P. v. Trinidad CA5

California Court of Appeal·Decided May 22, 2013·No. F062786·Unpublished

Opinion

Filed 5/22/13 P. v. Trinidad CA5

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

THE PEOPLE, F062786 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. F11900271) v.

JORGE MARTIN TRINIDAD, OPINION Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Fresno County. Arlan L. Harrell, Judge. Joanne Kirchner, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Michael P. Farrell, Assistant Attorney General, Carlos A. Martinez and Kari L. Ricci Mueller, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. -ooOoo- Fifteen-year-old defendant Jorge Martin Trinidad was convicted of first degree murder and second degree robbery after he repeatedly stabbed Marcella Ramos and took her purse. On appeal, he contends (1) the trial court erred in refusing to instruct the jury on the right to use force to recover stolen property, (2) the trial court erred in refusing to instruct the jury on the claim-of-right defense to robbery, and (3) defense counsel was ineffective for failing to object to the prosecutor’s closing argument on provocation and voluntary manslaughter. We will affirm. PROCEDURAL SUMMARY On February 17, 2011, the Fresno County District Attorney charged defendant with first degree murder (Pen. Code, § 187, subd. (a);1 count 1) and second degree robbery (§ 211; count 2). As to count 1, the information further alleged that defendant personally used a knife during the commission of the crime (former § 12022, subd. (b)(1)). A jury found defendant guilty on both counts and found the special allegation true. The trial court sentenced defendant to 25 years to life on count 1, plus a one-year enhancement on the special allegation. The court stayed sentence on count 2. FACTS On October 14, 2010, sometime around 6:00 a.m., Dolores dropped off her 33-year-old cousin, Marcella, near a gas station on the northwest corner of Winery and Kings Canyon. Marcella was there to engage in prostitution. She walked north toward the Big Lots store on the same corner. About 20 to 25 minutes later, Dolores received a call from Marcella, telling her to come back and pick her up near the Big Lots store. Dolores heard rustling sounds and thought Marcella sounded out of breath. When Dolores arrived, she saw Marcella on the sidewalk on the west side of Winery, near the Big Lots store. Dolores realized Marcella was having difficulty 1 All statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise noted.

2. breathing and she saw blood on the left side of her abdomen. Dolores got help from passers-by who called the police. At about 6:30 a.m., Officers Swanson and Scott arrived and found Marcella lying on the sidewalk next to the Big Lots store on the west side of Winery. She was covered in blood and there was blood on the sidewalk underneath her. Another Hispanic female was standing over her yelling. Officer Swanson saw five to 10 stab wounds on Marcella, and he attempted to stop the bleeding from her chest wounds. Marcella was gurgling and gasping for air, unable to say anything to the officers. An ambulance arrived three to five minutes later. Marcella had surgery at the hospital, but she did not survive. Detective Cervantes spoke to Dolores at the scene. She said Marcella was carrying a black fake leather purse and a black Page Plus cell phone. When officers went to the hospital, they learned that the purse and phone did not arrive with Marcella. Detective Valles arrived on the scene at 7:45 a.m. He observed a bloody jacket on the sidewalk where Marcella had lain. A blood trail led from the jacket diagonally across the street, ending at a black T-shirt that was in the road near the curb on the east side of Winery. The neck of the black T-shirt had been stretched out. Detective Serrano determined that Marcella’s cell phone was active. It had sent a Spanish text message after Marcella had been killed, at about 9:00 a.m., to a specific cell phone owned by a woman in Madera. Detective Serrano visited the woman and learned that her 15-year-old daughter, Doris, was the primary user of the phone. Detective Serrano went to Doris’s school and spoke to her. Doris said she had received a text message in Spanish that morning from a male named George or Jorge whom she had recently met in Fresno. Doris accompanied Detective Serrano back to Fresno. Detective Cervantes spoke to Doris at the station. He translated the Spanish text message sent from Marcella’s cell phone at 9:00 a.m. as follows: “Mija [a term of endearment], what are you doing? This is George. This will be my phone until the number is disconnected.”

3. At this point, the officers determined they would use Doris to lure defendant out. At 2:08 p.m., while the officers were discussing the plan with Doris, she happened to receive a call from defendant. Detective Cervantes was able to record the call with his digital recorder. According to the plan, Doris asked defendant where he was and said they could meet later. Defendant said he was in the area of Kings Canyon and Dearing, near the major cross streets of Kings Canyon and Chestnut. Doris told him she was going to have her oldest sister drive her to the area so they could meet. Defendant said he would prefer for her to pick him up on a side street because he had been involved in an altercation and the police were looking for him. Then he apologized and said he would have to meet her later; he had to go to his stepbrother’s because the police were going to get him. He explained that he had gotten into a fight with some individuals that morning at an apartment complex near Kings Canyon and Winery, which he called “[T]he Wineries,” and that he had stabbed a female. He said the police had been investigating the case since about 6:00 a.m., and he did not want to go out on the street. He said the police were going to kill him. At 4:26 p.m., defendant called again to arrange a meeting with Doris. He said they would meet at a bus stop near Kings Canyon and Chestnut. Then he said he would wait in the parking stalls because he was afraid the police would be there. At 4:34 p.m., defendant called Doris a third time. By now, Doris was in the backseat of an undercover vehicle with Detective Cervantes. Defendant told Doris that he was walking with a friend to Kings Canyon and Chestnut. She asked him what he was wearing. She told him she was there, but she had passed Chestnut and was coming around. He giggled, then stressed to her that she should hurry because he did not want to be out on the street for long. He told her he would to be in front of the Halloween Superstore on the northwest corner of Kings Canyon and Chestnut. At this point, Detective Cervantes was observing defendant and his friend. Detective Cervantes informed undercover officers in the area. They exited their vehicles wearing tactical

4. vests and badges, approached defendant, ordered him to drop the cell phone he was holding in his right hand and lie on the ground. The cell phone was a black Page Plus phone. The officers conducted a pat-down search of defendant and found a folding switchblade knife in a black nylon sheath and another cell phone, which was later found to be inactive other than as a musical device. They arrested defendant. Detective Cervantes noticed that a group of people had congregated nearby to watch the officers arresting defendant.

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