People v. Fuller CA3

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 7, 2025
DocketC099595
StatusUnpublished

This text of People v. Fuller CA3 (People v. Fuller CA3) 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. Fuller CA3, (Cal. Ct. App. 2025).

Opinion

Filed 3/7/25 P. v. Fuller CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (San Joaquin) ----

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent, C099595

v. (Super. Ct. No. STKCRFECOD20200010153) AHMAD FULLER, SR.,

Defendant and Appellant.

A jury convicted defendant Ahmad Fuller, Sr., of robbery, kidnapping, making a criminal threat, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, carrying a loaded unregistered firearm in public, inflicting corporal injury upon the mother of his child, unlawful taking of a vehicle, contempt of court, possession of methamphetamine and a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of

1 methamphetamine for sale, and acquiring personal identifying information with the intent to defraud. The trial court sentenced him to an aggregate determinate prison term of 13 years eight months. On appeal, defendant contends (1) the trial court committed evidentiary error and violated defendant’s constitutional rights when it inadvertently sent his rap sheet into the jury deliberation room, (2) the foregoing error also violated the California Racial Justice Act of 2020 (Racial Justice Act), (3) the statutes prohibiting convicted felons from possessing firearms and ammunition violate the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, (4) the trial court erred in instructing the jury with CALCRIM No. 850 on the use of expert testimony regarding intimate partner battering, and (5) cumulative prejudice requires reversal. We conclude (1) defendant’s evidentiary and constitutional challenges pertaining to the rap sheet were not forfeited but he has not established reversible error on those grounds; (2) his Racial Justice Act claim is forfeited and his alternative assertion of ineffective assistance of counsel fails for lack of prejudice; (3) the Second Amendment does not prevent a conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm or ammunition by a convicted felon; (4) the trial court did not err in instructing with CALCRIM No. 850; and (5) there is no cumulative prejudice to assess. We will affirm the judgment. BACKGROUND Defendant and S.B. were involved in a romantic relationship for about seven years. They had one child together. The relationship ended about a year before the events giving rise to defendant’s convictions. In September 2020, in violation of a domestic violence restraining order, defendant followed S.B. through Stockton, tailgating her until she pulled over to see what he wanted. Defendant got out of his car and got into S.B.’s front passenger seat. He then placed a handgun under the passenger seat, adjusted another handgun that was in his

2 waist band, and told S.B. to drive. S.B. was afraid and followed his directions. Their first stop was a Bank of America in Stockton. At the bank, defendant asked S.B. how many debit or credit cards she had. S.B. said she had only one, even though she had several others in her back pocket. Defendant did not believe her and reached into her pocket to retrieve the other cards. S.B. tried to stop him, but he grabbed her by the neck, struck her multiple times, and took the cards and her car keys. He used one of the cards to withdraw money from the ATM. At defendant’s direction, S.B. drove him to several other locations, including another Bank of America in Manteca. At some point defendant told S.B. he was going to have her killed because she was the reason he had been locked up and was on probation. Eventually, S.B. said she needed to use a restroom. They drove to Walmart where S.B. locked herself in the restroom. Defendant left the store and drove away in S.B.’s car. Police arrested defendant about a week later. During defendant’s arrest, officers removed a loaded and operational 9-millimeter gun from his waistband. The gun had a polymer frame with no serial number, although the Glock 17 slide did have a serial number. Defendant also had four $200 Visa gift cards in his possession. When officers searched defendant’s motel room, they found various items of merchandise, including power tools still in their packaging that defendant had purchased from Home Depot using an Employment Development Department (EDD) debit card that did not belong to him. The room also contained driver’s licenses, social security cards, and EDD debit cards in the names of various people, as well as notebooks containing credit card numbers and personal identifying information. Defendant’s motel room also contained a digital scale and methamphetamine packaged for sale. Three jailhouse phone calls between defendant and S.B. indicated that defendant had dissuaded S.B. from testifying at trial, and S.B.’s prior statements were admitted into evidence for their truth. The statements were admitted through officer testimony and the admission of bodycam footage from the officer who spoke to S.B. in the Walmart

3 restroom. The jailhouse phone calls were also admitted into evidence to show consciousness of guilt. Additional background will be set forth in the discussion portion of this opinion as relevant to the contentions on appeal. DISCUSSION I Defendant contends we must reverse each of his convictions because the trial court committed evidentiary error and violated his constitutional rights by inadvertently sending his rap sheet into the jury deliberation room. The People argue defendant forfeited these claims and, in any event, the error does not require reversal. We decline to find forfeiture, but defendant’s constitutional rights were not violated by the error, and reversal is not required because defendant has not shown a reasonable probability of a more favorable result had the error not occurred. A S.B. did not testify at trial because defendant procured her unavailability as a witness. He did so by threatening her during three jailhouse phone calls. The People moved to admit her prior statements about defendant’s crimes under the doctrine of forfeiture by wrongdoing. During a hearing on the matter, which was held outside the presence of the jury, the People adduced testimony from the District Attorney’s investigator regarding the investigator’s efforts to obtain S.B.’s presence as a witness. Among other things, the investigator testified she obtained defendant’s rap sheet to show there was a pending case against him with the same victim. The rap sheet was marked as People’s Exhibit No. 66 (Exhibit 66) during the hearing. At the conclusion of the People’s case, Exhibit 66 was admitted into evidence. However, that exhibit was never intended to be given to the jury during deliberations. The jury began deliberations on June 1, 2021. Near the end of the next day, the jury sent the trial court a note indicating that it had reached a verdict on all but one count

4 and asking for guidance. The following morning, the trial court consulted with counsel regarding a response and also stated that the prosecutor had brought an issue to the trial court’s attention: Exhibit 66 had inadvertently been included in the exhibits given to the jury. The trial court indicated it would not remove Exhibit 66 from the deliberation room after the jury had indicated it had reached a verdict on 12 of the 13 counts, but it asked for defense counsel’s thoughts. Defense counsel stated that he “would like to find out if they even looked at it,” but added: “That’s an issue that can be addressed on appeal. I would like to find out if they ever looked at it. . . . If they had, if it had any impact on them. [¶] On the other hand, that is something that I can raise with the attorney on appeal, . . .

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People v. Fuller CA3, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-fuller-ca3-calctapp-2025.