## Facts

- David Henry Wood arranged a methamphetamine purchase with the victim and the victim’s girlfriend.
- Wood invited them into his apartment to complete the sale.
- After Wood discovered the drugs were fake, he shot and killed the victim inside the apartment.
- Wood was charged with first-degree murder.
- Before trial, Wood moved to dismiss under Colorado’s “make-my-day” statute, arguing he was immune from prosecution; the trial court denied the motion.
- At trial, Wood asserted both make-my-day and common-law self-defense; the jury acquitted him of first-degree murder but convicted him of manslaughter.
- Wood appealed, challenging the pretrial denial of statutory immunity and arguing the evidence was insufficient to support manslaughter.

## Issues

1. Whether a trial court’s pretrial denial of immunity under Colorado’s make-my-day statute may be reviewed on direct appeal after the defendant is tried and convicted.
2. Whether the evidence was sufficient to support Wood’s manslaughter conviction in light of his make-my-day and self-defense theories.

## Decision

- The court declined to review the pretrial order denying make-my-day immunity on direct appeal after trial.
- The court held that Wood’s post-denial remedy was to present the statutory defense at trial and, if convicted, challenge the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the verdict.
- Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, the court held sufficient evidence supported the manslaughter conviction and the jury’s rejection of make-my-day and self-defense.
- The judgment of conviction for manslaughter was affirmed.

## Legal Principles

- Under Colorado’s make-my-day statute, a dwelling occupant is justified in using deadly force against an intruder only if: (1) the intruder made an unlawful entry; (2) the occupant reasonably believed the intruder committed or intended an additional crime beyond the entry; and (3) the occupant reasonably believed the intruder might use any physical force against an occupant.
- A defendant may seek a pretrial evidentiary hearing on make-my-day immunity and bears the burden to show entitlement to immunity by a preponderance of the evidence; if successful, the charge must be dismissed.
- If pretrial immunity is denied, the defendant may still assert the make-my-day defense at trial, and the prosecution must disprove the statutory justification beyond a reasonable doubt.
- A pretrial denial of make-my-day immunity is not reviewable on direct appeal after a subsequent trial and conviction; after trial, appellate review addresses the verdict (including sufficiency of the evidence and jury-resolved defenses), not the earlier immunity ruling.
- On sufficiency review, the evidence is evaluated in the light most favorable to the prosecution to determine whether a reasonable jury could find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

## Conclusion

The court affirmed Wood’s manslaughter conviction, holding that a pretrial denial of make-my-day immunity cannot be reviewed on direct appeal after trial and that the trial evidence was sufficient for the jury to reject Wood’s statutory and self-defense claims and convict him.


People v. Wood, 230 P.3d 1223 (Colo. Ct. App. 2009)