P. v. Talavera CA2/2

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 24, 2013
DocketB240366
StatusUnpublished

This text of P. v. Talavera CA2/2 (P. v. Talavera CA2/2) 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. Talavera CA2/2, (Cal. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

Filed 6/24/13 P. v. Talavera CA2/2

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION TWO

THE PEOPLE, B240366

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. MA053354) v.

VERONICA ESTELA TALAVERA,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Charles A. Chung, Judge. Affirmed as modified.

Melanie K. Dorian, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Assistant Attorney General, Paul M. Roadarmel, Jr. and Seth P. McCutcheon, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. Defendant and appellant Veronica Estela Talavera (defendant) appeals from a judgment of conviction of five felony counts. She challenges two counts, attempted murder and aggravated mayhem, claiming those convictions were not supported by substantial evidence. Defendant also requests a review of the sealed transcripts of the trial court‟s hearing on her Pitchess motion.1 Respondent asks that we correct the judgment to reflect the true amount of mandatory fees to be paid by defendant. After reviewing the entire record including the sealed transcripts we conclude that substantial evidence supports the verdicts and that the trial court properly exercised its discretion in ruling on defendant‟s Pitchess motion. Finding respondent‟s contentions regarding fees to be well taken, we modify the judgment accordingly, and otherwise affirm. BACKGROUND 1. Procedural history Defendant was charged with five felony counts relating to the beating of Douglas Draper (Draper) in his home on July 4, 2011. Count 1 charged defendant with the attempted willful, deliberate, and premeditated murder of Draper in violation of Penal Code sections 664 and 187, subdivision (a).2 Count 2 charged her with torture in violation of section 206, and count 3 charged her with aggravated mayhem in violation of section 205. Count 4 charged defendant with attempted first degree residential robbery in violation of sections 664 and 211, and in count 5 with criminal threats in violation of section 422. The information specially alleged as to counts 1, 2, and 3 that in the commission of those crimes defendant personally used a blunt object and shards, deadly and dangerous weapons within the meaning of section 12022, subdivision (b)(1); and that in the commission of counts 1 and 4, defendant personally inflicted great bodily injury on Draper, within the meaning of section 12022.7, subdivision (a).

1 See Pitchess v. Superior Court (1974) 11 Cal.3d 531 (Pitchess); Penal Code sections 832.7 and 832.8; Evidence Code section 1043 through 1045.

2 All further statutory references are to the Penal Code, unless otherwise indicated.

2 A jury convicted defendant of all counts as charged and found the special allegations true. On April 5, 2012, the trial court sentenced defendant to life in prison plus four years comprised of three years for the great bodily injury and one year for the use of a deadly weapon. The court imposed a concurrent life term with a one-year enhancement for the use of a deadly weapon, and stayed that term pursuant to section 654; and another life term for count 3, plus one year for the deadly weapon, also stayed pursuant to section 654. The court imposed and stayed a 10-year term for count 4, comprised of the high term of six years for attempted robbery, plus three years for the great bodily injury and one year for the use of a deadly weapon. As to count 4, the high term of three years for criminal threats was also stayed pursuant to section 654. The court ordered defendant to pay victim restitution and mandatory fines and fees, and to provide impressions and DNA. Defendant‟s presentence custody credits were 308 days, consisting of 268 actual days and 40 days of conduct credit. Defendant filed a timely notice of appeal from the judgment. 2. Prosecution evidence In July 2011 Draper was a retired, 61-year-old widower. He testified he owned a three-bedroom home where he lived with two roommates. In June 2011, a neighbor asked Draper to allow defendant to stay with him for a few days. Draper had not met defendant and knew nothing about her, but the middle bedroom next to his was not occupied, and he agreed to allow defendant to stay with him as a favor to his friend. After two weeks defendant was still there. She did not pay rent, but occasionally gave Draper small amounts of methamphetamine to smoke.3 Defendant became a problem for Draper: she repeatedly had late night or overnight guests; she painted a dresser that belonged to Draper; things went missing, such as knick-knacks, boxes, and hand tools; a sort of manifesto was written on the mirror; and Draper suspected that defendant was selling drugs. More than once during her stay,

3 Draper denied he was an addict, claiming he merely enjoyed methamphetamine occasionally for the energy boost.

3 Draper told defendant that the late night visits needed to stop, that he did not want the police to come, and that she should see her friends elsewhere. One of defendant‟s friends, whom he knew only as “Roach,” made Draper uncomfortable. On the night of July 3, 2011, Roach came to visit defendant sometime after 10:30 p.m., which Draper considered late. At 11:30 p.m., Draper had enough; he knocked on defendant‟s door, told them to finish their business and get on their way. When there was no answer, Draper knocked on the door again and loudly said, “Hey, you got to get goin‟, Roach.” When Roach failed to leave, Draper went to defendant‟s door a third time, opened the door and told defendant that Roach had to go or both of them had to go. Roach remained on the bed and defendant urged him to stay. Draper then told her he was going to call the police. Draper turned to walk away when suddenly “blows started raining down” on his head. He saw a blurry object resembling a hammer hit him repeatedly on the head and shoulders. He turned and saw defendant was hitting him with a wooden dowel. Although Draper tried to block her blows with his arm, she was too quick, and struck him in the head and shoulders about a dozen times, causing him to bleed. Draper backed down the hallway intending to escape out the front door but defendant followed him, placed herself between Draper and the front door, and continued to hit him with the dowel. When Draper backed toward the kitchen, defendant followed, continually striking him, and leaving a trail of blood spatter on the floors and the wall outside the kitchen. In the kitchen, defendant found a fan motor on a work bench there, dropped the dowel, and threw the motor directly at Draper‟s face. Draper managed to elude the motor enough to avoid it hitting him in the face, but it still clipped the side of his head and caused him to lose his balance. He landed on the work bench, overturned it and fell to the floor. By the time Draper got up, defendant had picked up a drop light and struck him with it on his head and shoulders. Defendant then said, “If you go to your room, I‟ll quit hitting you.” Draper complied, and as he passed the front door on his to way his room, defendant placed herself between him and the door.

4 Draper reached his room and lay on the bed, feeling too weak to close or lock the door and fearful that doing so might further aggravate defendant. After a short while, defendant entered and said that Draper owed her money and demanded his debit card and pin number.

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P. v. Talavera CA2/2, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/p-v-talavera-ca22-calctapp-2013.