People v. Flores CA2/3

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 19, 2013
DocketB240862
StatusUnpublished

This text of People v. Flores CA2/3 (People v. Flores CA2/3) 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. Flores CA2/3, (Cal. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

Filed 12/19/13 P. v. Flores CA2/3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 THREE

THE PEOPLE, B240862

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BA306631) v.

EDUARDO LALO FLORES,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Jose I. Sandoval, Judge. Vacated in part and remanded, otherwise affirmed.

Elana Goldstein, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Assistant Attorney General, Steven E. Mercer and Alene M. Games, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. Defendant and appellant Eduardo Lalo Flores appeals from the judgment entered following a jury trial that resulted in his convictions for three counts of custodial possession of a weapon. He was sentenced to a term of 10 years in prison. Flores contends the trial court abused its discretion by failing to sua sponte order a third competency hearing prior to sentencing; evidence suggested he may have been incompetent during trial; he was deprived of a trial on various prior conviction allegations; and his custody credits were improperly calculated. Flores also requests that we review the sealed record of the trial court’s Pitchess1 examination of police personnel records to determine whether the court abused its discretion by failing to order disclosure. (People v. Mooc (2001) 26 Cal.4th 1216.) We affirm the judgment of conviction, but vacate Flores’s sentence and remand for a trial on the prior conviction allegations and for resentencing. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND 1. Facts. On July 22, 2006, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies conducted a random cell search of Flores’s cell at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles. Under Flores’s bed, on a storage shelf, one of the deputies found a jail-made “sap,” a weighted striking device. The sap had been crafted from a prison-issued sock and seven bars of prison-issued soap. Flores’s personal property was also on the shelf. The deputies confiscated the sap and returned Flores and his cellmate to the cell. Five minutes later, the deputies returned to Flores’s cell. Flores appeared to be making another sap with a sock and bottles of lotion. When Flores saw the deputies, he grabbed a small razor blade from a desk in the cell and attempted to cut open the sap. Deputies had not observed the razor blade during the first search. On February 15, 2007, a deputy found a “shank,” a homemade stabbing instrument, in Flores’s cell under his mattress. The weapon was approximately four and one-half inches long and three quarters of an inch wide; it had a cloth handle and had

1 Pitchess v. Superior Court (1974) 11 Cal.3d 531.

2 been sharpened to a point. It was wrapped in plastic wrap, with a label indicating the wrap came from Flores’s “special diet” lunch. When subsequently asked why he had the shank, Flores replied, “ ‘You know.’ ” 2. Procedure. Trial was by jury. Flores was convicted of three counts2 of custodial possession of a weapon (Pen. Code, § 4502, subd. (a)).3 The trial court sentenced Flores to 10 years in prison. It imposed a restitution fine, a suspended parole restitution fine, a court security assessment, and a criminal conviction assessment. Flores appeals. DISCUSSION 1. Failure to order additional competency hearing. a. Additional facts. The jury rendered its verdicts on July 23, 2007. When Flores appeared for sentencing on November 2, 2007, defense counsel declared a doubt as to Flores’s competence based on the fact that competency proceedings were pending in an unrelated case, No. TA090293. The trial court suspended proceedings in the instant matter until December 10, 2007. On December 10, 2007, the trial court observed that Flores had been found incompetent in case No. TA090293 and had been committed to Patton State Hospital. The court reviewed psychiatric evaluations of Flores by Drs. Marshall S. Cherkas and Robert M. Brook, conducted in regard to case No. TA090293. Both doctors had concluded Flores was incompetent to stand trial.4 Accordingly, the trial court found Flores incompetent.

2 The jury deadlocked on a fourth count of custodial possession of a weapon, and the trial court declared a mistrial on that count. 3 All further undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code. 4 Dr. Cherkas interviewed Flores on August 18, 2007 and concluded he was “obviously psychotic with paranoid ideation.” Flores told Dr. Cherkas that he “hears voices at times and sees shadows.” Cherkas concluded that Flores “really doesn’t know

3 On September 8, 2008, the trial court reinstated proceedings after reviewing a report from the Department of Mental Health that concluded Flores had been restored to competency. Sentencing was scheduled for October 15, 2008. On October 15, 2008, defense counsel again declared a doubt about Flores’s competence, explaining that Flores was refusing to take his medications or come into the courtroom. Counsel averred that Flores was “not stable” and was “a danger to himself.” The trial court suspended proceedings and ordered that Flores be re-examined. In December 2008, Dr. Cherkas concluded Flores was marginally competent. However, the court found the doctor’s report inconclusive and ordered preparation of a supplemental report. Dr. Cherkas reinterviewed Flores on January 17, 2009, concluded he was not competent, and recommended Flores be referred back to Patton State Hospital. Consequently, on March 4, 2009 the trial court found Flores incompetent. A June 2010 update from Patton State Hospital stated that Flores was still incompetent.5 On August 6, 2010, the trial court indicated it had received a new report from Patton State Hospital concluding Flores had been restored to competency. Defense counsel stated that Flores had no memory of being convicted and was confused as to why he was being sentenced. Flores also refused to come into the courtroom. The trial court found Flores mentally competent and reinstated criminal proceedings. Sentencing was scheduled for September 3, 2010.

what a judge’s job is, nor a jury” or “what a district attorney does.” Dr. Brook examined Flores on September 1, 2007, and determined that he suffered from a serious mental disorder, displayed “some cognitive distortion about the meaning of generally well- understood everyday events,” and had a history of psychiatric inpatient treatment, suicide attempts, and self-mutilation. 5 The report stated that Flores suffered from schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type, antisocial personality disorder, borderline intellectual functioning, and polysubstance dependence, and was taking three psychotropic medications.

4 On September 3, 2010, Flores, through counsel, indicated he had retained a new attorney. However, retained counsel was not present for unknown reasons, and Flores requested a Marsden hearing.6 After denying the Marsden motion, the trial court asked defense counsel whether he had spoken to Flores. Defense counsel stated he had, and Flores was “very lucid and he’s speaking rather intelligently,” which was “an improvement of what we’ve seen in the past.” The court opined, “His restoration to competency I think is made evident by his articulation today.” Defense counsel requested and was given a continuance in order to prepare a sentencing memorandum.

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People v. Flores CA2/3, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-flores-ca23-calctapp-2013.