People v. Hernandez CA3

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 20, 2024
DocketC086815
StatusUnpublished

This text of People v. Hernandez CA3 (People v. Hernandez 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. Hernandez CA3, (Cal. Ct. App. 2024).

Opinion

Filed 2/20/24 P. v. Hernandez CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 (Yolo) ----

THE PEOPLE, C086815

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. CRF140072)

v.

JOSEPH KALEIMANU HERNANDEZ et al.,

Defendants and Appellants.

In 2013, defendants Joseph Kaleimanu Hernandez, Joshua Anthony Givens, and Rakhem Romel Bradford went on a crime spree. Their conspiracy involved burgling residences in Davis, stealing electronic devices and other property from the residences, and selling the stolen property for money. They appeal from their convictions of conspiracy to commit burglary, conspiracy to receive stolen property, multiple counts of first-degree burglary and receiving stolen property, and other crimes.

1 Bradford contends insufficient evidence supports his conviction of conspiracy to commit burglary, as no evidence links him to the actual burglaries. Bradford and Givens contend the trial court committed prejudicial error by not instructing the jury to determine whether there was one or more than one conspiracy. They argue the remedy is to reverse both of their conspiracy convictions, which in turn would require we reverse their burglary convictions that were based on vicarious liability. Alternatively, they claim we should reverse one of their two conspiracy convictions. Hernandez asserts that insufficient evidence supports one of his burglary convictions. Each of the defendants raise various claims of sentencing error. Hernandez also contends that his ineligibility for a youth offender parole hearing due to a strike prior violates his rights to equal protection, and that his sentence constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. Finding instructional error, we reverse each defendant’s conviction of conspiracy to receive stolen property, but not their convictions of conspiracy to commit burglary. We also reverse one of Hernandez’s burglary convictions as not supported by substantial evidence. We otherwise affirm the judgments except to remand for a full resentencing for conformance with current sentencing laws.

FACTS AND HISTORY OF THE PROCEEDINGS The burglary spree occurred from July through December of 2013. We set forth the facts of the burglaries that are relevant to the issues raised on appeal.

1. Relationship between the defendants

Cell phone and Instagram data indicated that Hernandez and Bradford were associated with one another by late 2012. Givens was associated with the other two by spring of 2013. Beginning in May 2013, Hernandez offered electronic items for sale by text messages. Bradford posted an image of a MacBook computer for sale on Instagram

2 on July 15, 2013. He sold MacBooks and other electronic items on Instagram repeatedly. He also sold MacBook laptops and electronic items on Twitter. After the burglary spree had begun, Hernandez and Bradford exchanged messages about laptops and their sales. On August 21, 2013, Hernandez texted, “I got 15 and 13 inch 2010.” On the same day, Bradford e-mailed, “Wat gig is the iPad?” They exchanged other texts and messages that day about an iPad. Also that day, Bradford posted on Instagram a photo of an iPad and a MacBook laptop for sale. Hernandez and Bradford exchanged e-mails and texts regarding sales between October 29 and November 1, 2013. Among them was an e-mail on October 31, 2013, where Bradford asked Hernandez, “You unlocked all the Macs.” The next day, Bradford e-mailed Hernandez, “You gave Q 50.” Hernandez replied to Bradford by text: “I gave you the pad and you getting 50 cuz I was supposed to get 9. And what about the 8 tomorrow how we finna get that? Bro fuckin call me.”

2. Esther Kwon

Nahyun (Esther) Kwon started school at UC Davis in September of 2011. She met Hernandez in September 2013, and they quickly became friends. Hernandez did not have a car. Kwan had a red Hyundai Sonata. Hernandez asked Kwon for rides “all the time.” If they went together and out of town, he would drive. Around town, she would drive. On one trip, they picked up Bradford at his mother’s house in Pinole. Kwon became “so in love” with Hernandez that she “would do anything for him.” Hernandez, however, was also dating Summer O. He had relationships with other women during this time period.

3. Count 5: 831 Anderson Road

Rui C. lived at 831 Anderson. On July 11, 2013, Rui left home for a class at 7:30 a.m. Her silver 13-inch MacBook Pro laptop was on a counter, and her Canon Rebel T2i camera was by her bed. When Rui returned home around 1:30 p.m., her laptop, her

3 camera, and the camera’s strap were missing, as was her roommate’s watch. The sliding glass door was unlocked. Rui reported the theft to the police. Jim Cook, the prosecution’s expert witness on wireless technology, testified that at approximately 10:35 a.m. on July 11, 2013, Hernandez’s cell phone migrated toward 831 Anderson. The day after the burglary, pictures of a silver MacBook Pro laptop appeared on Hernandez’s iPhone. Hernandez texted pictures of the laptop from his phone as he tried to exchange it for marijuana. Rui testified that her MacBook looked exactly like the MacBook depicted on Hernandez’s phone, except that in those photos and unlike her MacBook, the MacBook’s camera was covered by a piece of paper. Rui did not recognize the log-in page depicted on the computer on Hernandez’s phone. It did not look like the log-in page that appeared when she turned on her MacBook. The log-in page from the computer on Hernandez’s phone appeared when something was stolen and the person used Find my iPhone or Find my iMac app to locate it. Rui did not have or use such an app. Two weeks later, a photo of a Cannon Rebel T3i camera appeared on Hernandez’s phone. In September 2013, additional photos of the Canon T3i camera with its strap around Hernandez’s neck appeared on Hernandez’s phone. The trial court found there was no evidence and no reasonable inference that the camera Hernandez displayed on his phone was Rui’s camera stolen from 831 Anderson.

4. Defendants move to 1801 Drexel Drive

Hernandez, Givens, and another person rented a home at 1801 Drexel Drive beginning in September 2013. They paid their rent late and always paid in cash. Kwon was frequently at 1801 Drexel, where she met Givens. Other roommates came and went. Bradford was not on the lease, but he was at the house about three or four times a week and slept in Givens’s room.

4 Hernandez, Givens, and Kwon broke into houses, apartments, and dorms, stole laptops, televisions, video game consoles, watches, and other goods, and brought them to 1801 Drexel. Around 30 TVs went through the house and were sold by the residents, with nine or 10 once being there at one time. On a number of occasions, Hernandez and Kwon went to the Bay Area to meet up with someone named Dame or Dane to sell the laptops. Hernandez told Kwon he estimated receiving about $500 for each laptop. Hernandez went by the nickname “Macintosh Manu” because he specialized in stealing and selling MacBooks. Frequently and on random occasions, Hernandez would point out to Kwon houses he had burgled. He often wore gloves and a black beanie when he burgled a house. Kwon also scouted possible burglary locations on her own, and she pitched some of her ideas to Hernandez. Breaking into houses was exciting and thrilling to her. She and Hernandez referred to themselves as Bonnie and Clyde.

5. Counts 6, 14, and 43: 1708 Drexel Drive

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People v. Hernandez CA3, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-hernandez-ca3-calctapp-2024.