People v. Calistro

218 Cal. Rptr. 3d 765, 12 Cal. App. 5th 387, 2017 Cal. App. LEXIS 509
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal, 5th District
DecidedJune 2, 2017
DocketF070176
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 218 Cal. Rptr. 3d 765 (People v. Calistro) 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. Calistro, 218 Cal. Rptr. 3d 765, 12 Cal. App. 5th 387, 2017 Cal. App. LEXIS 509 (Cal. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

KANE, Acting P.J.

*389Defendant David Martin Calistro raises four issues on appeal. He requests that we independently review the records reviewed by the *390trial court on his Pitchess motion1 and determine whether the trial court abused its discretion by not providing him access to more of those records. He also contends he was erroneously convicted under Penal Code section 666.5, subdivision (a)2 (hereafter § 666.5(a) ) and was erroneously *767convicted of both stealing a car and receiving the stolen property inside the car. Lastly, he contends the trial court should have stayed one of his terms pursuant to section 654. We vacate the sentence and remand for resentencing.

PROCEDURAL SUMMARY

On February 27, 2014, the Kern County District Attorney filed a complaint against defendant charging him with receiving a stolen vehicle (§ 496d, subd. (a) (hereafter § 496d(a)); count 1); unlawfully driving or taking a vehicle (Veh. Code, § 10851, subd. (a) (hereafter Veh. Code, § 10851(a) );3 count 2); receiving a stolen vehicle (§ 496d(a); count 3); possessing a burglary tool (§ 466; count 4, a misdemeanor); and driving with a suspended license (Veh. Code, § 14601.2, subd. (a) ; count 5, a misdemeanor). The complaint also alleged in connection with counts 1 through 3 that defendant had served a prior prison term (§ 667.5, subd. (b)) for a 2005 conviction under section 496d(a).

At the preliminary hearing on April 11, 2014, the trial court granted the prosecutor's motion to add a section 666.5(a) enhancement to count 1.

On April 16, 2014, the district attorney filed an information charging defendant with unlawfully driving or taking a vehicle, having been previously convicted of receiving a stolen vehicle (§ 666.5(a) ; count 1);4 receiving a stolen vehicle (§ 496d(a); count 2); unlawfully driving or taking a vehicle (Veh. Code, § 10851(a) ; count 3); receiving stolen property (§ 496, subd. (a) (hereafter § 496(a)); count 4); possessing a burglary tool (§ 466; count 5, a misdemeanor); and driving with a suspended license (Veh. Code, § 14601.2, subd. (a) ; count 6, a misdemeanor). The information also alleged in connection with counts 1 through 4 that defendant had served a prior prison term (§ 667.5, subd. (b)) for a 2005 conviction under section 496d(a).

*391On April 30, 2014, defendant made a Pitchess motion requesting disclosure of personnel records relevant to Bakersfield Police Officer Tiffany Beltran's dishonesty. On May 27, 2014, the trial court conducted an in camera hearing and ordered some records disclosed.

On August 18, 2014, defendant pled no contest to driving with a suspended license (Veh. Code, § 14601.2, subd. (a) ; count 6, a misdemeanor). He also admitted the prior prison term allegation (§ 667.5, subd. (b)) connected to counts 1 through 4. The trial court explained that the allegation would add a year to any sentence he received, and it would also increase the penalty range for a section 666.5(a) conviction from 16 months/two years/three years to two years/three years/four years. Defendant stated he understood he was admitting the allegation was true.

Defendant went to trial on the remaining charges. Before the verdict forms were submitted to the jury, the counts were renumbered as follows: count 1 was renumbered to count 5; count 2 was renumbered to count 1; count 3 was renumbered to count 2; count 4 was renumbered to count 3; and count 5 was renumbered to count 4. The jury returned guilty verdicts on unlawfully driving or taking a vehicle (Veh. Code, § 10851(a) ; count 2); receiving stolen property (§ 496(a); count 3); and possessing a burglary instrument (§ 466; count 4, a misdemeanor). No verdict form on the section 666.5(a) charge (count 5) was submitted to the jury, and the jury *768was not polled on any findings related to this charge.

The trial court sentenced defendant to four years in prison as follows: three years on the section 666.5(a) conviction (count 5); two years on the Vehicle Code section 10851(a) conviction, to be stayed pursuant to section 654 (count 2);5 two concurrent years on the section 496(a) conviction (count 3); and one year for the prior prison term enhancement (§ 667.5, subd. (b)).

FACTS

On February 24, 2014, at about 9:30 p.m., Peter B. was in his upstairs apartment on either Lincoln Avenue or Lincoln Street in Bakersfield6 when he heard his car start in the parking space below him. He heard the car take off, and when he reached his balcony, he saw his Honda Accord going north down the alley. He could not see who was driving because the car's windows *392were tinted. He had locked the car, leaving his wallet inside. His wallet contained his driver's license, bank cards, and CalFresh card. His child's cell phone was also in the car. He had not given anyone permission to take his car, his wallet, or his wallet's contents. He jumped into another car and drove around looking for his car for about an hour. Meanwhile, his mother-in-law called the police.

About five hours later, at around 2:30 a.m., Kern County Sheriff's Deputy Lorena Morales approached a Honda Accord at a 7-Eleven store at the corner of Chester and Day Avenues, less than five miles from Peter's apartment.7 Defendant was sitting in the driver's seat and the car was turned off. It was parked near a gas pump, but gas was not being pumped. Deputy Morales searched defendant and found credit cards in his pockets, all of them bearing Peter's name.8 An Acura key was in the car's ignition. The key was a shaved key, made to fit many vehicles and commonly used to steal vehicles. At this point, Deputy Morales turned the investigation over to the police.

When Officer Beltran arrived, defendant was seated in the back of a deputy's patrol vehicle. The Honda Accord was still parked at a gas pump. Deputy Morales gave Officer Beltran the shaved Acura key and the three cards bearing Peter's name. Officer Beltran explained that shaved keys can sometimes start older model Hondas. When Officer Beltran searched the car, she found a wallet containing Peter's driver's license and also a cell phone, both on the front passenger seat. She read defendant his Miranda9 rights and he agreed to talk. He said the car belonged to his friend, Ben. He would not give Ben's last name. Defendant said he had borrowed the car from Ben in Alta Vista a few hours earlier and he drove it until it ran out of gas at the 7-Eleven. Officer Beltran asked *769him to whom the credit cards belonged. He said, "[T]he owner of the car, I guess."

Defense Evidence

Defendant testified on his own behalf. He said he was 29 years old and had lived in Bakersfield his whole life. He rented an apartment and had a job. He was making payments on his own vehicle.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
218 Cal. Rptr. 3d 765, 12 Cal. App. 5th 387, 2017 Cal. App. LEXIS 509, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-calistro-calctapp5d-2017.