In re S.N. CA1/5

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 28, 2016
DocketA145354
StatusUnpublished

This text of In re S.N. CA1/5 (In re S.N. CA1/5) 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 S.N. CA1/5, (Cal. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

Filed 4/28/16 In re S.N. CA1/5 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FIVE

In re S.N., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law.

THE PEOPLE, A145354 Plaintiff and Respondent, v. (San Mateo County Super. Ct. No. 83918) S.N., Defendant and Appellant.

The juvenile court found true misdemeanor allegations S.N. (the minor) possessed graffiti materials with the intent to commit vandalism (Pen. Code, § 594.2, subd. (a))1 and willfully and unlawfully resisted, delayed, or obstructed a peace officer (§ 148, subd. (a)(1)). The court adjudicated the minor a ward of the court (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 602) and placed him on probation with various terms and conditions, one of which precluded him from possessing “graffiti materials” except under specified circumstances. The minor appeals. He contends: (1) the prosecution did not rebut section 26’s presumption that a person under the age of 14 is incapable of committing a crime; (2) insufficient evidence supports the finding he possessed graffiti materials with intent to commit vandalism in violation of section 594.2, subdivision (a); (3) the prosecution did 1 Unless noted, all further statutory references are to the Penal Code.

1 not establish he “‘willfully delay[ed]’” in violation of section 148, subdivision (a)(1); and (4) the probation condition prohibiting him from possessing “graffiti materials” is unconstitutionally vague because it lacks a knowledge requirement. We modify the probation condition but otherwise affirm. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND In August 2014, the People filed a Welfare and Institutions Code section 602 petition alleging the minor committed felony vandalism (§ 594, subd. (b)(1) (Count 1)), misdemeanor possession of graffiti materials with the intent to commit vandalism (§ 594.2, subd. (a) (Count 2)), and misdemeanor resisting, delaying, or obstructing a police officer (§ 148, subd. (a)(1) (Count 3)). The petition alleged the offenses occurred in June 2014, when the minor was 13 years and 6 months old.2 Prosecution Evidence On a June 2014 afternoon, San Mateo Police Officer Marcelo Altwer was in uniform on his police motorcycle near the Hayward Park Caltrain Station when he saw two young men — later identified as the minor and J.V. — sitting on a bench. As Officer Altwer “got closer,” he saw the boys “diligently writing” on the bench. The boys did not see Officer Altwer: they were bent over, “busy writing their names or writing something on the bench.” After confirming “they were writing” on the bench, Officer Altwer yelled, “‘Hey, you need to stay there. I need to talk to you.’” In response, the boys got up from the bench and ran away from Officer Altwer, toward the train station. Officer Altwer followed the boys on his motorcycle; using his public address system, he ordered them to stop. The boys continued running for between one and two minutes, “constantly looking back to see” whether Officer Altwer was “getting closer[.]” Finally — after running “several hundred feet” across the station platform and toward the road — the boys stopped near a fence. Officer Altwer ordered

2 In March 2015, the People filed a second section 602 petition alleging the minor committed misdemeanor vandalism at Gap and Pottery Barn in October 2014 (§ 594, subd. (b)(2)). The People later dismissed the petition.

2 the boys to sit and they complied. J.V. was “very cooperative.” Officer Altwer patsearched J.V. and he sat down. The minor was wearing a backpack. Officer Altwer wanted to “look inside . . . [to] make sure there weren’t any weapons[,]” but the minor refused to be patsearched. He repeatedly said, “‘You’re not searching me. You’re not touching me’” and “‘You’re not checking me.” When Officer Altwer reached over to grab a backpack shoulder strap, the minor “leaned backwards” and crossed his arms to make it more difficult for Officer Altwer to remove the backpack. Officer Altwer told the minor he needed to “pat him down and check the backpack.” The minor responded, “‘You’re not checking me. You’re not checking my backpack.’” At that point, other officers — including Officers Haddad and Heinsma — arrived. Officer Altwer did not realize Officer Haddad had arrived; he was distracted by the minor’s “aggressive behavior.” Officer Altwer grabbed a shoulder strap and the minor’s right arm; Officer Heinsma grabbed the minor’s left arm. In response, the minor became “very belligerent, very loud saying, ‘[Y]ou’re not checking me. You’re not checking my backpack.’” As Officer Altwer tried to remove the backpack, the minor yelled, “‘You’re not fucking checking me. You’re not checking my backpack.’” One of the straps came off of the minor’s shoulder, but the minor “was still resisting” and “struggling” with the officers. The situation was “similar to a tug-of-war[.]” The officers “weren’t sure what was in the backpack and why somebody of his age would be so resistive to [the officers] just checking the backpack.” Officer Altwer continued to explain why the officers needed to conduct a patsearch but the minor “continued to resist.” J.V. told the minor, “‘You’ve got to calm down.’” The three officers brought the minor to the ground and tried to handcuff him. Officer Haddad told the minor, “‘Stop resisting’” and the minor eventually relented, saying “‘Okay. Okay.’” The minor’s refusal to show the officers his hands and his refusal to cooperate “was of grave concern” to Officer Haddad. Officer Haddad handcuffed the minor and removed his backpack. The backpack contained what is “commonly referred to as a slap tag” with the word “spit” on it. “[S]erial vandalizers”

3 take shipping label stickers from the post office and “draw their monikers or tag whatever they would normally [ ] so that when they do decide to deploy the sticker[,] the vandalism is already pretty much done.” The minor’s backpack also had “practice drawings on a piece of paper[,]” a latex glove, and two pens. Officers Altwer and Haddad returned to the bench where Officer Altwer first saw J.V. and the minor. The officers saw graffiti — including the word “spit” — in white ink on the bench and a nearby garbage can. They also found a white pen behind the bench. Motion to Dismiss and Officer Haddad’s Additional Testimony At the conclusion of the prosecution’s case-in-chief, defense counsel moved to dismiss (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 701.1), claiming the prosecution failed to rebut the presumption of incapacity in section 26. Defense counsel argued the prosecution did not establish the minor was “capable [of] knowing the wrongfulness of his conduct and capable of committing a crime. Because of his age, he was 13 years old, it’s presumed he does not.”3 The prosecution recalled Officer Haddad. Officer Haddad testified he conducted a Gladys R. inquiry to determine whether the minor knew right from wrong. Officer Haddad asked the minor his age, what school he attended, and his grade. The minor told Officer Haddad he was 13 and in eighth grade at Burlingame Intermediate. When Officer Haddad asked the minor, “‘Do you know the difference between doing something that is right and doing something that is wrong’” the minor responded, “‘Yes.’” The prosecutor asked Officer Haddad the following questions: “Q. Did you ask the minor to tell you something that he knows is wrong to do? “A. Yes. “Q. How did he respond? . . .

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Bluebook (online)
In re S.N. CA1/5, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-sn-ca15-calctapp-2016.