State of Iowa
v.
Carlos Sierra-Rojas
Appellee
State of Iowa
Appellant
Carlos Sierra-Rojas
Attorney for the Appellee
Kevin Cmelik, Assistant Attorney General
Attorney for the Appellant
Seth Harrington
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Warren County, Kevin A. Parker, District Associate Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Potterfield, P.J., Mahan, S.J., and Danilson, S.J. Opinion by Danilson, S.J. (19 pages)
Carlos Sierra-Rojas appeals from his conviction and sentence, following a jury trial, for harboring a runaway. Rojas contends the district court erred in denying his pretrial motion to dismiss for improper venue; erred in denying his motion for directed verdict based on insufficient evidence; abused its discretion in admitting an untimely disclosed, irrelevant, and unfairly prejudicial exhibit; and erred in not instructing the jury that he did not have an affirmative duty to report the runaway’s whereabouts to law enforcement. OPINION HOLDS: Because venue is nonjurisdictional, Rojas’s failure to file a pretrial motion for change of venue was not preserved. Because there was sufficient evidence Rojas committed the crime of harboring a runaway, the complained-of exhibit was disclosed as early as practicable and was not irrelevant and cumulative, and we determine Rojas was not prejudiced by the court’s refusal to give his proposed jury instruction, we affirm.
