People v. Gragg

216 Cal. App. 3d 32, 264 Cal. Rptr. 765, 1989 Cal. App. LEXIS 1217
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 29, 1989
DocketB027169
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 216 Cal. App. 3d 32 (People v. Gragg) 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. Gragg, 216 Cal. App. 3d 32, 264 Cal. Rptr. 765, 1989 Cal. App. LEXIS 1217 (Cal. Ct. App. 1989).

Opinion

Opinion

SUTTON, J. *

Defendant Richard Gragg (Gragg) was charged with attempted murder in two counts of a three-count information, originally with three other codefendants who were Sociz John Junatanov (Johnny); Georgeanna Vieweg (Vieweg); and Asror Junatanov (Oscar). Gragg was convicted in count I (the restaurant incident) of the lesser included offense of attempted voluntary manslaughter. Gragg was acquitted in count II (the hospital incident). He was not charged as a defendant in count III.

The claim of error Gragg makes concerns the asserted refusal of the trial court to give an instruction to the jury to the effect the crime of assault with a deadly weapon was a lesser related offense and the additional claim is made that the court erred in imposing the upper term sentence on Gragg in violation of certain of the sentencing rules embodied in the California Rules of Court, rules 401 through 453.

Judgment is affirmed.

The facts of this case are bizarre. The literary talents of Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and James M. Cain, in collaboration, would have been hard put to devise any more sordid or outlandish plot than the record here reveals. This case is a raw slice-of-life that exposes the seamier underside of the Hollywood Boulevard street-people subculture.

*36 The victim is Albert Junatanov (Junatanov), the father of Johnny and Oscar. The record exposes Junatanov as an extremely unsavory person who, by the testimony of supposedly unbiased witnesses, at various times was involved in prostitution, drug trafficking, drug use, and gambling. Junatanov used several aliases, was said to be paranoid, and was subject to attacking people violently upon little or no provocation.

Junatanov subjected his sons Johnny and Oscar, his wife Firuz Junatanov, and his mother-in-law Maria Pinhasova to a course of physical and sexual abuse for some 20 years before the attempt that was made upon his life. He also subjected his family to economic exploitation, death threats, and psychological humiliation. The trial court was prompted to remark in passing sentence on Gragg that Junatanov “was probably one of the most despicable people” the court had ever seen.

In early 1985, because he perceived “there were too many enemies around,” Junatanov rented a truck, closed his restaurant on the east coast, moved his family and restaurant equipment west, and rented a place on Hollywood Boulevard to open a restaurant called “The London-New York Shawarama Restaurant.” Junatanov leased the building where the restaurant was located in the names of Johnny and Oscar because Junatanov felt when he got into trouble (as he presumably anticipated he would) he did not want people to think he had any assets, should they sue him.

After the restaurant opened, one Danny Solorzano (Solorzano), a pimp for two young female prostitutes, heard that Junatanov “worked for the Mafia” and sought out Junatanov’s “protection.” Junatanov gave Solorzano room and board for doing odd jobs around the restaurant. The Junatanov family resided in living quarters above the London-New York Shawarama Restaurant.

Solorzano testified at the trial under grant of derivative use immunity. Solorzano once observed Junatanov administer a beating to Oscar for Oscar’s failure to add salt to a batch of bread Oscar was baking for the restaurant. The day following this incident, Solorzano discussed with Johnny and Oscar a plan to kill Junatanov. Johnny offered Solorzano $5,000 to kill his father. Solorzano declined to do so, personally, but stated he could find someone else to do it. At this point, a street person named “Mousey” steered Solorzano to the defendant Gragg and Solorzano discussed with Gragg the proposed slaying of Junatanov for a price. Gragg was then age 25, and Vieweg, who had accompanied him to Hollywood from Oklahoma, was age 17. Gragg and Vieweg had been variously living in motel rooms or sleeping in Gragg’s car. Gragg’s father was a sergeant on the Tulsa, *37 Oklahoma police force and at this point in his life Gragg’s only prior record consisted of minor traffic offenses incurred in Oklahoma.

Gragg agreed to kill Junatanov for payment of $3,000, due following Junatanov’s assassination. Some divergency in the evidence occurred concerning the next events. One version had it that Gragg, knife in hand, was lying in wait in the alley behind the restaurant one night at closing time, waiting for Junatanov to emerge. However, Junatanov, upon exiting the restaurant, saw Gragg “with something in his hand” and quickly reentered the restaurant, thus foiling the attempt on his life that could have been made at that time.

On July 20, 1985, about 11:30 a.m., Gragg went to the London-New York Shawarama Restaurant, purchased a soft drink, got a dollar changed, and went to the rear of the restaurant where there was an arcade of video games and pinball machines. Gragg either lost or pretended to lose a quarter in one of the machines and asked Johnny how he could get his quarter back. At this point, Johnny had not previously met Gragg.

Junatanov was summoned to the rear of the restaurant and was confronted by Gragg about the loss of the quarter. Junatanov grabbed Gragg by the hair and slammed his head against the wall. Gragg stabbed Junatanov once in the abdomen and fled. At the trial, Gragg did not testify but a taped statement given by Gragg after his arrest was played on a tape recorder. It was intimated Gragg was acting in self-defense. Junatanov testified he had recognized Gragg from the previous encounter in the alley and that Junatanov perceived Gragg to be an assailant. Whatever the circumstance, Junatanov’s liver was lacerated by the stab wound and he was taken to the Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital suffering internal bleeding. He had a convulsion while awaiting treatment in the emergency room at the hospital. Emergency surgery was performed at the hospital to repair Junatanov’s liver.

Gragg was refused payment by Johnny because Junatanov had not died. Later, Johnny reported to Solorzano the hospital had advised Johnny that Junatanov would be confined in the hospital for the next two or three days. Johnny suggested Gragg should be shot for botching the job. It was decided Gragg would be given “another chance” after Gragg reaffirmed he still wanted to do the job.

Two days following the emergency surgery, Junatanov awakened in his hospital bed to see Gragg standing beside him. Junatanov shouted and Gragg ran from the room. Junatanov stated he had seen something in *38 Gragg’s hand—Gragg later told Solorzano he had carried a knife into the hospital room but had run from the room when Junatanov started shouting.

Following this, Johnny arranged for Junatanov to be moved to another room in the hospital. Johnny slept overnight in the new room with Junatanov after assuring Junatanov “we will save you—no one will be able to kill you.”

Vieweg had arrived in Hollywood with Gragg sometime around July 13, 1985, and since their arrival had stayed with him at the Hollywood-La Brea Hotel. She hailed Gragg in his car from the street one afternoon, noticing Gragg had gotten a haircut and new clothes. Gragg had told her he had gotten a job.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
216 Cal. App. 3d 32, 264 Cal. Rptr. 765, 1989 Cal. App. LEXIS 1217, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-gragg-calctapp-1989.