People v. HUI SUN

68 Cal. Rptr. 3d 610, 157 Cal. App. 4th 277, 2007 Cal. App. LEXIS 1952
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 28, 2007
DocketB194690
StatusPublished

This text of 68 Cal. Rptr. 3d 610 (People v. HUI SUN) 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. HUI SUN, 68 Cal. Rptr. 3d 610, 157 Cal. App. 4th 277, 2007 Cal. App. LEXIS 1952 (Cal. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

68 Cal.Rptr.3d 610 (2007)
157 Cal.App.4th 277

The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
HUI SUN, Defendant and Appellant.

No. B194690.

Court of Appeal of California, Second District, Division Four.

November 28, 2007.

*611 Eric R. Larson, San Diego, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Pamela C. Hamanaka, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Steven D. Matthews, Supervising Attorney General and Ryan B. McCarroll, Deputy Attorney General for Plaintiff and Respondent.

Certified for Partial Publication.[*]

MANELLA, J.

Appellant Hui Sun, convicted of one count of second degree murder and one count of attempted murder, appeals his convictions and aspects of his sentence, contending: (1) prosecutorial misconduct influenced the jury's decision to convict him of murder rather than manslaughter; (2) the trial court erred in imposing and staying rather than striking various sentence enhancements; (3) the court erred in failing to award presentence custody credits for time appellant—who attempted suicide after shooting his two victims—spent in the hospital prior to his arrest; (4) the court erred in failing to award an extra day of credit for 2004, a leap year; and (5) the abstract of judgment contains numerous errors, including failure to award any presentence custody credits and miscalculation of the sentence. Respondent concedes the latter two points.

We conclude first, that although the prosecutor misstated the law in closing argument, the court correctly handled the situation by admonishing the jury to follow the instructions rather than counsel's argument. Second, the enhancement imposed under Penal Code section 12022.7, subdivision (e) should have been stricken.[1] Third, appellant was not entitled to presentence custody credits prior to his arrest. Accordingly, we reverse in part and remand for the section 12022.7, subdivision (e) enhancement to be stricken, for the *612 extra day to be credited, and for the errors in the abstract of judgment to be corrected.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

I

Information

Appellant was charged by information with the murder of his mother-in-law, Ai Guo (count one), and the attempted willful, deliberate, premeditated murder of his wife, Jie Xu (count two). With respect to both counts, it was further alleged that appellant personally and intentionally discharged a firearm which caused great bodily injury within the meaning of Penal Code section 12022.53, subdivision (d); that he personally and intentionally discharged a firearm within the meaning of section 12022.53, subdivision (c); and that he personally used a firearm within the meaning of section 12022.53, subdivision (b). With respect to count two, it was alleged that appellant personally inflicted great bodily injury upon Xu under circumstances involving domestic violence within the meaning of section 12022.7, subdivision (e).[2]

II

Verdict and Sentencing

Appellant was tried twice. In the first trial, the jury acquitted him of first degree murder on count one, but deadlocked over whether he was guilty of second degree murder or voluntary manslaughter. The jury was also deadlocked on count two, split between attempted murder and attempted voluntary manslaughter.

At the second trial, the jury found appellant guilty of second degree murder and attempted willful, deliberate, premeditated murder. The second jury also found all the special allegations true.

The court sentenced appellant to 72 years to life in prison calculated as follows: For count one (second degree murder) the court sentenced appellant to 15 years to life, plus 25 years to life for the section 12022.53, subdivision (d) enhancement, for a total of 40 years to life. For count two (attempted willful, deliberate, premeditated murder) the court sentenced appellant to a consecutive term of life in prison with the possibility of parole with a mandatory minimum of 7 years, plus 25 years to life for the section 12022.53, subdivision (d) enhancement, for a total of 32 years to life. The court imposed and stayed sentence on the remaining enhancements.

III

Evidence at Trial

A. Prosecution Evidence

According to witnesses who testified for the prosecution at trial, appellant was born in China, where he served in the military and in 1997, married Jie Xu.[3] Appellant and Jie came to the United States in 1998. They lived in an apartment in Alhambra and had two children. Jie's parents, Ai Guo and Qing Xu, came from China to live with them in 2000 and 2002 respectively.[4]

*613 In September 2003, Jie discovered that appellant was having an affair. She said she wanted a divorce, and appellant agreed. Between September and December 2003, appellant moved in and out of the apartment, staying away for a few days each time. During the times he was at the apartment, he slept in the living room.

According to Jie, appellant had an "explosive" temper. In 1999, when Jie was pregnant, he kicked her. Qing sometimes heard appellant and Jie arguing, and once observed an injury on Jie's wrist.

In December 2003, during an argument over money, appellant kicked Jie's leg and hit her in the face. He also took one of the guns out of his gun locker, but did not directly threaten her with it.[5] Jie called the police, but did not tell them appellant had struck her because she was concerned about getting him in trouble due to his immigration status.[6] Jie called the police on two other occasions in December 2003. On the first, appellant had called her from outside the apartment and asked her to come talk to him. Jie felt apprehensive about meeting him alone. Jie called police on the second occasion because appellant had taken Jie's passport and the passport of one of their children.

Jia Xiang Wang, appellant's co-worker, testified that on December 24, 2003, appellant asked him for help following someone. Appellant did not say who. Wang, driving his own car, followed appellant to a location in Chinatown where they both parked and waited for approximately three hours. Appellant then told Wang to leave. Police officers later ascertained that the location where appellant and Wang parked that day was one block from Jie's place of employment.

On December 27, 2003, Jie was out shopping with Guo and the children. Appellant called and told her to come home because he had cooked dinner. When everyone arrived and sat down to eat, appellant poured himself half a glass of Chinese wine, apologized to Jie's parents, and drank some or all of the alcohol. Appellant next apologized to Jie, made a toast to their reconciliation, and drank another glass or half glass of the alcoholic beverage. Jie's parents and the children left the room so that Jie and appellant could be alone. Appellant seemed calm. He did not appear intoxicated. Appellant asked Jie to reconcile, but she refused, saying "[her] heart ha[d] died." She suggested that they give each other some time and space. Appellant had tears in his eyes.

Jie left the table and went into her parents' bedroom. Appellant followed. He still seemed calm. Guo, who was in the bedroom at the time, suggested that appellant give Jie some time to think things over.[7] Appellant walked into the bedroom he and Jie had shared, and Jie followed. When she got there, appellant was holding a gun in his right hand, behind his back.

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Bluebook (online)
68 Cal. Rptr. 3d 610, 157 Cal. App. 4th 277, 2007 Cal. App. LEXIS 1952, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-hui-sun-calctapp-2007.