IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON STATE OF WASHINGTON, ) No. 78858-2-I ) Respondent ) DIVISION ONE v. ) ) UNPUBLISHED OPINION JOSE POMPILIO IRIAS SANCHEZ, ) Appellant. _________________________________ ) FILED: March 9, 2020 HAZELRIGG, J. — Jose P. Irias Sanchez (Irias)1 was convicted of assault in the second degree-domestic violence and felony harassment-domestic violence after a jury trial. In pretrial motions, the defense sought to exclude prior allegations of domestic violence. The trial court specifically excluded some acts while allowing testimony as to others. At trial, the key witness twice violated these pretrial rulings. In the first instance the court provided a curative instruction. In the second instance, the testimony was not interpreted from Spanish to English for the jury. Irias argues the admission of the prior bad act evidence was improper and that he was deprived of a fair trial due to the violations of the pretrial rulings by the witness. 1 The defendant’s last name is listed both with and without a hyphen in various documents contained in the record. In the majority of the letters of support submitted for his sentencing, friends and business associates refer to the defendant as Jose Irias. Further, he appears to sign documents in the record with only Irias. As this is a common naming convention in Latinx and Spanish-language dominant communities, and it appears to be how the defendant self-identifies, we will utilize that practice herein. No. 78858-2-1/2 When viewed in light of the evidence as a whole, Irias fails to demonstrate that the statements were so prejudicial as to deprive him of a fair trial. We affirm. FACTS Jose lrias Sanchez was charged with assault in the second degree- domestic violence and felony harassment-domestic violence. The charges arose out of an incident in October 2017 when police responded to a 911 call by Liliana Salazar Hernandez (Salazar). When police arrived, they found Salazar with her two young daughters in a van a short distance away from the home they shared with Irias. Salazar reported that her children’s father, Irias, had attacked her with a machete. Salazar does not speak English and could not communicate directly with responding officers, so her children and a neighbor assisted as interpreters with the police. Salazar reported that she put her children to bed earlier that evening and then she went to bed at approximately 9:30pm. Irias had been outside drinking and came upstairs at approximately 1:00am. Salazar observed Irias go into their daughters’ room and then come in to their bedroom. Irias began to argue with Salazar and then left to bathe. Salazar testified that Irias came out of the bathroom with a machete, pushed Salazar’s face against a pillow and held the machete to her neck, stating he wanted to “finish everything.” Salazar was ultimately able to get away, gather her daughters and drive a few blocks away to call the police. Irias was taken into custody and charged with assault in the second degree and felony harassment ...
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