In re G.B.

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 13, 2018
DocketA152105
StatusPublished

This text of In re G.B. (In re G.B.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re G.B., (Cal. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

Filed 5/31/18; Certified for Partial Publication 6/13/18 (order attached)

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

In re G.B., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law.

THE PEOPLE, A152105

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Contra Costa County v. Super. Ct. No. J17-00553) G.B., Defendant and Appellant.

Appellant G.B. was declared a ward of the court and placed on juvenile probation after the juvenile court sustained allegations he possessed a concealable firearm in violation of Penal Code section 29610. Appellant appeals from the jurisdictional and dispositional orders, arguing the jurisdictional finding must be reversed because the eyewitness identification was unreliable, and four of the probation conditions imposed are unconstitutionally vague or overbroad. We conclude a probation condition requiring that appellant “have peaceful contact only with all law enforcement” is unconstitutionally vague and strike that condition. We narrow the condition appellant stay away from any school campus unless enrolled consistent with state law that prohibits persons from visiting school grounds without notifying school authorities. We otherwise affirm the jurisdictional and dispositional orders. I. BACKGROUND On May 8, 2017, the Contra Costa County District Attorney filed a wardship petition pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 602, alleging appellant, a minor, committed a felony by possessing a concealable firearm in violation of Penal Code section 29610. On the afternoon of May 4, 2017, V.D., a maintenance supervisor at the Pittsburg Marina, saw appellant with some other young men in an area near the Pittsburg Marina maintenance yard. V.D. first saw appellant and the others through a cyclone fence, but backed away when he realized he would be seen. He then moved to a location inside a building where he could see them through an open door approximately 30 feet away. V.D. saw appellant was standing up, while the others were sitting down. Appellant was dancing and waving a silver gun in the air. Appellant waved the gun in his right hand for more than 30 seconds, then set it down carefully on the ground. Appellant was wearing a white T-shirt. It was a “[v]ery bright day,” and V.D. said he saw appellant and the gun “[v]ery clearly” from about 30 feet away. V.D. contacted the police. About five minutes later, police officers arrived on the scene. They detained a group of four individuals, one of whom was appellant. One of the officers also discovered a shotgun and a silver revolver in the area where the young men had been. When officers asked V.D. to describe the person who had been holding a gun, he was only able to remember the person was wearing a white T-shirt, not a tank top.1 At the scene, V.D. told officers he could not tell whether the individual with the gun had a ponytail, but later V.D. testified he saw someone with a ponytail that day but it was not the person waving the gun. At the jurisdictional hearing, V.D. again identified appellant as the person who had been holding the gun. Officer Erica Baker also testified at the jurisdictional hearing. Baker said the first responding officers had relocated the four detained young men and had them sit on the ground about 15 feet away from where she and V.D. were standing. When Baker asked

1 One of the individuals detained was wearing a white tank top.

2 V.D. to identify the person who had been waving the gun, he identified appellant. Baker testified she believed appellant wore a white T-shirt that day, and a heavier person with a ponytail wore a white tank top. Photographs of the four individuals detained by police were also admitted into evidence at the hearing. The photo of appellant shows him wearing a black T-shirt. The juvenile court sustained the allegations of the petition. The judge remarked, “[A]lthough it does come down to a question of identification—and I cannot explain why or understand why the photo of [appellant] has him wearing something that looks like a black shirt or t-shirt. Both [V.D.] and Officer Baker testified they observed [appellant] as one of the individuals wearing a white t-shirt when she came on scene. So the fact that Officer Baker observed [appellant] wearing a white t-shirt corroborates [V.D.] testifying in terms of his identification. He was pretty adamant, I thought, in court and apparently he seemed to be pretty sure of himself when he reported it to the police.” At the dispositional hearing, appellant was adjudged a ward of the court with no termination date. The court reduced his offense to a misdemeanor, and placed him on probation subject to various conditions. II. DISCUSSION A. Substantial Evidence Appellant maintains the evidence was insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was the person holding the gun. Appellant contends the eyewitness identification is not reliable because the witness observed the person waving the gun from many feet away, and his testimony is inherently improbable because he said appellant was wearing a white T-shirt, but the photographs taken shortly thereafter showed appellant in a black T-shirt. We review a substantial evidence claim in a juvenile case under the same standard of review applicable in adult criminal cases. (In re V.V. (2011) 51 Cal.4th 1020, 1026.) The relevant inquiry is “whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime . . . beyond a reasonable doubt. We review the entire record in the light most

3 favorable to the judgment below to determine whether it discloses sufficient evidence— that is, evidence that is reasonable, credible, and of solid value—supporting the decision, and not whether the evidence proves guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. [Citation.] We neither reweigh the evidence nor reevaluate the credibility of witnesses. [Citation.] We presume in support of the judgment the existence of every fact the jury reasonably could deduce from the evidence. [Citation.] If the circumstances reasonably justify the findings made by the trier of fact, reversal of the judgment is not warranted simply because the circumstances might also reasonably be reconciled with a contrary finding.” (People v. Jennings (2010) 50 Cal.4th 616, 638–639.) In this case, there was ample evidence appellant was the individual waving the gun. V.D. observed appellant from 30 feet away on a “[v]ery bright day.” He watched him for about 30 seconds, dancing and waving the gun in the air, then carefully placing the gun on the ground. He saw appellant and the gun in his hand “[v]ery clearly.” V.D. testified appellant was wearing a white T-shirt, testimony corroborated by Officer Baker’s testimony. V.D. positively identified appellant at the scene from only 15 feet away, and again in open court. Appellant’s argument V.D.’s identification is inherently unreliable because the police photograph shows him in a black shirt is not persuasive. There is no evidence in the record about when the police photographs were taken. Moreover, testimony which merely discloses unusual or suspicious circumstances does not justify reversal. (See In re Daniel G. (2004) 120 Cal.App.4th 824, 830 [appellate court cannot reject trier of fact’s credibility determination unless testimony is physically impossible or falsity is apparent without resorting to inferences or deductions]; People v.

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Bluebook (online)
In re G.B., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-gb-calctapp-2018.