State v. Najera Fuentes

── State v. Najera Fuentes ── Court: Court of Appeals of Arizona Date: May 20, 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 UNDER ARIZONA RULE OF THE SUPREME COURT 111(c), THIS DECISION IS NOT PRECEDENTIAL AND MAY BE CITED ONLY AS AUTHORIZED BY RULE.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, Respondent, v. JOSE MANUEL NAJERA FUENTES, Petitioner. No. 1 CA-CR 25-0397 PRPC FILED 05-20-2026 Petition for Review from the Superior Court in Maricopa County No. CR2014-111793-001 The Honorable Rodney Mitchell, Judge, Pro Tempore REVIEW GRANTED; RELIEF DENIED COUNSEL Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, Phoenix By Philip D. Garrow Counsel for Respondent Law Office of Nicole Countryman, Phoenix By Nicole Countryman Counsel for Petitioner  STATE v. NAJERA FUENTES Decision of the Court 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. P A T O N, Judge: ¶1 Petitioner Jose Manuel Najera Fuentes seeks review of the superior court’s order summarily dismissing his petition for post- conviction relief (“PCR”) filed under Arizona Rule of Criminal Procedure (“Rule”) 33. We have considered the petition for review and, for the following reasons, grant review and deny relief. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY ¶2 In 2015, Najera Fuentes pled guilty to two counts of attempted sexual assault, class 3 felonies, and one count of kidnapping, a class 2 felony. The superior court sentenced him to seven years’ imprisonment for the kidnapping and placed him on lifetime supervised probation for the attempted sexual assault counts. Najera Fuentes was released from prison in 2020. In 2024, the State requested a warrant for Najera Fuentes’ arrest and petitioned to revoke his probation. He was arrested on January 30, 2025, and held on a $5,000 secured appearance bond, which he never posted. On March 7, 2025, Najera Fuentes admitted to violating a term of probation and the court reinstated him on lifetime probation with the condition that he serve twelve months in jail. See A.R.S. § 13-901(F), (G). The court did not award any presentence incarceration credit. ¶3 Najera Fuentes petitioned for PCR, requesting 36 days of presentence incarceration credit for the period from his arrest to disposition. The State agreed that credit was due. But the superior court denied the petition, reasoning that Arizona Revised Statutes (“A.R.S.”) Section 13-901(G) does not require credit for presentence incarceration served outside a term of reinstatement. ¶4 Najera Fuentes petitioned for review of the superior court’s ruling. We grant review under Article 6, Section 9 of the Arizona Constitution, Section 13-4239(C), and Rule 33.16. 2  STATE v. NAJERA FUENTES Decision of the Court DISCUSSION ¶5 We review a decision on a petition for PCR for an abuse of discretion. State v. Anderson, 257 Ariz. 226, 230, ¶ 13 (2024). We review the superior court’s legal conclusions, including its interpretation of statutes and court rules, de novo. Id. ¶6 Najera Fuentes argues the superior court violated Section 13- 901(G) and his right to equal protection by not awarding him presentence incarceration credit for the time he spent in custody in the probation revocation proceeding. This issue may be moot considering that Najera Fuentes began his 12-month jail term on March 7, 2025. But because the issue “threatens to evade review as a res