People v. Garcia.

2025 COA 98. No. 23CA1371. Appeals—Sufficiency of Evidence—Concession of Guilt—Waiver.

December 31, 2025

Garcia was surveilled as a suspect in a shooting that police were investigating. Police saw him get into a car, and the car drove away. Police pulled the car over, and when the car eventually stopped, Garcia jumped out and ran. Garcia ignored commands to “get down” and ran to a truck that he entered through the driver’s side door. Officers opened the driver’s side door and struggled with Garcia to get him out of the truck. An officer testified that Garcia was not compliant when they tried to arrest him, putting his hands underneath him and rolling into a ball to prevent officers from getting control of his hands. Officers eventually arrested Garcia, and he was charged with multiple felony offenses and resisting arrest. During opening and closing statements, defense counsel conceded Garcia’s guilt as to the misdemeanor resisting arrest offense as a strategic decision to contest guilt on the felony offenses. The jury found Garcia guilty of resisting arrest.

On appeal, Garcia argued that there was insufficient evidence that he resisted arrest because there was no evidence that he used physical force or violence. Under Colorado precedent, a defendant can waive the right to have the prosecution prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and this right may be waived by defense counsel. The court of appeals concluded that when defense counsel tells the jury to find the defendant guilty of a charged offenses during closing argument, the defendant waives the ability to claim on appeal that there was insufficient evidence to support a conviction for that offense because such a statement is similar to defense counsel stating that there was sufficient evidence to convict of the charge. Here, Garcia waived any challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence when his counsel conceded his guilt on the resisting arrest charge in closing argument.

The judgment of conviction was affirmed.