Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard 2010 Annual Report

Criminal Division (continued)
plexity of Arizona’s sentencing
imposed. This rule protects the
ous criminal street gang. In
State v. William Veach
guson, who was also ordered
scheme, trial courts are sometimes
not aware that a particular
defendant is potentially subject
to a sentence of 30 years or
more. For over 25 years, our
Supreme Court consistently
ruled that the failure to empanel
a 12-person jury when a sentence
of 30 years was theoretically
possible was reversible
error, even if the defendant did
not object in the trial court and
even if the defendant received a
sentence substantially less than
30 years. Under this rule, criminal
defendants had no incentive
to request 12-person juries
because they were assured an
automatic trial on appeal.
In State v. Soliz, the section was
able to convince the Arizona Supreme
Court that, if the parties
allow the case to proceed with
less than 12 jurors, a sentence
of 30 or more years may not be
defendant’s constitutional rights,
while at the same time ensuring
that defendants do not engage
in game-playing at the expense
of the Arizona taxpayers. Because
this had been a recurring
issue with a half-dozen or so
automatic reversals a year, the
ruling will result in substantial
savings to Arizona.
Major Cases
Criminal Prosecutions
Section
Fraud Unit
State v. John Farinas
The unit obtained a jury conviction
on May 6, 2010 in State
v. John Farinas, on charges of
assisting a criminal syndicate
and conspiracy to commit promoting
prison contraband. The
defendant was a member of the
New Mexican Mafia, a danger-
return for payment, he received
contraband in the Maricopa
County Jail from Jason Keller, a
former attorney. The defendant
was sentenced by Judge Sam
Myers on June 4, 2010, to 18
years in prison.
State v. Robert Reed
The unit obtained a 10-year
prison sentence on October 13,
2009, against Robert Reed, who
was convicted in absentia with a
jury verdict in January 2009 on
charges of arson of an occupied
structure, fraudulent insurance
claim and endangerment. Reed
set fire to his townhouse on
April 28, 2007, at a time when
12 people (including six children)
were sleeping in two other
town homes attached to Reed’s.
He was recently arrested in
Yavapai County and returned to
Maricopa on the bench warrant.
The unit obtained a manslaughter
guilty plea from William
Veach arising out of the death of
Cassandra Castens, a 17-month
old daughter of the defendant’s
girlfriend. Veach was then
serving with the United States
Marines. This case was investigated
as a “cold case” by the
Naval Criminal Investigation
Section (NCIS) of the U.S. Navy.
Prosecution had been previously
declined by a county attorney’s
office, and NCIS brought the
case to the AGO, which accepted
the difficult challenge
of prosecuting a decade-old
murder case. The defendant
was sentenced on November
13, 2009, to 10 years in prison.
State v. Charles Ferguson
The unit obtained a five-year
prison sentence, followed by
seven years probation, against
Charles Bruce Ferguson. Fer-
to pay $3,105,000 in restitution,
arising out of his elaborate
investment schemes that
defrauded at least 42 people.
The defendant pleaded guilty to
two counts of theft. The defendant
solicited seven individuals
to invest amounts ranging from
$5,000 to $50,000 in a project
to purchase a Mesa apartment
complex and convert it into
condominium units which he
said would then be sold, but
which never occurred. To cover
it up, Ferguson made numerous
verbal and written misrepresentations
to investors, including
falsifying documents purported
to be from Washington Mutual
Bank and the City of Mesa.
Victims did not receive any of
the promised returns, and most
lost their principal investment as
well. Ferguson was not licensed
to sell securities.
Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard • 2010 Annual Report
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