People v. Bowles CA4/3

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 19, 2014
DocketG048542
StatusUnpublished

This text of People v. Bowles CA4/3 (People v. Bowles CA4/3) 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. Bowles CA4/3, (Cal. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

Filed 11/19/14 P. v. Bowles CA4/3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent, G048542

v. (Super. Ct. No. 07NF1324)

JEREMY ROBERT BOWLES, OPINION

Defendant and Appellant.

Appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court of Orange County, William R. Froeberg, Judge. Affirmed. Tonja R. Torres, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Julie L. Garland, Assistant Attorney General, William M. Wood and Paige B. Hazard, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. Appellant Jeremy Robert Bowles was charged with committing a string of residential burglaries and shooting at, and attempting to kill, a police officer who tried to take him into custody. At trial, appellant conceded the burglary charges but insisted he was not the person who shot at the officer. To prove he was, the prosecution introduced evidence appellant attempted to murder a drug dealer three days before the officer shooting. Although appellant was not charged in connection with that prior incident, the prosecution argued it was relevant to show appellant’s motive and intent to shoot the officer. Having been convicted on all counts, appellant argues the evidence regarding the incident with the drug dealer violated his right to a fair trial. He also contends reversal is required because his expert witness was not allowed to opine about the reliability of certain identification evidence, and the prosecutor misstated the law in closing argument. Finding appellant’s arguments unavailing, we affirm the judgment against him. FACTS In February 2007, there was a spate of residential burglaries in and around Fullerton. Sometimes the perpetrator strong-armed the victims into surrendering their valuables, and other times he struck when they were not home. The investigation led to appellant, and following his arrest on February 25, 2007, the police found much of the stolen property in his motel room. When questioned, appellant admitted being a burglar and a drug addict. He said he robbed from the rich to give to the poor but ended up keeping many of the items he stole – such as a Lexus GS430 automobile – simply because he liked them. He was charged and remained in custody until posting bond in August 2008. When he failed to appear for his preliminary hearing on September 16, 2008, a warrant was issued for his arrest. Appellant had spent the previous evening, September 15, with his friend Thomas Cho. They were owed money from a drug dealer named Mark Chavez, so they enlisted Lori Odle, one of Chavez’s regular customers, to help them out. They had Odle tell Chavez she was interested in buying a large amount of methamphetamine from him.

2 That was enough to convince Chavez to come over to Odle’s home on the night of September 15. When he showed up, Odle led him to her car, which was parked in her driveway, and they started smoking methamphetamine together. A short time later, Cho and appellant arrived in Cho’s car, and Cho confronted Chavez. Standing next to Chavez’s window, Cho asked him, “You don’t know how to call me back or what?” Then Cho opened Chavez’s door and tried to pull him out of the car. While that was happening, appellant appeared with a gun and shot Chavez. As Chavez’s body lay motionless on the ground, Cho and appellant fled the scene, and Odle called the police. Although she identified appellant as the shooter, he was never charged with attempting to murder Chavez. Instead, the prosecution in the instant case argued the Chavez shooting was relevant to prove appellant’s motive and intent with respect to an incident that occurred a few days later, on September 18, 2008. That morning, appellant’s photo was displayed on a wanted flier that was shown to members of the Buena Park Police Department, including Patrol Officer Pedro Montez. The flier stated appellant was wanted for failing to appear in court, but it did not include any information about the recent Chavez shooting. The flier also included the picture of a suspect named Marcel Barajas. Having recently seen Barajas at the Walden Glenn Apartments, Montez drove there and set up surveillance in the parking lot. However, instead of finding Barajas, Montez spotted Cho driving a black Honda Accord with a front passenger who resembled appellant. After Cho noticed Montez, he said something to his passenger, who then looked over at Montez. At that point, Montez believed the man was in fact appellant, so he followed Cho’s car out of the parking lot. Cho’s car accelerated quickly and began weaving in and out of traffic, but Montez was able to keep up with it. At one point, while Cho was stopped at a traffic light, Montez pulled behind him and turned on his overhead lights. However, when the traffic light turned green, Cho kept driving. Montez activated his siren and followed Cho

3 as he drove toward the I-5 freeway. When Cho reached the freeway on-ramp, he stopped his car, and Montez stopped behind it. Cho’s passenger then opened his door and extended his arm toward Montez. Noticing the man was holding a dark object in his hand, Montez exited his vehicle and took cover behind his car door. Then he heard a gunshot and saw Cho’s car take off down the on-ramp. Montez radioed for backup and followed Cho. Just before Cho reached the freeway, his passenger stuck his arm and head out of his window and fired another shot at Montez. At that time, Montez noticed the man was wearing a white T-shirt and a black baseball hat. The chase continued onto the freeway, as Cho dodged traffic and reached speeds up to 100 m.p.h. At one point during the pursuit, Cho’s passenger positioned himself so he was sitting on his window frame facing Montez and fired three more shots toward the officer. Montez engaged in evasive driving to avoid getting hit. He noticed the passenger’s hat come flying off as Cho exited the freeway at the Valley View Avenue off-ramp. The chase continued at high speed as Cho proceeded north on Valley View. He ran several red lights before eventually slowing down at Bora Drive, in a residential area of La Mirada. At that point, Cho’s passenger exited the vehicle and fled on foot, still holding his gun. Cho continued on a short distance to Mansa Drive, where he stopped his car and tried to run away. However, Montez caught him and placed him under arrest. Montez waited with Cho as other officers arrived on the scene and a police perimeter was established around the area. A short time later, Yojhan Pinzon was detained nearby because he fit the description of Cho’s passenger and witnesses saw him running in the area. At the time he was taken into custody, Pinzon was shirtless, sweaty, and carrying a black T-shirt in his hands. The police transported him to the scene and asked Officer Montez if he was the shooter. At that point in time, Montez indicated Pinzon matched the description of the shooter. However, in his mind, Montez was not entirely positive Pinzon was the gunman.

4 Describing his feelings at trial, Montez said that while Pinzon “resembled” the shooter, he was not sure Pinzon was the guy because “there was just something about his facial appearance that did not seem the same.” Nonetheless, Pinzon was arrested and taken into custody. When Montez got back to the police station, his uncertainty about Pinzon persisted.

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People v. Bowles CA4/3, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-bowles-ca43-calctapp-2014.