Background
In December 2021, an undercover officer saw Carlos Pacheco approach a car in a hotel parking lot, pass an object believed to be drugs to a passenger, and receive money. After police stopped the car, its driver said that he and his girlfriend had gone to the hotel to buy fentanyl, and officers found fentanyl pills inside.
Police later tracked Pacheco and his girlfriend, M.R., from a mall to a Phoenix residence. M.R. placed a backpack in a parked vehicle after, according to her testimony, Pacheco told her to put it in her sister’s car. Officers found more than 1,500 fentanyl pills in the backpack and recovered more than $7,000 from the backpack, Pacheco’s pockets, and a red hoodie found in a nearby alley.
After Pacheco’s first trial ended in a mistrial, a second jury convicted him of possessing narcotic drugs for sale and second-degree money laundering but rejected the State’s alleged aggravating circumstances. Pacheco stipulated to two prior felony convictions and received concurrent presumptive prison terms of 15.75 years and 11.25 years, with 941 days of presentence-incarceration credit. His appellate counsel filed an Anders brief stating that counsel found no nonfrivolous issue, and Pacheco did not submit a supplemental brief.
The Court’s Holding
The Arizona Court of Appeals independently reviewed the record for reversible error and found none. It therefore affirmed Pacheco’s convictions and sentences.
The court stated that Pacheco was present and represented by counsel at all stages except during the period from December 2022 through November 2023, when he waived counsel and represented himself with court-appointed advisory counsel present at every hearing. The court concluded that Pacheco received his constitutional and statutory rights, the proceedings complied with Arizona criminal procedure, the trial evidence was sufficient to support the verdicts, and the sentences were lawful and included the correct presentence-incarceration credit.
Key Takeaways
- An Anders review requires the appellate court to examine the record independently for reversible error when defense counsel identifies no nonfrivolous appellate issue.
- Pacheco represented himself with court-appointed advisory counsel during part of the pretrial proceedings; he was not represented by counsel throughout the entire case.
- The court affirmed the convictions and concurrent presumptive sentences after finding no reversible error in the record.
Why It Matters
The memorandum decision illustrates the scope of Arizona appellate review under Anders: the court examines the entire record for reversible error even when counsel finds no arguable, nonfrivolous issue and the defendant files no supplemental brief.
The decision is designated not for official publication and is nonprecedential under Arizona Supreme Court Rule 111(c), meaning it may be cited only as authorized by that rule.