P. v. Bilbrey CA1/2

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 14, 2013
DocketA129236
StatusUnpublished

This text of P. v. Bilbrey CA1/2 (P. v. Bilbrey CA1/2) 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
P. v. Bilbrey CA1/2, (Cal. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

Filed 5/14/13 P. v. Bilbrey CA1/2 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 TWO

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, A129236 v. JAMES S. BILBREY, (Solano County Super. Ct. No. VCR198866) Defendant and Appellant.

James S. Bilbrey appeals from his conviction for attempted murder (Pen. Code,1 §§ 187, subd. (a), 664), aggravated mayhem (§ 205), and assault with a deadly weapon (§ 245, subd. (a)(1)). Bilbrey makes the following assertions of error: (1) insufficient evidence supported his specific intent to kill or to maim; (2) the trial court failed to instruct the jury with CALCRIM No. 570; (3) the trial court wrongfully instructed the jury with CALCRIM Nos. 3471 and 3472; (4) the prosecution violated its discovery obligations, seriously prejudicing his case; (5) he was denied effective assistance of counsel because his trial counsel withdrew a request for a mistrial, even though the trial court was willing to grant the request; (6) less significant errors operated in combination to create reversible error; and (7) his sentence of life in prison, with the possibility of parole, constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

1 Unless otherwise indicated, all statutory citations are to the Penal Code.

1 BACKGROUND I. Procedural Background On March 13, 2009, an information was filed charging Bilbrey with attempted murder (§§ 187, subd. (a), 664), aggravated mayhem (§ 205), assault with a deadly weapon (§ 245, subd. (a)(1)), and battery causing serious bodily injury (§ 243, subd. (d)). The information also alleged, for each of the four counts, that Bilbrey personally inflicted great bodily injury (§ 12022.7, subd. (a)) and personally used a deadly and dangerous weapon (§ 12022, subd. (b)(1)). On December 11, 2009, a jury found Bilbrey guilty on all four counts and found true the two sentencing allegations.2 On June 2, 2010, the court denied Bilbrey‟s motion for a new trial and proceeded to sentencing. At sentencing, the court dismissed the fourth count (battery causing severe bodily injury), along with its enhancements, as a lesser included offense. The court used the count of attempted murder as the principal determinate count and imposed the midterm of seven years, plus three years for the section 12022.7, subdivision (a), enhancement, plus one year for the section 12022, subdivision (b)(1), enhancement—for a total base term of 11 years. On the assault count, the court imposed the midterm and stayed the sentence and enhancements pursuant to section 654. On the count of aggravated mayhem, the court imposed an indeterminate term of life with the possibility of parole, to run concurrently with the determinate term. On June 10, 2010, Bilbrey filed a timely notice of appeal. II. Evidence Presented at Trial A. The Prosecution Case 1. The Argument Outside the Bar In the early morning hours of July 13, 2008, David Apple, Michael McDaniel, Melvin Black, and Andrew Buchanan were at the Past Time bar on First Street in

2 The jury verdict form did not ask the jury to make a finding concerning the section 12022.7, subdivision (a), enhancement attached to the section 243, subdivision (d), count.

2 Benicia. Apple identified Bilbrey as being in the bar that night, along with a friend of his, David Becchio.3 Apple heard Bilbrey say to someone, “I‟m from Richmond.” McDaniel also remembered Bilbrey and Becchio being in the bar, noticing them because they were confrontational and stared at people. Buchanan said that inside the bar, Bilbrey seemed upset and rude, talking in a disrespectful manner to people with whom he came in contact. Around 2:00 a.m., Apple left the bar to make a phone call. While talking on the phone, Bilbrey bumped him from behind. Apple turned around and said, “What‟s going on? What‟s your problem?” or “Dude, what the fuck?” Bilbrey responded, “I‟m from Richmond.” Apple said: “It‟s not where you‟re from. It‟s where you‟re at.” or “The hell with Richmond. We‟re in Benicia.” At this point Apple and Bilbrey squared off, as if to fight. McDaniel, Black, and Buchanan witnessed all or part of this confrontation. Someone said that Bilbrey had a knife and McDaniel pulled Apple back. Both Apple and Black saw Bilbrey holding a knife. According to Buchanan, Bilbrey said he had a knife and wanted to fight. Benicia Police Officer Mark Simonson was on patrol and noticed the men arguing outside the Past Time bar. Simonson drove between the two groups and told them to go their separate ways. He told Bilbrey and Becchio to walk north on First Street, while Apple and his friends walked west on H Street. Simonson then contacted Bilbrey and Becchio about two blocks up First Street. Bilbrey said there had been an argument at the bar, but there was no problem and they would like Simonson to call a cab for them. Simonson asked police dispatch to call a cab company and have a cab sent, but about 30 seconds later a cab came down First Street. The driver, Ernest Alameda, said he was en route to a fare, but would call and ensure that another cab was coming. Simonson departed while Alameda was still on the scene.

3 The witnesses all described Bilbrey‟s friend as the taller of the two. It was uncontested during trial, and confirmed by Bilbrey, that Bilbrey‟s companion was Becchio. In reciting the facts, we refer to Becchio by name, even when the witnesses were not able to name the companion.

3 2. Joseph and Rachelle Tomada’s Accounts Joseph Tomada and his sister, Rachelle Tomada (Rachelle), were also at the Past Time bar that evening. They left the bar when it closed at 2:00 a.m., and walked down First Street intending to go to Rachelle‟s condominium. As they walked, they heard some people talking and cursing, but did not know where the words were coming from, and did not think the words were directed at them. Tomada heard the voices say they were from Richmond and he yelled out “Faggots,” and told whoever it was to go back to Richmond. Tomada and Rachelle then heard people coming up behind them and Rachelle heard someone say, “What the fuck did you call me?” or “What the fuck did you say?” Rachelle turned around and saw Bilbrey, holding a knife in his hand, and Becchio. Tomada heard Rachelle say, “He has a knife,” turned around, and saw Becchio in front of him. Bilbrey was standing to the side with a knife in his hand. Becchio swung at Tomada after saying, “You going to be a little bitch?” Tomada returned the punch, hitting Becchio on the chin. Becchio fell to the ground, got up, and charged Tomada. Tomada hit Becchio in the face and Becchio again fell to the ground. As Tomada struck Becchio the second time, Bilbrey hit him in the face. Tomada saw a white flash, and everything went black. He backed up, trying to rub his eyes, and felt something go into his mouth. He felt his teeth break and something slide in and cut his tongue. Tomada felt his face and it seemed to him “like a giant razor cut” down the side of his face and he felt his “whole face kind of flap” when he exhaled. He realized he had been cut and he threw a punch at the face of the brown shadowy figure he could perceive in front of him. Bilbrey fell to the ground and Tomada felt something in his leg that caused him to buckle and fall on top of Bilbrey. Tomada continued punching Bilbrey on the ground, trying to hold down the hand in which Bilbrey held the knife. Eventually, the struggle on the ground stopped and someone helped Tomada up and led him to a taxi where he laid across the trunk.

4 3.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Strickland v. Washington
466 U.S. 668 (Supreme Court, 1984)
People v. Aranda
283 P.3d 632 (California Supreme Court, 2012)
Maldonado v. Superior Court
274 P.3d 1110 (California Supreme Court, 2012)
People v. St. Martin
463 P.2d 390 (California Supreme Court, 1970)
People v. Breverman
960 P.2d 1094 (California Supreme Court, 1998)
People v. Ochoa
864 P.2d 103 (California Supreme Court, 1993)
People v. Hayes
989 P.2d 645 (California Supreme Court, 2000)
Izazaga v. Superior Court
815 P.2d 304 (California Supreme Court, 1991)
People v. Diaz
834 P.2d 1171 (California Supreme Court, 1992)
People v. Jones
792 P.2d 643 (California Supreme Court, 1990)
Gimbel v. Laramie
181 Cal. App. 2d 77 (California Court of Appeal, 1960)
People v. Dickens
30 Cal. Rptr. 3d 845 (California Court of Appeal, 2005)
People v. Quintero
37 Cal. Rptr. 3d 884 (California Court of Appeal, 2006)
People v. Gonzalez
25 Cal. Rptr. 3d 124 (California Court of Appeal, 2005)
People v. Kelley
52 Cal. App. 4th 568 (California Court of Appeal, 1997)
People v. Norman
134 Cal. Rptr. 2d 652 (California Court of Appeal, 2003)
People v. Johnston
7 Cal. Rptr. 3d 161 (California Court of Appeal, 2003)
People v. Avila
208 P.3d 634 (California Supreme Court, 2009)
People v. Smith
124 P.3d 730 (California Supreme Court, 2005)
People v. Brown
73 P.3d 1137 (California Supreme Court, 2003)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
P. v. Bilbrey CA1/2, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/p-v-bilbrey-ca12-calctapp-2013.