People v. Garcia CA6

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 11, 2021
DocketH047402
StatusUnpublished

This text of People v. Garcia CA6 (People v. Garcia CA6) 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. Garcia CA6, (Cal. Ct. App. 2021).

Opinion

Filed 5/11/21 P. v. Garcia CA6 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

SIXTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

THE PEOPLE, H047402 (Santa Clara County Plaintiff and Respondent, Super. Ct. No. 215526)

v.

VICTOR GARCIA,

Defendant and Appellant.

Appellant Victor Garcia appeals a trial court order in which the court found Garcia had violated his postrelease community supervision (PRCS) and required him to serve 180 days in the county jail. For the reasons explained below, we affirm the order. I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND A. Procedural Background On January 14, 2016, Garcia pleaded no contest to one count of false imprisonment (Pen. Code, §§ 236, 2371). He admitted one prior strike. On May 13, 2016, the trial court sentenced him to 32 months in prison with credit for time served, placed him on PRCS, and ordered him to report to the “Department of Parole” in San Jose.

1 Unspecified statutory references are to the Penal Code. On June 29, 2016, the probation department, which was the entity supervising Garcia on PRCS, filed a petition for revocation (§§ 3455, 1230.2) in which it alleged that Garcia had failed to report as ordered by the trial court and requested that the trial court revoke his PRCS. At a hearing on October 24, 2016, Garcia admitted on the record that he had violated his PRCS. The trial court sentenced him to 13 days in jail for the violation, gave him credit for time served, and reinstated and modified his PRCS. The trial court ordered Garcia to report back to his supervising officer within two days, and Garcia told the court that he understood the order. On November 30, 2016, the probation department filed a second petition for revocation, alleging that Garcia had violated several terms and conditions of his PRCS, including by failing to report and maintain contact with the probation department. The probation department recommended that Garcia’s PRCS be revoked and a bench warrant be issued. On December 5, 2016, the trial court found the allegations supported by probable cause. Garcia did not appear for a hearing on the alleged PRCS violations until 2019. In July 2019, Garcia was arraigned on the alleged violations. At a subsequent hearing on July 30, 2019, Garcia denied he had violated his PRCS in 2016. On August 12, 2019, Garcia appeared with his appointed attorney for a formal violation hearing (§ 1203.2, subd. (b)(1)). Shortly after the matter was called by the trial court, Garcia asked the trial court to appoint another attorney to represent him, and the trial court held a Marsden hearing on Garcia’s request.2 After hearing from Garcia and his counsel, the trial court denied Garcia’s Marsden motion. Following the conclusion of the Marsden hearing, the trial court proceeded with the formal violation hearing.

2 People v. Marsden (1970) 2 Cal.3d 118. 2 B. Evidence Presented at the August 12, 2019 Violation Hearing 1. Prosecution Evidence Valdemar da Rocha, a probation officer with the Santa Clara County Probation Department, testified. Officer da Rocha stated that Garcia was transferred to his supervision in late October 2016. After receiving the transfer, da Rocha had reviewed the prior probation officer’s entries or notes and learned that Garcia had previously violated his PRCS for failing to report. Officer da Rocha also learned that Garcia’s next appointment with a probation officer was scheduled for November 9, 2016. On November 9, 2016, Garcia did not report in person to da Rocha. Officer da Rocha stated that Garcia had left “several messages” to a “previous PO and second probation officer’s voicemail indicating he wasn’t going to be able to make it on the 9th and he eventually left one on my voicemail.” Garcia indicated in his message to da Rocha, as well as to the other probation officer, that he could not make the appointment because of a “medical emergency.” Garcia did not provide da Rocha with any contact information. Although Garcia had stated he “was in the hospital,” he did not leave any information about the hospital. On November 14, 2016, Garcia called Officer da Rocha, and they spoke on the phone. This conversation was the only time that Garcia and da Rocha ever spoke. Garcia gave da Rocha the name of the hospital and room number, and da Rocha told Garcia he would meet him at the hospital. Officer da Rocha testified that in their conversation Garcia did not express confusion about why he had to call da Rocha. Officer da Rocha informed Garcia that “it was his responsibility to maintain contact with me and to notify me of any changes in his contact information.” Garcia did not challenge da Rocha’s statement. On November 15, 2016, before they could meet at the hospital, Garcia called Officer da Rocha and left him a voicemail to tell him he had been discharged. Garcia left another voicemail message on November 18, 2016, “indicating that he was going to try to 3 contact [da Rocha] at a later time to set up an appointment.” However, da Rocha never heard from Garcia. Officer da Rocha filed a petition for revocation. Following the filing of the petition, Garcia did not contact either da Rocha or anyone else at the probation department. During Officer da Rocha’s testimony, the prosecution marked for identification the petition for revocation filed on November 30, 2016, which the prosecution described as including an attachment labeled “ ‘Special Conditions of Post-Release Community Supervision.’ ” The prosecution requested that the trial court admit three pages titled “ ‘Special Conditions of Post-Release Supervision’ ” (hereafter Exhibit 1 or PRCS conditions). After defense counsel confirmed he had no objection to admission of the exhibit, the trial court admitted Exhibit 1 into evidence.3 2. Defense Evidence Garcia testified in his own defense. Garcia acknowledged that he had previously been in court for a PRCS violation, but he was not sure of the date. When questioned

3 The record on appeal does not include a copy of this document, but there is no dispute Garcia signed it. Although the trial court prepared a settled statement about the exhibit admitted into evidence at the hearing in response to an order from this court, the settled statement does not include a document matching the description of Exhibit 1. According to the settled statement, “[d]uring the hearing [on August 12, 2019], an Exhibit was marked as #1 and the first three pages of it were admitted into evidence” and “[a]t the conclusion of the hearing the Exhibit was returned to the party that produced it and the court did not keep a copy” (italics added). The settled record attaches three pages that consist of the petition for revocation filed on November 30, 2016, by Officer da Rocha (petition) and two attachments to the petition on Judicial Council Form MC-025. By contrast, the reporter’s transcript for the August 12, 2019 hearing does not reflect that the first three pages of the marked exhibit were admitted into evidence. Rather, the prosecution requested the trial court mark a copy of the petition which was “many pages thick” and stated “[i]n the middle of it there is a document called ‘Special Conditions of Post-Release Community Supervision’ ” that had “a signature of Victor Garcia and a probation officer explaining the terms and conditions of PRCS.” It was that three-page document—not that first three pages of the petition— that was then admitted into evidence. While we note this anomaly between the reporter’s transcript and the settled statement, it has no material impact on our analysis here.

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Bluebook (online)
People v. Garcia CA6, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-garcia-ca6-calctapp-2021.