People v. Buchanan

251 Cal. Rptr. 3d 803, 39 Cal. App. 5th 385
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal, 5th District
DecidedAugust 28, 2019
DocketA153155
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 251 Cal. Rptr. 3d 803 (People v. Buchanan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal, 5th District primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Buchanan, 251 Cal. Rptr. 3d 803, 39 Cal. App. 5th 385 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinions

Jones, P. J.

*804*386A jury convicted Whittier Buchanan of several crimes, including kidnapping with intent to commit a sex offense ( Pen. Code, § 209, subd. (b)(1) ).1 The trial court found certain enhancement allegations true and sentenced Buchanan to 60 years to life in prison, which included 10 years for two prior serious felony convictions (§ 667, subd. (a)(1)). Buchanan appeals, raising claims of instructional and sentencing error. The Attorney General contends the court made several sentencing errors.

*387We affirm the judgment of conviction and remand for resentencing.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The prosecution charged Buchanan with kidnapping to commit a sex offense ( § 209, subd. (b)(1) ; count 1); assault with intent to commit a sex offense (§ 220, subd. (a)(1); count 2); and failure to register as a sex offender (§§ 290, subd. (b), 290.018, subd. (b); count 3). The information alleged Buchanan had seven prior strike convictions (§§ 667, subds. (b)-(i); 1170.12), six prior serious felony convictions (§ 667, subd. (a)(1)), and that he had served seven prior prison terms (§ 667.5, subd. (b)). The information also alleged that as to count 1, Buchanan was a habitual sex offender (§ 667.71, subds. (b) & (e)).

Prosecution Evidence

A. Buchanan's Prior Convictions

In 1990, Buchanan was convicted of four counts of selling cocaine to a Drug Enforcement Administration agent. In 1995, Buchanan sexually assaulted a woman; the following year, he was convicted of forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, and sexual battery. He was sentenced to state prison, and was ordered to register as a sex offender. In 2017, Buchanan was on parole.

B. The Incident Involving Jane Doe

In 2017, Doe was a college student. She was five feet four inches tall and weighed 110 pounds. At about 9:00 p.m. on a May 2017 evening, Doe went to a birthday party, where she drank a beer, and a shot of vodka, "[m]aybe a little bit more than that." A few hours later, Doe and her friends went to a nearby bar, where she drank a "fish bowl" with several other people.2 Doe and her friends stayed at the bar until 2:00 a.m. Over the course of the evening, Doe had approximately seven shots of alcohol.

When Doe left the bar, she was intoxicated but coherent. She and her friends went to a restaurant. After about 15 or 20 minutes at the restaurant, Doe ordered an Uber, which arrived at approximately 2:30 a.m. Doe checked the license plate, and got into the sedan. The driver-a Caucasian man-took her to her house. During the ride, Doe realized she did not have her keys, and *388she got upset. Doe, however, assured the driver she would be alright. She got out of the car and sat on the front steps of her house. The Uber left. The street was dark and deserted.

Doe called her father, who had a spare key to her house, and left him a voicemail asking him to bring the spare key. As she sat on the front step, an African-American *805man-later identified as Buchanan-walked up to her and said, " 'It's unsafe out here.' " Buchanan grabbed Doe's elbow. Doe mistakenly thought Buchanan was her Uber driver, so she stood up and followed him to his vehicle, a Chevy Astro van. Doe got into the front passenger seat, still thinking Buchanan was her Uber driver. She called her father and left him another voicemail, saying she was fine, and that she was in an Uber. Doe's father called back and told Doe to ask the driver to take her to a nearby Safeway that was open 24 hours.

Buchanan agreed, but then drove in the opposite direction, to a "woodland looking area." At that point, Doe realized "something was wrong" and "asked to be dropped off anywhere." Buchanan refused to let Doe out of the car and said Doe " 'wasn't going anywhere.' " Doe panicked and screamed. Buchanan covered Doe's mouth with his hand to muffle her scream. After a short struggle, Doe removed Buchanan's hand and climbed into the back seat. Shortly thereafter, Buchanan said to Doe in an ominous tone, " 'Now you've ... got me. You are going to get me into trouble. You made me mad.' "

Doe was terrified. She said, " 'take all my money. Just let me off anywhere.' " Buchanan took the money but kept driving. He remarked that Doe " 'looked like a girl who gives good head,' " and threatened she had " 'better give him the best head of his life.' " Doe thought Buchanan was going to rape her, and feared he would "hurt, maybe kill [her]" if she did not "sexually please him." Trying to placate Buchanan, Doe responded, " 'Yeah. Sure. Anything. Just please don't hurt me.' " Until that point, Doe and Buchanan had not discussed any sexual acts, and Doe had not flirted with Buchanan. She did not tell Buchanan she had been raped. Doe did not want to perform oral sex on Buchanan, but she agreed, to distract him while she tried to escape.

Doe could not find a door handle, so she "tinkered with the automatic window switch." The window was partially open but it "didn't roll down." As Doe concentrated on pulling down the window, she tried to distract Buchanan by asking him questions. Buchanan became suspicious and yelled, " 'Are you planning something back there?' " Not sober enough to think of an excuse, Doe responded: " 'I'm trying to get the window down.' " Buchanan seemed angry. He said, " 'Don't you dare' " and reached for Doe. Doe began climbing through the window, and Buchanan grabbed her torso and legs.

*389Doe managed to climb through the window. She landed on a curb, on her knees and elbows. The van slowed to a stop, and Doe saw Buchanan's face through the driver-side window. He had a "displeased" expression. Doe screamed for help, and Buchanan drove off. Doe was in the van for a total of 30 minutes.

A neighbor heard Doe repeatedly scream " 'Help me, help me' " in a desperate voice. The neighbor ran outside and saw Doe sitting in a driveway across the street. He approached her. Doe-terrified-asked, " 'Are you going to rape me?' " After the neighbor assured Doe he would help her, Doe said "her Uber driver had tried to rape her" and "was going to make her suck his dick." Another neighbor-who had also heard the screams-called 911.

C. Police Investigation

When the police arrived, Doe was panicked. She seemed intoxicated and was jittery but did not appear to be under the influence of drugs. Doe told the police she was in a minivan, and that the driver *806refused to let her leave "unless she orally copulated him." Doe said she escaped but that her phone was in the van. She gave the police a description matching Buchanan. Later that morning, the police apprehended Buchanan, and Doe identified him in an in-field show-up.

In Buchanan's van, police found Doe's phone, suspected methamphetamine, and a pipe with burn marks and residue. There was an unused condom on the floor between the driver and passenger seats. During the incident, Buchanan was wearing a GPS monitor.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
251 Cal. Rptr. 3d 803, 39 Cal. App. 5th 385, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-buchanan-calctapp5d-2019.