People v. Baca CA3

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 9, 2021
DocketC089946
StatusUnpublished

This text of People v. Baca CA3 (People v. Baca CA3) 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
People v. Baca CA3, (Cal. Ct. App. 2021).

Opinion

Filed 3/9/21 P. v. Baca CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Sacramento) ----

THE PEOPLE, C089946

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. 17FE005228)

v.

JAMES MARTIN BACA,

Defendant and Appellant.

This case involves the fatal shooting of Rebecca Temme’s former girlfriend Leonora Montoya, during an armed robbery of Montoya and surviving victim Katherine Archuleta, perpetrated by Temme and her then-boyfriend, defendant James Baca. On appeal, defendant contends his convictions for murder and robbery, as well as the true finding on the felony-murder special circumstance, must be reversed for insufficient evidence. He further contends the trial court erred in excluding the details of

1 Archuleta’s prior convictions, and character evidence related to Archuleta’s credibility. We disagree and affirm.1 FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND We only recite the facts and procedural detail necessary to the resolution of this appeal. Additional information relevant to the claims raised on appeal is discussed below. The Robbery and Murder In March 2017 Temme was dating defendant, who was a tattoo artist and drug dealer. Temme and Montoya, who was Temme’s former girlfriend, assisted defendant in selling drugs. Defendant always carried a loaded gun for protection. In March 2017, he carried a .45 caliber handgun. On March 18, 2017, Temme and Montoya got into a heated argument in the presence of defendant and Temme’s aunt, Melodie Clark.2 Immediately after Montoya left the area, Temme said, “I am going to kill that bitch.” Defendant replied, “Baby, we can make that happen,” and then pulled a gun from his waistband.3 Thereafter, Clark,

1 We affirmed codefendant Temme’s conviction on September 24, 2020. (See People v. Temme (Sept. 24, 2020, C089885) [nonpub. opn.].) 2 Three days earlier, Temme sent defendant a text message that read: “This bitch is really fucking pushing me so just know I do love you and I’m so sorry that shits been crazy tonight, but I’m beyond . . . good and I’m not about to be in this car with her anymore I’ll do something stupid.” It is unclear from the record whether Temme was referring to Montoya in this message. 3 On March 6, 2017, Montoya sent defendant a message on Facebook indicating that she thought it was great that he and Temme were friends but noted that Temme was her “wife.” In response, defendant said that he did not want to have sex with Temme, explaining that he did not “love her like that” and would not disrespect Montoya. During their exchange of messages, defendant told Montoya that he “sell[s] drugs [and] shoot[s] people.”

2 who was Montoya’s friend, warned her to stay away from Temme, explaining that defendant had a gun and that he and Temme might do something to her. The next morning, Montoya hung out with her friend, Archuleta. They drank alcohol, used drugs together, and talked about Montoya being on the “outs” with Temme. At one point, Archuleta mentioned that she wanted a tattoo. In response, Montoya indicated that defendant was a good tattoo artist and showed her some photographs of his work. When Montoya called Temme, she was told that the tattoo Archuleta wanted would cost $30. Thereafter, Montoya contacted Temme, who arranged for defendant to give Archuleta a tattoo and to sell Montoya and/or Archuleta drugs. Later that day, Montoya drove Archuleta and her friend, Ikon, to a gas station to meet up with Temme and defendant. They arrived around 8:30 p.m. Temme approached Montoya’s car and said that defendant would not give Archuleta a tattoo because Montoya and Archuleta “weren’t supposed to bring anybody with [them].” After Montoya dropped Ikon off at a nearby convenience store, she drove to a different gas station and picked Temme and defendant up. At the direction of Temme, Montoya eventually drove the group to defendant’s motel room at the Surf Motel in Sacramento. They arrived at 9:07 p.m. Defendant entered the motel room first, followed in order by Temme, Archuleta, and Montoya. After Montoya entered the room and sat down in a chair, Temme closed the door. As soon as the door was shut, defendant pulled out a gun, pointed it in the direction of Montoya and Archuleta, and ordered them to place their cell phones on the table. According to Archuleta, Temme did not seem surprised by defendant’s actions. After Archuleta placed her cell phone on the table, Temme said, “car key,” which defendant repeated as he approached Montoya with his gun pointed at her. As Montoya started to speak, defendant shot her in the face. Temme and defendant immediately went through Montoya’s pockets. When defendant turned and looked at Archuleta, she gave him all the money she had. Temme or defendant grabbed Archuleta’s cell phone and

3 they fled the murder scene in Montoya’s car. At defendant’s direction, Temme drove to the San Francisco Bay Area. According to Archuleta, Montoya did not do anything to provoke the shooting. Apprehension of Defendant and Temme The following morning, Archuleta spoke with homicide detectives from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department about the shooting. Around 5:10 p.m., a detective with that department spotted Montoya’s car in Redwood City; Temme was driving and defendant was riding in the front passenger seat. When a Redwood City police officer attempted to stop the car, Temme sped off. A high-speed chase ensued, during which defendant threw a cell phone out the window. When Temme’s path was blocked by a patrol car, defendant and Temme got out of Montoya’s car and fled on foot. They were apprehended shortly thereafter. A loaded firearm magazine was found on defendant’s person and a loaded handgun was found along the route defendant had taken while fleeing on foot. Three cell phones were found in the back of Montoya’s car. The Investigation When homicide detectives responded to the scene of the shooting, Montoya was slumped over in a chair holding a closed pocketknife in her right hand. An autopsy revealed that she died of a single gunshot to the head. A .45 caliber spent bullet casing was found in the motel room. A firearms expert determined that the casing and the bullet that killed Montoya had been fired from the gun found when defendant and Temme were apprehended. A review of security camera footage revealed that defendant, Temme, Montoya, and Archuleta arrived at the Surf Motel in Montoya’s car at 9:07 p.m. on the evening of the shooting. Montoya, who was the last person to enter defendant’s motel room, entered the room at 9:08 p.m. Less than a minute after Temme closed the door, defendant and Temme left the room and fled the area in Montoya’s car. At 11:27 p.m., defendant sent a text message to someone using the name “Los Cervantes” indicating that he needed help

4 “really bad.” The following afternoon, defendant sent another text message to Los Cervantes stating that he needed “plates.” During a jail visit following the shooting, Temme admitted to Clark (her aunt) that she took everything Montoya had on her person, including her car key. Temme also said that she loved defendant and that Archuleta was only alive because she had instructed defendant not to harm her. As for Montoya, Temme stated, “I don’t give a shit about that bitch.

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People v. Baca CA3, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-baca-ca3-calctapp-2021.