People v. Jimenez

243 Cal. Rptr. 3d 786, 32 Cal. App. 5th 409
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal, 5th District
DecidedFebruary 21, 2019
DocketD073313
StatusPublished
Cited by35 cases

This text of 243 Cal. Rptr. 3d 786 (People v. Jimenez) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal, 5th District primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Jimenez, 243 Cal. Rptr. 3d 786, 32 Cal. App. 5th 409 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

GUERRERO, J.

*412Jose Antonio Jimenez led peace officers on a high-speed chase with his four- and six-year-old daughters in the car. At one point during the pursuit, he drove straight toward a patrol vehicle in an apparent game of chicken. The deputies were forced to veer out of the way at the last moment to avoid collision. After a jury trial, the court sentenced Jimenez to a total term of 13 years, four months. On appeal, Jimenez contends the prosecution's failure to disclose a purportedly exculpatory police report violates *413Brady v. Maryland (1963) 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 ( Brady ), and the trial court's denial of his motion for a new trial based on that newly discovered evidence was reversible error. He also contends the imposition of separate punishments for the counts of assault and evasion of a peace officer violates Penal Code section 654.1 We reject these claims but conclude Jimenez is entitled to remand for resentencing to allow the trial court to exercise its discretion to determine whether to strike the five-year enhancement imposed under sections 667, subdivision (a)(1) and 1385, which were amended after Jimenez's sentencing, effective January 1, 2019. In all other respects, we affirm.

BACKGROUND

A. Charges

Jimenez was charged with assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer (count 1, Pen. Code, § 245, subd. (c) ), two counts of felony child abuse (counts 2, 3; Pen. Code, § 273a, subd (a) ), and evading a peace officer with reckless driving (count 4, Veh. Code, § 2800.2, subd. (a) ). The information alleged he had two prison prior convictions ( Pen. Code, §§ 667.5, subd. (b), 668 ), one prior serious felony conviction ( Pen. Code, §§ 667, subd. (a)(1), 668, 1192.7, subd. (c) ), and one prior strike conviction ( Pen. Code, §§ 667, subd. (b) - (i), 668, 1170.12 ).

B. Jury Trial

A total of four deputies of the Fallbrook station of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department were involved in the incident. Deputies F. and B. were in one vehicle, and Deputies P. and A. were in a second vehicle. At the time of the incident, Deputy A. was Deputy P.'s training officer and remained his training officer for a total *792duration of approximately two weeks. At trial, the prosecution elicited testimony from three of the deputies.2

On March 22, 2017, Deputies F. and B. were driving a marked patrol car and recognized Jimenez, who had an active felony no bail warrant for his arrest for a probation violation. The deputies activated the patrol car's lights and sirens and attempted to conduct a traffic stop. Although Jimenez initially pulled into a parking lot, he did not stop; instead, he pulled into traffic on a busy street without yielding, causing another car to brake suddenly to avoid collision. He led the deputies on a high-speed pursuit, accelerating to 50 and 55 miles per hour on streets with speed limits of 25 and 35 miles per hour, *414speeding through numerous intersections and stop signs without slowing or stopping, again requiring another vehicle to slam its brakes to avoid a collision. At one point, he was speeding so fast that he was able to "catch air" after coming to a dip in the road.

A second patrol vehicle, a marked SUV driven by Deputy P., attempted to assist during the pursuit but was unable to catch up. Deputy A. was a passenger in that second patrol vehicle. Deputy P. was able to see the vehicles driven by Jimenez and Deputy F. for about one-third to one-half of the pursuit, but then lost sight of them. He took an alternate route and tried to rejoin the pursuit based on information received from dispatch regarding Jimenez's location. As Deputy P. was traveling with lights and sirens activated, he saw Jimenez turn a corner and approach the SUV from the opposite direction. Although there was room for two vehicles to travel down the street without colliding, Jimenez drove into the opposing lane of traffic where the patrol SUV was driving. All three testifying deputies opined that Jimenez was driving approximately 40 miles per hour when his vehicle approached the SUV. The SUV had to swerve out of the way at the last moment to avoid a head-on collision. Deputy P. testified that they were three to four feet apart when he made this maneuver, whereas Deputy A. said they were about five to six feet away.

Eventually, Jimenez stopped abruptly in front of an apartment building. With no time to stop completely, the pursuing patrol car driven by Deputy F. collided with Jimenez's vehicle. Jimenez fled his vehicle but then turned after taking about 15 steps and informed deputies that his children were in the car. His daughters, ages four and six, were found in the front seat. There were no boosters or child seats in the vehicle. Deputies P. and A. spoke with the girls, who appeared upset. Both girls said they were scared.

Deputies found an open can of beer in the front center console area, about three-quarters full, and two other unopened cans of beer in the back seats. The prosecution introduced photographs depicting damage to the front of the patrol car and the rear bumper of Jimenez's vehicle sustained in the collision at the end of the pursuit. The photographs depicted dirt and mud on the patrol car that deputies testified was deposited during the pursuit when they followed Jimenez's vehicle through a large mud puddle.

In closing arguments to the jury, Jimenez's counsel emphasized that the only witnesses who testified at trial were the three deputies. Counsel questioned their credibility because they were the only witnesses to the charged offenses and were also victims in the charged evasion and assault. Counsel suggested the deputies' testimony was coordinated because of the similarities *793*415in their descriptions, and that they were biased because they "are all invested in the case. They are claiming that they are not just witnesses but a victim to an assault."

After an hour of deliberation, the jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts.

C. Postverdict Proceedings

At the sentencing hearing, Jimenez admitted he had two prison priors ( § 667.5, subd. (b) ), one prior serious felony conviction ( §§ 667, subd. (a)(1), 1192.7, subd. (c) ), and one prior strike conviction ( §§ 667, subd. (b) - (i), 1170.12 ).

Jimenez filed a motion to dismiss the strike allegation under People v. Superior Court (Romero ) (1996) 13 Cal.4th 497

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

People v. Garvey CA4/1
California Court of Appeal, 2026
People v. Dimmick CA1/5
California Court of Appeal, 2025
People v. Lopez CA5
California Court of Appeal, 2024
People v. Vital CA3
California Court of Appeal, 2024
People v. Quinn CA3
California Court of Appeal, 2024
People v. Reed CA5
California Court of Appeal, 2023
People v. Hernandez CA5
California Court of Appeal, 2023
People v. Hernandez CA2/7
California Court of Appeal, 2023
People v. Padilla CA5
California Court of Appeal, 2023
People v. Fuentes CA3
California Court of Appeal, 2022
People v. Deleoz
California Court of Appeal, 2022
People v. Field CA3
California Court of Appeal, 2022
People v. Johnson CA4/1
California Court of Appeal, 2022
People v. Byrket CA5
California Court of Appeal, 2021
In re L.J.
California Court of Appeal, 2021
People v. Yanez CA6
California Court of Appeal, 2021
People v. Hart CA1/5
California Court of Appeal, 2021
People v. Malear CA1/1
California Court of Appeal, 2021
People v. Tanks CA2/5
California Court of Appeal, 2021
People v. Bennett CA4/2
California Court of Appeal, 2021

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
243 Cal. Rptr. 3d 786, 32 Cal. App. 5th 409, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-jimenez-calctapp5d-2019.