State v. Burress

── State v. Burress ── Court: Court of Appeals of Arizona Date: May 07, 2026 Category: General NOTICE: NOT FOR OFFICIAL PUBLICATION. UNDER ARIZONA RULE OF THE SUPREME COURT 111(c), THIS DECISION IS NOT PRECEDENTIAL AND MAY BE CITED ONLY AS AUTHORIZED BY RULE. IN THE ARIZONA COURT OF APPEALS DIVISION ONE STATE OF ARIZONA, Appellee, v. THOMAS BURRESS, Appellant. No. 1 CA-CR 25-0160 FILED 05-07-2026 Appeal from the Superior Court in Navajo County No. S0900CR202101484 The Honorable Michael S. Penrod, Judge Pro Tempore AFFIRMED COUNSEL Navajo County Attorney’s Office, Holbrook By Myles A. Braccio Counsel for Appellee Coolidge Law Firm, PLLC, Chandler By Jennifer Booth Counsel for Appellant MEMORANDUM DECISION Judge Angela K. Paton delivered the decision of the Court, in which Presiding Judge Michael S. Catlett and Judge Jennifer M. Perkins joined. 1  STATE v. BURRESS Decision of the Court P A T O N, Judge: ¶1 Thomas Burress appeals his probation revocation and the resulting sentence. Burress’s counsel advised us that after thoroughly reviewing the record, she found no arguable, non-frivolous questions of law and asks us to conduct an Anders review of the record. See Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967); State v. Leon, 104 Ariz. 297 (1969). Burress filed a supplemental brief raising issues we address in this decision. We have reviewed the record and Buress’s arguments and find no reversible error. We therefore affirm. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY ¶2 We view the facts in the light most favorable to sustaining the conviction and resolve all reasonable inferences against Burress. See State v. Fontes, 195 Ariz. 229, 230, ¶ 2 (App. 1998). ¶3 In February 2022, Burress, a former juvenile detention officer, pled guilty to three counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a person in a correctional facility, a class three felony. The superior court sentenced him to 263 days’ incarceration with credit for time served, fifteen years of supervised probation to begin on June 9, 2022, 60 hours of community service, and lifetime sex offender registration. One of his probation conditions directed him to “[n]ot initiate, establish, reside, or maintain contact with any male or female child under the age of 18 nor attempt to do so except under circumstances approved in advance and in writing by the court” except he “can have contact with minor son, upon approval from counselor.” Burress apparently received permission to have contact with his son from his sex offender counselor on May 24, 2023. ¶4 In February 2024, Burress moved to modify his probation terms to allow him to have contact with his newborn child and reside in the same house as the child and the child’s mother (also his wife). Two months later, the court granted the motion and modified the probation condition language from “son” to allow contact with his minor “children” and the ability to live with his newborn child and wife upon approval from his counselor. ¶5 In October 2024, Burress was separately arraigned in Navajo County Superior Court on two new criminal charges unrelated to his probation case. ¶6 On January 26, 2025, a Coconino County probation officer who knew Burress from their prior employment together, saw Burress 2  STATE v. BURRESS Decision of the Court holding his daughter at church. The officer reported what she saw to Burress’s supervising probation officer. On January 30, 2025, while driving by Burress’s