCUR:

________________________________
Kulik, C.J.

________________________________
Brown, J.

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