People v. Labarr CA5

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 14, 2023
DocketF082622
StatusUnpublished

This text of People v. Labarr CA5 (People v. Labarr CA5) 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. Labarr CA5, (Cal. Ct. App. 2023).

Opinion

Filed 3/14/23 P. v. Labarr CA5

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

THE PEOPLE, F082622 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. F20905209) v.

PHILLIP EUGENE LABARR, OPINION Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Fresno County. Alvin M. Harrell III, Judge. Joshua L. Siegel, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Michael P. Farrell, Assistant Attorney General, Louis M. Vasquez, Amanda D. Cary, and Lewis A. Martinez, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. -ooOoo- INTRODUCTION Defendant Phillip Eugene Labarr attacked a homeless woman after inviting her into a trailer on his parents’ property. He was charged with attempted forcible rape (Pen. Code,1 §§ 261, subd. (a)(2), 664; count 1), battery causing serious bodily injury (§ 243, subd. (d); count 2), assault with intent to commit rape (§ 220, subd. (a)(1); count 3), criminal threats (§ 422; count 4), and sexual battery by restraint (§ 243.4, subd. (a); count 5). The first amended information also alleged defendant had suffered two prior “strike” convictions within the meaning of the Three Strikes law. (§§ 667, subds. (b)–(i), 1170.12, subds. (a)–(d)). A jury found defendant guilty of the charged offenses in counts 2 through 4. On counts 1 and 5, the jury found defendant not guilty of the charged offenses, but guilty on each count of the lesser included misdemeanor offense of assault (§ 240). Defendant subsequently admitted the prior strike convictions. The trial court sentenced defendant on each of counts 3 and 4 to consecutive terms of 25 years to life. On count 2, the court imposed and stayed, pursuant to section 654, an upper-term sentence of eight years. On counts 1 and 5, defendant was sentenced to county jail terms with time served. On appeal, defendant argues the trial court prejudicially erred in admitting evidence of his prior conviction for a sexual offense pursuant to Evidence Code section 1108. He also asks this court to review in camera the victim’s mental health records, which the trial court reviewed and determined were not discoverable by the defense for use at trial. To the extent the court erred in declining to disclose the victim’s mental health records, he argues cumulative prejudice. He additionally contends his convictions on counts 1 and 5 must be reversed because they are necessarily included within his conviction on count 3, a point which the People concede. Finally, he raises several challenges to the sentence, arguing: (1) the court had unrecognized discretion to sentence

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.

2. him to concurrent terms on counts 3 and 4 and erred in imposing consecutive terms; (2) the upper-term sentence on count 2 is unauthorized under section 1170, subdivision (b), as amended by Senate Bill No. 567 (2021–2022 Reg. Sess.) (Senate Bill No. 567); (3) remand is required for the court to exercise its newly afforded discretion to punish defendant under a count providing for a lesser sentence, pursuant to section 654 as amended by Assembly Bill No. 518 (2021-2022 Reg. Sess.) (Assembly Bill No. 518); and (4) the abstract of judgment must be corrected to reflect the court’s oral pronouncement that defendant’s fines and fees were ordered stayed. We accept the People’s concession that counts 1 and 5 must be reversed and the associated sentence must therefore be vacated. In light of these reversals, we will remand for a full resentencing. As such, we do not address defendant’s challenges to the sentence, which he may raise on remand. In all other respects, we reject defendant’s contentions and affirm. FACTS I. The People’s Case At the outset of trial, the parties stipulated that defendant was convicted on April 13, 2005, of committing “a lewd act without force upon a 14-year-old minor” in violation of section 288, subdivision (c)(1). A. The Incident On August 1, 2020, defendant was staying in a travel trailer behind a house on Ashlan Avenue in Fresno County. His parents lived in the house and his sister, Morgan M.,2 lived in a mobile home on the same property with her husband. Defendant was not allowed to bring anyone on the property or to the trailer. However, in the two weeks prior to August 1, 2020, Morgan caught defendant attempting to bring A.S. onto the

2 Pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 8.90, we refer to some persons by their first names or initials. No disrespect is intended.

3. property on two occasions. On these occasions, Morgan alerted her parents, who told A.S. to leave. Defendant and his stepfather argued over the incidents. On August 1, 2020, Morgan exited her mobile home to check the mail. She did not see or hear anyone else on the property at that point. As she returned, she heard screams of “Help, help, help me, help me,” and saw A.S. running near a parked van, adjacent to defendant’s trailer. A.S. seemed confused and was going the wrong way to get out of the property. Morgan saw that A.S.’s face was “real swollen and purple” and blood was “pumping” from a large gash on her leg. A.S. did not appear to be in pain but acted “frantic and scared and confused.” Morgan asked, “What’s wrong?” and A.S. responded that she had kicked out the trailer window because “he” would not let her out and was trying to rape her. Morgan assumed A.S. was referring to defendant, because A.S. was coming from the trailer and the only other male on the property was Morgan’s father, who was injured and in bed. A.S. repeatedly stated, “Look at my face. Look at my face,” and tried to leave. Morgan said she needed to call 911, but A.S. continued to try to leave. After a few minutes, defendant came from behind the trailer. Morgan told him to stop. She told A.S. she would not let anything happen to her and would not let defendant come near her. Defendant went into his parents’ house to tell “his side of the story to [his] mom.” Morgan told A.S. she would help her leave but needed to attend to her leg first or A.S. would bleed to death. A.S. said she was scared and said, “I don’t want to be here, I don’t want to be here,” as she continued walking down the driveway. Morgan grabbed one of her husband’s dirty work shirts that was in the yard to wrap A.S.’s leg. Once outside the driveway, Morgan told A.S. they needed to get something clean to apply pressure to the leg to stop the bleeding. A.S. initially agreed and Morgan went into her parents’ house and yelled for her mother to help. However, when Morgan came back outside, A.S. was already halfway down the street, walking very quickly.

4. Artemia A. was driving down Ashlan Avenue with her friend Celia A., when she saw A.S. yelling and flailing her arms. Artemia stopped nearby to pick up her cousin, and told her cousin to hurry up because she thought A.S. was drunk or on drugs. However, Artemia’s cousin pointed out that A.S. was bleeding a lot. Artemia got out of her vehicle and noticed A.S.’s lips looked black and blue; her eye was black, blue, purplish, and swelling; and she had an injury to the bridge of her nose. She had an injury on her right foot that was bleeding “like an open faucet.” Artemia applied fabric to the injury to try to stop the bleeding. A.S. said, “He’s coming. He’s coming,” and “he’s dangerous, he’s dangerous.” She also said, “Trae cohete. Trae cohete,” which Artemia understood to mean “[g]un.” She also said the man had a knife and, “He will kill me.” A.S.

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