People v. Barnes CA3

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 16, 2022
DocketC093243
StatusUnpublished

This text of People v. Barnes CA3 (People v. Barnes 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. Barnes CA3, (Cal. Ct. App. 2022).

Opinion

Filed 8/16/22 P. v. Barnes CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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,

Plaintiff and Respondent, C093243

v. (Super. Ct. No. 20FE004323)

STEVEN KENNETH BARNES,

Defendant and Appellant.

A jury convicted defendant Steven Kenneth Barnes on two counts of assault with a firearm (counts two and three), being a felon in possession of a firearm (count four), being a felon in possession of ammunition (count five), possession of heroin and cocaine for sale (count six), and possession of heroin and cocaine while armed with a loaded, operable firearm (count seven). The jury found true allegations that in committing the count two crime, defendant personally used a firearm and personally inflicted great bodily injury. It also found true an allegation that in committing the count six crime, defendant was personally armed with a firearm. The trial court sentenced defendant to an aggregate prison term of 26 years.

1 Defendant now contends (1) the jury’s true finding on the count six firearm enhancement is not supported by sufficient evidence; (2) there is insufficient evidence to support the count seven conviction for possession of heroin and cocaine while armed with a loaded, operable firearm; (3) the trial court should have struck the prior serious felony conviction allegation under Penal Code section 13851 ; (4) the trial court erred in imposing a four-year middle term for the count six firearm enhancement; and (5) the count three sentence for assault with a firearm should have been stayed under section 654. Regarding defendant’s fourth contention that the trial court erred in imposing a four-year middle term for the count six firearm enhancement, the Attorney General agrees, and we do too. Section 1170.1 required the trial court to impose one-third the middle term on the section 12022, subdivision (c) enhancement. Defendant’s other contentions lack merit. We will modify the judgment to impose a sentence of one year four months on the count six firearm enhancement and affirm the judgment as modified. BACKGROUND A man named Jarius met a prostitute named Jenny online and arranged to meet at Jenny’s apartment. Shortly after Jarius arrived at the apartment, defendant called Jenny. Defendant lived in an apartment near Jenny and defendant and Jenny had been in a romantic relationship for over 10 years. Defendant told Jenny he was outside her apartment door and to open the door. Jenny told Jarius to stay in her bedroom. She allowed defendant into the apartment, thinking she could get rid of him. But when defendant did not appear to believe her statement that no one was in her apartment, Jenny told Jarius to come out of the bedroom.

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.

2 Defendant had a gun, which Jarius described as a black semiautomatic pistol. Defendant pointed the gun at Jarius’s face and told Jarius not to look at him. Jarius testified that defendant hit him on the back of the head with the gun, but Jarius did not sustain any injuries to the back of his head. Jenny said defendant hit Jarius with his hand; she was not sure if the same hand was holding the gun. Defendant ordered Jarius to get on the ground and stomped on Jarius’s shoulder, back, and head. Jarius said defendant tried to get into Jarius’s pants pockets, where Jarius had his wallet, car key, and cell phone. Jenny testified that defendant did not reach for Jarius’s pockets. Neither defendant nor Jenny asked for Jarius’s car key, wallet, or cell phone. Jarius did not have any weapons on him. He testified he kept his hands in his pants pockets to prevent defendant and Jenny from taking his property and neither Jenny nor defendant put a hand inside his pants pocket. Jenny asked Jarius, “What are you reaching for?” She patted down both of Jarius’s legs because she thought he had a gun. But she never saw a gun on Jarius and did not feel anything consistent with a gun or knife on him. Defendant and Jarius struggled on the ground and Jarius got to his knees. Defendant stood in front of Jarius, said “goodbye,” and shot Jarius in his left arm. Defendant ran out of the apartment. Jarius ran outside to his car but his car key was not in his pants pocket. He still had his wallet and cell phone. He called 911 and said he left his car key in the apartment but also that he had been robbed. Jarius provided inconsistent statements to law enforcement officers. He told one officer he was hit in the face with the gun and told another he was hit on the back of the head with the gun. He told an officer his car key fell out of his pocket during a struggle and told another officer he did not know if his key was taken from him.

3 SWAT officers took defendant into custody. In defendant’s apartment, detectives found a loaded silver revolver in a container next to the bed. The revolver was operable, and the serial number had been removed. Numerous live bullets that would fit in the revolver were found in the bedroom closet. Cocaine and heroin were found in baggies or small containers on the kitchen table. About 30 bindles of suspected black tar heroin were found in a tackle box in the kitchen. The People’s narcotics expert opined that heroin and cocaine in the quantities involved and as packaged would be possessed for sale and not personal use. Jarius’s car key was found under the area rug in Jenny’s living room. There was a slug from a semiautomatic pistol near the car key. The slug was not fired from the silver revolver found in defendant’s apartment. Defendant admitted that on January 4, 2000, he was convicted of carjacking (§ 215, subd. (a)) with a firearm use enhancement (§ 12022.5, subd. (a)) in Alameda County, that the offense was a serious felony under section 1192.7, subdivision (c), and that he came within the provisions of the three strikes law. The jury acquitted defendant of attempted robbery (§§ 664/211—count one), but convicted him on two counts of assault with a firearm (§ 245, subd, (a)(2)—counts two and three), being a felon in possession of a firearm (§ 29800, subd. (a)(1)—count four), being a felon in possession of ammunition (§ 30305, subd. (a)(1)—count five), possession of heroin and cocaine for sale (Health & Saf. Code, § 11351—count six), and possession of heroin and cocaine while armed with a loaded, operable firearm (Health & Saf. Code § 11370.1, subd. (a)—count seven). The jury found true the allegation that in committing the count two crime, defendant personally used a firearm (§ 12022.5, subd. (a)) and personally inflicted great bodily injury upon Jarius (§ 12022.7, subd. (a)). It also found true the allegation that in committing the count six crime, defendant was personally armed with a firearm (§ 12022, subd. (c)). The jury found not true the allegation that in committing the count three crime, defendant personally used a firearm as a bludgeoning

4 instrument (§ 12022.5, subds. (a), (d)). The trial court sentenced defendant to an aggregate prison term of 26 years. DISCUSSION I Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the jury’s true finding on the section 12022, subdivision (c) firearm enhancement on the count six conviction, i.e., that he was personally armed with a firearm in the commission of possessing heroin and cocaine for sale. In determining whether sufficient evidence supports a conviction, “we do not determine the facts ourselves.

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

Related

People v. Correa
278 P.3d 809 (California Supreme Court, 2012)
People v. Brents
267 P.3d 1135 (California Supreme Court, 2012)
People v. Williams
948 P.2d 429 (California Supreme Court, 1998)
People v. Superior Court (Romero)
917 P.2d 628 (California Supreme Court, 1996)
People v. Beamon
504 P.2d 905 (California Supreme Court, 1973)
People v. Harrison
768 P.2d 1078 (California Supreme Court, 1989)
People v. Coleman
768 P.2d 32 (California Supreme Court, 1989)
People v. Bland
898 P.2d 391 (California Supreme Court, 1995)
People v. Laya
266 P.2d 157 (California Court of Appeal, 1954)
People v. Delgadillo
34 Cal. Rptr. 3d 507 (California Court of Appeal, 2005)
People v. Mendival
2 Cal. App. 4th 562 (California Court of Appeal, 1992)
People v. Williams
170 Cal. App. 4th 587 (California Court of Appeal, 2009)
People v. Trotter
7 Cal. App. 4th 363 (California Court of Appeal, 1992)
People v. Raviart
112 Cal. Rptr. 2d 850 (California Court of Appeal, 2001)
People v. Balbuena
11 Cal. App. 4th 1136 (California Court of Appeal, 1992)
People v. Bradford
38 Cal. App. 4th 1733 (California Court of Appeal, 1995)
People v. Andra
67 Cal. Rptr. 3d 439 (California Court of Appeal, 2007)
People v. Smith
9 Cal. App. 4th 196 (California Court of Appeal, 1992)
People v. Nelson
246 P.3d 301 (California Supreme Court, 2011)
People v. Pitto
180 P.3d 338 (California Supreme Court, 2008)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
People v. Barnes CA3, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-barnes-ca3-calctapp-2022.