People v. Bahena CA3

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 1, 2025
DocketC100386
StatusUnpublished

This text of People v. Bahena CA3 (People v. Bahena 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. Bahena CA3, (Cal. Ct. App. 2025).

Opinion

Filed 12/1/25 P. v. Bahena CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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, C100386

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. 22FE008690)

v.

ANGEL SANTOS BAHENA,

Defendant and Appellant.

In 2024, a jury found defendant Angel Santos Bahena guilty of various crimes including second-degree murder stemming from a fatal accident he caused while driving under the influence of alcohol. The trial court sentenced defendant to 15 years to life plus six years. On appeal, defendant contends the trial court prejudicially erred in instructing the jury regarding the implied malice element of murder by failing to modify the instruction to reflect the “high degree of probability of death” language from People v. Reyes (2023) 14 Cal.5th 981, 989 (Reyes). We find no instructional error.

1 Defendant also contends his sentence of 15 years to life for gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated must be reversed because the prior conviction enhancement (Pen. Code, § 191.5, subd. (d) [statutory section citations that follow are to the Penal Code unless otherwise stated]) did not apply. The People agree, as do we. We will strike the enhancement and remand to the trial court to resentence defendant on this count.

FACTS AND HISTORY OF THE PROCEEDINGS On May 15, 2022, at about 6:40 a.m., Mycajoy P. and her parents, Nelson and Marilyn P., were driving to church in their SUV on Elder Creek Road. (Hereafter, we identify the family members by their first names.) Mycajoy was driving, Nelson was in the front passenger seat, and Marilyn was in the back middle seat. All three were wearing seatbelts. It was a sunny day; the weather was clear. The family drove towards the traffic light at the intersection of Elder Creek Road, an east-west city street, and Florin Perkins Road, a north-south street. As they approached the intersection at a speed of 40 to 45 miles per hour, the light was green. When they were almost past the middle of the intersection, a car traveling at a speed of 45 miles per hour ran the red light, striking the SUV on the driver’s side and pushing it over a fence into a field. Defendant, the driver of the car, got out of his car and lay on the ground. Inside the SUV, Nelson had lost consciousness. When Mycajoy was able to wake him, her father asked what happened. Nelson could not move because of the pain in the left side of his body. Mycajoy’s feet were trapped under the pedals. She felt pain in her left side, on her hip and in her back. Marilyn’s eyes were closed and she was leaning on the left side of the car. Mycajoy tried to wake Marilyn but she would not move. Mycajoy called 911 on her father’s phone.

2 Two men came to the aid of the family. The driver’s side door was too damaged to open, so the men forced the passenger side door open and helped Mycajoy and Nelson out. Marilyn’s seatbelt was locked and had to be cut to remove her from the back seat. Her breathing was shallow and her pulse was weak. Law enforcement and medical personnel arrived at the scene. CPR performed on Marilyn—initially by one of the men who pulled her out of the SUV and then by medical personnel—was unsuccessful. Marilyn died at the place of the accident. Officers questioned defendant, who first said he was going home and then said he was going to a convenience store. Defendant was taken to UC Davis hospital. At about 8:00 a.m., a police detective questioned defendant. She had been informed that defendant was involved in a vehicle collision, and it was suspected defendant was driving under the influence (DUI). The detective smelled an odor of alcohol coming from defendant and noticed he had watery eyes. Defendant stated he drank three beers from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. the previous night. Defendant denied ingesting drugs. The detective administered two breath tests. The results were 0.114 percent blood-alcohol at 8:14 a.m. and .109 at 8:17 a.m. (Two breath tests administered to Mycajoy a little after 9:00 a.m. both recorded zero percent alcohol content.) When the detective requested defendant submit to a blood chemical test, he declined, arguing he had already had a breath test. When reminded he was required to submit to the blood test as a condition of probation from a prior DUI conviction, defendant’s blood was drawn at 9:39 a.m. The results indicated a blood-alcohol content of .117 percent. There was also a positive result for cocaine. In October 2023, defendant was charged with murder (§ 187, subd. (a); count one); gross vehicular manslaughter (§ 191.5, subd. (a); count two); causing bodily injury while under the influence of alcohol (Veh. Code, § 23153, subd. (a); count three); and causing bodily injury while driving with a blood-alcohol content of .08 percent or greater (Veh. Code, § 23153, subd. (b); count four). The information alleged, as to count two,

3 defendant had a prior conviction for violating Vehicle Code section 23152, subdivision (b) in 2012 within the meaning of section 191.5, subdivision (d), and, as to counts three and four, defendant personally inflicted bodily injury (§ 12022.7, subd. (a)) and proximately caused bodily injury to more than one victim in one instance of driving in violation of Vehicle Code section 23153 (Veh. Code, § 23558). Defendant’s case was tried to a jury. At trial, Chris Fogelberg, a criminalist, testified as an expert in forensic toxicology and the effects of consumption of alcohol and drugs on the human body. Fogelberg testified the blood sample obtained from defendant contained cocaine and benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine. Given that the time required for half of cocaine to be eliminated from the body is 40 minutes to an hour, Fogelberg testified the presence of cocaine in the blood sample indicated recent use. Fogelberg further testified that cocaine impairs the ability of a person to safely operate a car because it affects the ability to focus and concentrate. A person on cocaine could be confused, agitated, fidgety and restless, and might engage in high-risk behavior such as weaving in and out of traffic, speeding, and being distracted. In terms of alcohol, responding to a hypothetical question from the prosecutor, Fogelberg calculated that it would be impossible for a male weighing 230 pounds to have a blood-alcohol content of .11 percent at 9:39 a.m. by drinking three beers between 8:00 and 9:00 the prior night. Based on an .11 percent blood-alcohol test result at 9:39 a.m., Fogelberg determined that, given the rate of elimination of alcohol from the bloodstream, the blood-alcohol content of the person at 6:38 a.m. would have been .17 percent. Fogelberg opined that all people with .08 blood-alcohol are too impaired to drive. He also opined a person with blood-alcohol content of .17, .15, or .11 percent would be too impaired to drive. Fogelberg testified that the presence of cocaine, while a stimulant, would not counteract the depressant effects of alcohol: “instead, what you have is just an alert drunk.” The parties stipulated that in September 2012 defendant was convicted of violating

4 Vehicle Code section 23152, subdivision (b), and certified records of defendant’s conviction were admitted in evidence. As required by Vehicle Code section 23953, an advisement below defendant’s signature on the plea form read: “ ‘You are hereby advised that being under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or both, impairs your ability to safely operate a motor vehicle.

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People v. Bahena CA3, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-bahena-ca3-calctapp-2025.