A Pinal County woman serving nearly 20 years in prison for auto theft and trafficking in stolen property understood her right to testify or not at trial and therefore is not entitled to a new trial, the Arizona Court of Appeals decided Monday.
Kandi Michelle Hylton was arrested in September 2018 after the OnStar system installed in a stolen pickup truck led detectives to her Arizona City property where several other stolen items -including a motorcycle- were recovered. She was awaiting trial in another felony case at the time.
Hylton, 52, was convicted by a jury and then imprisoned for 19 years by the trial judge who also ordered her to pay nearly $45,000 in victim restitution. On appeal, Hylton argued she was entitled to a new trial because the judge failed to ensure she had made a “knowing, voluntary, and intelligent” waiver of her to right to testify in her own defense.
But the court of appeals found no error.
“The trial court advised Hylton of her right to either testify or remain silent and questioned her about her decision to forgo testifying,” the Nov. 9 decision states. The judges also found there was sufficient evidence to affirm the jury’s verdicts, as well as the judge’s sentencing order and restitution award.
Court records show Hylton has a criminal record across Maricopa, Pinal, and Yavapai counties dating back to 1999, with convictions including credit card fraud, solicitation to traffic in stolen property, a dangerous drug violation, aggravated DUI, and endangerment. The Arizona Department of Corrections lists her tentative release date as October 2034.