Chief Justice SUTTELL, for the Court.
The defendant, Michael English, appeals from a Superior Court judgment of conviction adjudicating him a violator of probation. The Superior Court found that the defendant violated the conditions of his probation by not adhering to the terms of a no-contact order. This case came before the Supreme Court for oral argument pursuant to an order directing the parties to appear and show cause why the issues raised in this appeal should not summarily be decided. After reviewing the record and considering the parties' written and oral submissions, we are satisfied that this appeal may be decided without further briefing or argument. For the reasons set forth in this opinion, we affirm the judgment of the Superior Court.
In March 1998, defendant pled nolo contendere to four counts of first-degree child molestation, one count of second-degree child molestation, and one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, arising out of his relationship with the victim, then thirteen-year-old M.B.
Over a decade later, on September 3, 2009, M.B. complained to the North Providence police that defendant had come into contact with her. In light of this complaint, the state filed a probation-violation notice pursuant to Rule 32(f) of the Superior Court Rules of Criminal Procedure,
M.B. testified that, around 7:30 p.m. on August 31, 2009,
The defendant also testified at the hearing, providing a similar account of the events that transpired on August 31, 2009, with a few notable differences. He testified that he was driving along Campbell Avenue after leaving his son's pediatrician's office, which was located near the intersection of Campbell Avenue and Mineral Spring Avenue, and that he was traveling to his employer's warehouse, which was located near the end of Campbell Avenue, on Baird Avenue.
After the hearing justice reviewed the testimony, he was reasonably satisfied that defendant violated the terms of his probation by failing to keep the peace and be of good behavior and by knowingly violating the no-contact order. The hearing justice found that the contact between defendant and M.B. "was not coincidental." Although the hearing justice believed that defendant was driving along Campbell Avenue on the day of the incident for purposes unrelated to M.B., he nonetheless reasoned that "there was a point in time clearly" when defendant recognized her and that "after the moment of recognition he should have left * * * and not proceeded to attempt to confer further." In addition, the hearing justice found M.B.'s testimony to be credible when she stated that defendant told her: "I see you all the time." Based on his factual findings, the hearing justice believed that defendant likely knew where M.B. lived even before he stopped his truck on Campbell Avenue and that defendant "certainly" recognized her before he continued conversing with her.
At the conclusion of the hearing on December 1, 2009, the hearing justice ordered defendant to serve five years of the previously suspended sentence for his initial conviction for first-degree child molestation. Thereafter, defendant moved for reconsideration of the determination of probation violation and the sentencing decision. At a hearing on January 21, 2010, the hearing justice denied the motion, reasoning that the Superior Court Rules of Criminal Procedure provided no vehicle for him to reconsider the finding of violation and that the motion to reconsider sentencing was not timely filed.
The defendant filed a notice of appeal on December 18, 2009. On March 1, 2011, this Court ordered the case remanded to the Superior Court for entry of judgment, and the Superior Court entered a judgment of conviction nunc pro tunc December 1, 2009.
"The sole issue for a hearing justice to consider at a probation violation hearing is whether or not the defendant has breached a condition of his or her probation by failing to keep the peace or remain on good behavior." State v. Christodal, 946 A.2d 811, 816 (R.I.2008). The state's burden of proof at a probation-violation
On appeal, defendant contends that the hearing justice erred in determining that he violated his probation by failing to adhere to the terms of the no-contact order because his contact with M.B. was merely coincidental and therefore insufficient to constitute a violation of probation. The defendant further argues that he should not have been adjudicated a violator of his probation as a result of a single incident that was not sufficient to support a criminal complaint in District Court for violating a no-contact order.
After carefully reviewing the entire record, we are satisfied that the hearing justice acted neither arbitrarily nor capriciously when he determined that defendant violated the terms and conditions of his probation. As this Court consistently has stated, "the state does not have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that an alleged probation violator committed a crime; the state need only reasonably satisfy the hearing justice that a defendant breached a condition of probation by failing to keep the peace or remain on good behavior." State v. Jones, 969 A.2d 676, 680 (R.I.2009) (quoting Christodal, 946 A.2d at 816).
The defendant argues that, based on this Court's holding in State v. Conti, 672 A.2d 885 (R.I.1996), one "coincidental" contact is insufficient to sustain an adjudication of probation violation for failing to abide by the terms of a no-contact order. In Conti, 672 A.2d at 886-87, we concluded that the defendant's contact with the victim was insufficient to constitute a violation of a no-contact order because there was no evidence to show that the contact was more than mere coincidence. The Conti case is distinguishable from the instant case, however, because here there was sufficient evidence presented to the hearing justice to support his finding that defendant's contact with M.B. was not coincidental. The hearing justice, upon weighing the evidence and assessing the credibility of the witnesses, indeed determined that the contact complained of "was not coincidental and that * * * there was clearly a moment after [defendant] stopped his vehicle that [he] knew who this woman was" before he then proceeded to "knowingly engage[] her in conversation and offer[] future contacts in a manner that the victim found shocking and intimidating."
Although, as defendant notes, the hearing justice found that defendant was not on Campbell Avenue on the day of the incident for the purpose of contacting M.B. and stated that he did not "fault [defendant] for his attempt to apologize [to M.B.]," the hearing justice nonetheless
In consideration of the findings of the hearing justice, to which this Court accords great weight, we are satisfied that he adequately considered the evidence and properly weighed the credibility of the witnesses in determining that the defendant violated the terms of his probation by failing to keep the peace and remain on good behavior and that the defendant violated the no-contact order by engaging in contact that was more than mere coincidence. Thus, we conclude that the hearing justice's determination that the state's evidence supported an adjudication of probation violation was neither arbitrary nor capricious.
For the reasons stated in this opinion, we affirm the judgment of the Superior Court. The record may be returned to the Superior Court.