People v. Berry CA2/5

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 22, 2016
DocketB262964
StatusUnpublished

This text of People v. Berry CA2/5 (People v. Berry CA2/5) 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. Berry CA2/5, (Cal. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

Filed 8/22/16 P. v. Berry CA2/5 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FIVE

THE PEOPLE, B262964

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BA397700) v.

RAYMOND GLEN BERRY,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Laura F. Priver, Judge. Modified and remanded with directions. Siri Shetty, 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, Mary Sanchez and Blythe J. Leszkay, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. I. INTRODUCTION A jury convicted defendant, Raymond Glen Berry, of: firearm assault (Pen. Code, § 245, subd. (a)(2))1 (count 2); first degree burglary (§ 459) (count 3); child abuse (§ 273a, subd. (a)) (count 5); firearm and ammunition possession by a felon (§§ 29800, subd. (a)(1), 30305, subd. (a)(1)) (counts 6 and 7); and semiautomatic firearm assault (§ 245, subd. (b)) (count 8). The jury further found, as to counts 2 and 3, that defendant personally inflicted great bodily injury on the victim. (§ 12022.7, subd. (a).) And, as to counts 2 through 5 and 8, the jury found defendant personally used a handgun. (§ 12022.5, subd. (a).) The trial court found defendant had previously sustained two prior convictions within the meaning of sections 667, subdivision (a)(1) and 1170.12, subdivision (b). In addition, the trial court found that defendant had served two prior prison terms. Defendant was sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison plus 17 years. We modify the judgment and, upon remittitur issuance, the trial court is to recompute defendant’s presentence credits. II. THE EVIDENCE On April 19, 2012, Eric Kennon lived with Adrian Sims. Ms. Sims was the mother of Mr. Kennon’s two-year old son. The three of them lived in the same apartment. Defendant is Ms. Sims’s brother. Until about a week earlier, defendant had also lived in the apartment. Defendant moved out of the apartment after an argument with Ms. Sims and Mr. Kennon over household issues. On the afternoon of April 19, 2012, Mr. Kennon was in a bedroom with the two-year-old. Defendant walked in holding a black semiautomatic handgun. Defendant pointed the gun at Mr. Kennon’s head and said, “You talking shit about me to my folks?” Mr. Kennon took a step toward defendant and responded, “I don’t even talk to your folks.” Defendant said, “Nigga what?” and he cocked the gun. Mr. Kennon jumped on defendant. Mr. Kennon then grabbed defendant’s wrist. Mr. Kennon said, “What the fuck are you doing?” A struggle ensued

1 Further statutory references are to the Penal Code except where otherwise noted.

2 during which defendant twice fired his weapon. Defendant broke free, pointed the gun straight at Mr. Kennon and fired again. Mr. Kennon said, “Motherfucker you just shot me.” Defendant walked out of the bedroom. Two .40-caliber casings were located in Mr. Kennon’s bedroom. There were no bullet holes in the bedroom walls or ceiling. No handgun was found in the apartment. At trial, Mr. Kennon testified that neither he nor Ms. Sims had a gun in their residence. Ms. Sims’s son, Richard Nichols, was in the living room playing video games when defendant entered the apartment armed with a handgun. Defendant went immediately upstairs without speaking to Mr. Nichols. Mr. Nichols heard defendant and Mr. Kennon arguing. Mr. Nichols heard people wrestling followed by two gunshots and then he ran out of the apartment. Mr. Nichols saw Mr. Kennon walking slowly down the steps. Mr. Kennon had blood on his abdomen and hands. Mr. Nichols called an emergency operator and said in part: “Can you come to 1617 East 53rd Street? You got to arrest a man named Raymond Berry. Can they put that man in jail for life because he just shot my stepdad and my little brother in his bedroom.” An audio recording of the entirety of the telephone call was introduced at trial. At trial, however, Mr. Nichols denied he was home at the time and making the emergency telephone call. In rebuttal, Detective Brendy Ponce testified the caller sounded like Mr. Nichols. Detective Ponce had previously interviewed Mr. Nichols. Moreover, according to Detective Ponce, the caller’s telephone number matched that of Mr. Nichols. Mr. Kennon testified he sustained two abdominal wounds requiring surgery. The surgeon made a 12-inch incision from Mr. Kennon’s upper to lower abdomen. Mr. Kennon did not remember how long he was hospitalized, but he thought it was several weeks. He had to learn to walk again. He was still in pain. The defense presented evidence: Mr. Kennon was shot once but the bullet caused two wounds; Mr. Kennon was hospitalized for only three days; and he was fully ambulatory following the surgery. It was undisputed a bullet remained lodged near Mr. Kennon’s right buttock. There was evidence defendant was also injured during the fight. In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Mr. Kennon saw blood on the kitchen floor. Mr. Kennon saw

3 defendant limping away from the bedroom. Defendant showed his left foot to the jury. Defense counsel stated: “I’m showing the left foot on the right-hand side there appears to be a scar, an indentation-type scar that’s perhaps three inches or so long, maybe a bit longer.” Mr. Kennon relocated with police department assistance after he was shot. When he returned to California shortly before trial, he was homeless. He stole food from grocery stores to survive. Mr. Kennon had also received assistance from Deputy District Attorney Ian Phan. Mr. Phan had taken Mr. Kennon to lunch. Also, Mr. Phan had paid Mr. Kennon’s cellular telephone bill so they could stay in contact. And, Mr. Phan had given Mr. Kennon a gift card which could be used to purchase food. Mr. Kennon admitted he had sustained a prior felony conviction for a carjacking during which he used a “replica” gun. He denied stealing money from an Albertsons grocery store while working there. Mr. Kennon admitted, however, that in 2005 he had been accused of the theft while working at the grocery store. In addition, Mr. Kennon had argued with the manager and was later terminated. Mr. Kennon and Mr. Phan, the deputy district attorney, had discussed the termination. In that conversation, Mr. Kennon admitted getting into a fight with the store manager. The defense presented evidence Mr. Kennon was fired for stealing approximately $485 worth of merchandise. But the evidence presented by the defense failed to demonstrate an argument or fight occurred between Mr. Kennon and the manger. Mr. Kennon testified at length about a 2006 fight with Dorian Lewis, the father of Ms. Sims’s three older children. Mr. Lewis had attacked Mr. Kennon with a knife. Mr. Lewis pled guilty to the crime and went to prison. Also, Mr. Kennon fought with Mr. Nichols on multiple occasions. One of the fights occurred when Mr. Kennon was 16 years old. Mr. Nichols was scratched by one of his eyes. On a different day, Mr. Kennon bit Mr. Nichols on the face. Brandon Terrazas, an emergency medical technician, treated 16-year-old Mr. Nichols on July 18, 2013. Mr. Nichols had sustained a more than one- inch laceration above his right eyebrow as a result of a fight.

4 III. DISCUSSION A. Impeachment Evidence The defense sought to show Mr. Kennon was not credible and was the likely aggressor in the altercation with defendant.

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People v. Berry CA2/5, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-berry-ca25-calctapp-2016.