People v. Amaya CA2/3

California Court of Appeal·Decided May 12, 2016·No. B259144·Unpublished

Opinion

Filed 5/12/16 P. v. Amaya CA2/3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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(a). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115(a).

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

THE PEOPLE, B259144

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. KA103513) v.

JOSEPH LEO AMAYA,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, George Genesta, Judge. Affirmed as modified. Nancy J. King, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Gerald A. Engler, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Scott A. Taryle, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, and Timothy M. Weiner, Deputy Attorney General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

_______________________________________ INTRODUCTION Defendant Joseph Leo Amaya was convicted of forcible rape, sexual penetration by object, assault with intent to commit sexual penetration, and related kidnapping allegations. On appeal, he contends that there is insufficient evidence he penetrated the victim’s anal opening with the handle of a toilet plunger, that the jury instructions misstated the intent required for penetration by object, and that his consecutive one-strike sentences are unauthorized because no reasonable trier of fact could have concluded he had a sufficient opportunity to reflect during the attack. We modify the judgment to correct the fines and fees and affirm as modified. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND By first amended information filed August 15, 2014, defendant was charged with two counts of forcible rape (Pen. Code,1 § 261, subd. (a)(2); counts 1, 5), two counts of sexual penetration by foreign object (§ 289, subd. (a)(1)(A); counts 2, 3), and one count of assault with intent to commit rape, sodomy, or oral copulation (§ 220, subd. (a)(1); count 6).2 For each count, the information also alleged defendant kidnapped the victim within the meaning of the One Strike Law (§ 667.61, subds. (a), (d)(2)). Defendant pled not guilty and denied the allegations. After a jury trial at which he did not testify, the jury convicted defendant of all counts and found each allegation true. The court sentenced defendant to 100 years to life. For counts 1 and 5 (§ 261, subd. (a)(2); rape) and counts 2 and 3 (§ 289, subd. (a)(1)(A); sexual penetration by object), the court sentenced defendant to consecutive one-strike terms of 25 years to life (§ 667.61, subds. (a), (d)(2), (i); § 667.6, subd. (d)). For count 6 (§ 220, subd. (a)(1);

1 All undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code. 2 The original information, filed December 27, 2013, alleged counts 1 through 5. On August 15, 2014, the People amended the information by interlineation to add count 6 and to dismiss count 4 (§ 664/289, subd. (a)(1)(A); attempted sexual penetration by object) and the related kidnapping allegation.

2 assault with intent to commit sexual penetration by object), the court struck the allegation because count 6 was not a one-strike offense, and imposed the middle term of four years, to run concurrent. Defendant filed a timely notice of appeal. FACTUAL BACKGROUND On October 19, 2013, B. Doe (B.) was working as a cashier during the night shift at the Peck Minimart in El Monte. A friend had dropped her off, and her father would pick her up at the end of the night. She was working alone. A few hours into B.’s shift, defendant entered the store and began asking her increasingly personal questions—where she lived, who was going to pick her up from work, her phone number, and which door she used to leave. He also asked B. about condoms that were for sale in the market and showed her a tattoo on the back of his neck. After about 20 minutes, defendant left. About an hour later, towards the end of her shift, B. was working in the back storage room when defendant returned. Defendant entered the storage room and approached B. He was holding a wire or cord, and held it up to her neck as if he were going to choke her. B. screamed and ran to the front of the store. Defendant followed her; he said he was just playing around. B. told him to leave, and he did, walking out the side door. B. locked that door behind him, and ran to lock the other entrance. Defendant got there first. As B. tried to lock the front door, defendant forced his way inside the store. He pushed an arcade game across the entrance and turned off the lights.3 Then he grabbed B. by the hair, causing her to fall. She dropped her keys and phone; defendant put them in his pocket.

3 On our own motion, we take judicial notice of the trial exhibits in superior court case no. KA103513. (Evid. Code, § 452, subd. (d)(1).) Based on our review of exhibits 3 and 4, it appears the arcade game used to blockade the door was Cruis’n USA, a coin-operated, standing game with an attached steering wheel, housed in a classic arcade cabinet. The game is about the same size as a vending machine.

3 Defendant dragged B. into the restroom at the back of the minimart, closed the door, and ordered her to pull down her pants. When she refused, he pulled them down himself. Holding B. from behind, defendant pushed his fingers into her vagina with enough force to lift her off the ground. She screamed and tried to push him away. In response, defendant punched her in the face. Defendant removed his penis from his pants and forced it into B.’s vagina. Next, defendant grabbed a nearby toilet plunger. He “trie[d] to insert” the plunger handle “near [B.’s] anal area.” B. testified that the handle touched her “anal area” but did not penetrate the actual anus. After trying and failing to insert the handle into B.’s vagina, defendant dropped the plunger and reinserted his penis into her vagina. While raping her vaginally, defendant removed his shirt, rolled it up, and stuffed it into B.’s mouth. He then slid the shirt down her neck and choked her with it. Throughout the ordeal, defendant punched B. in the head and slammed her head into the paper towel dispenser on the adjacent wall. Defendant told her to “shut up or he’ll hurt [her] or kill [her].” Eventually, defendant removed his penis from B.’s vagina, masturbated, and ejaculated into the toilet. At that point, B.’s phone started to ring; defendant took the phone out of his pocket and asked her who kept calling. She replied, “My dad is outside. Just leave, please.” Defendant pulled up his pants, told B. to stay in the restroom, and left. As she waited, B. heard defendant move the arcade game away from the front door. She ran outside, where her father and sister were waiting for her in a car.4 When police responded to the Peck Minimart, they found B. sitting on the curb in front of the store with her father and sister. She was bleeding from the vagina, and had head pain and bruises on her legs. B. was taken to the hospital, where Toyetta Beukes, a nurse from the Sexual Assault Response Team, performed an exam. The exam revealed

4 A surveillance system captured both audio and video footage of the attack. After B. testified, the jury watched the surveillance video, which documented the events outside the restroom, and listened to four five-minute portions of the audio recording. B. is heard crying, screaming, and pleading with defendant to stop.

4 multiple abrasions, tenderness to B.’s forehead, an abrasion inside her mouth, genital tears and abrasions, perianal tears and tenderness, and lacerations and tenderness to the perineum. The next day, B. identified defendant from a six-pack photo array.

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

People v. Amaya CA2/3, (Cal. Ct. App. 2016).

People v. Amaya CA2/3 (People v. Amaya CA2/3) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Chapman v. California
386 U.S. 18 (Supreme Court, 1967)
In Re WINSHIP
397 U.S. 358 (Supreme Court, 1970)
Jackson v. Virginia
443 U.S. 307 (Supreme Court, 1979)
United States v. Powell
469 U.S. 57 (Supreme Court, 1984)
Neder v. United States
527 U.S. 1 (Supreme Court, 1999)
People v. Mil
266 P.3d 1030 (California Supreme Court, 2012)
People v. Park
299 P.3d 1263 (California Supreme Court, 2013)
The People v. McCoy
215 Cal. App. 4th 1510 (California Court of Appeal, 2013)
People v. Dotson
941 P.2d 56 (California Supreme Court, 1997)
People v. Harrison
768 P.2d 1078 (California Supreme Court, 1989)
People v. Tillman
992 P.2d 1109 (California Supreme Court, 2000)
People v. Triggs
506 P.2d 232 (California Supreme Court, 1973)
People v. Lilienthal
587 P.2d 706 (California Supreme Court, 1978)
People v. Jenkins
893 P.2d 1224 (California Supreme Court, 1995)
People v. Jones
758 P.2d 1165 (California Supreme Court, 1988)
People v. Bolin
956 P.2d 374 (California Supreme Court, 1998)
People v. Corona
206 Cal. App. 3d 13 (California Court of Appeal, 1988)
People v. Cattaneo
217 Cal. App. 3d 1577 (California Court of Appeal, 1990)
People v. White
179 Cal. App. 3d 193 (California Court of Appeal, 1986)
People v. Martinez
188 Cal. App. 3d 19 (California Court of Appeal, 1986)