People v. McBride CA5

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 27, 2016
DocketF068949
StatusUnpublished

This text of People v. McBride CA5 (People v. McBride 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. McBride CA5, (Cal. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

Filed 1/27/16 P. v. McBride 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NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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, F068949 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. F13901235) v.

JETT SIMMONS MCBRIDE, OPINION Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Fresno County. Arlan L. Harrell, Judge. Sylvia Whatley Beckham, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Michael P. Farrell, Assistant Attorney General, Catherine Chatman and Kevin L. Quade, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. -ooOoo- Jett Simmons McBride (defendant) was charged in Fresno County Superior Court with attempted murder in which he personally used a deadly weapon and personally inflicted great bodily injury (Pen. Code, §§ 187, subd. (a), 664, 12022, subd. (b)(1), 12022.7, subd. (a); count 1), assault with a deadly weapon in which he personally inflicted great bodily injury (id., §§ 245, subd. (a)(1), 12022.7, subd. (a); counts 2 & 3), and battery (id., § 242; count 4). Defendant pled not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity. A jury acquitted him of counts 1 and 4, convicted him of counts 2 and 3 and found the special allegation true as to each count, and found he was insane at the time he committed the offenses.1 Pursuant to Penal Code section 1026, the trial court committed him to Atascadero State Hospital for a maximum term of nine years. We now hold: (1) The trial court did not abuse its discretion by excluding certain impeachment and demeanor evidence; (2) The trial court did not abuse its discretion by overruling defense objections to expert opinion testimony on the White supremacist nature of defendant’s hospital remarks, and if it should have excluded references to defendant’s admissions of statutory rape, the error was harmless; (3) Defendant is not entitled to reversal based on cumulative prejudice; but (4) Certain clerical errors should be corrected. Accordingly, we order correction of those errors and affirm the judgment. FACTS2 I PROSECUTION EVIDENCE

1 As to counts 2 and 3, the information also alleged, and the jury found, defendant personally used a dangerous and deadly weapon within the meaning of Penal Code sections 667 and 1192.7. (See id., § 969f.) 2 Because defendant raises no issues concerning the sanity phase of trial, we summarize only the testimony presented at the guilt phase. Undesignated dates in the statement of facts are to the year 2013.

2. The Collision and Aftermath On February 1, Nelson Pereira, an equipment operator for Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), was working with Rayshawn Neely, Kenneth Simon, and Nicholas Starkey on a project at Marks and McKinley in Fresno. Around 2:00 p.m., they were on the northwest corner of the intersection, getting ready to perform a task on a corner pole. Neely and Simon were scheduled to go up in the “bucket,” while Pereira and Starkey were going to remain on the ground. Pereira was standing about 25 feet behind the bucket truck, which was facing west and coned off, when he observed a black sedan about 20 to 25 feet away, coming through the intersection into the immediate work area.3 The black car was in the coned area, coming at the work crew at a speed of five to 10 miles per hour. Pereira turned toward the vehicle to stand in front of it, put up his hands, and tried to get the attention of defendant, who was driving. Although Pereira was looking through the windshield, he was not able to make eye contact or get defendant’s attention. Defendant had both hands on the steering wheel and was staring past Pereira in the direction of the bucket truck. He had a blank look on his face and did not acknowledge Pereira’s presence at all. His hands remained in the 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock positions on the steering wheel the entire time; Pereira did not see the steering wheel move at all, nor did he see the car change direction or change its speed. Pereira could also see the passenger in the car; he was just sitting upright in his seat, motionless, facing forward with his arms close to his body in a normal position. He and defendant did not seem to be communicating with each other.

3 The intersection was controlled by stop signs. Although there was only one traffic lane in each direction, the lane was wide, with shoulder parking. Accordingly, traffic going westbound on McKinley could still proceed in the regular lane of travel without going around the bucket truck, which was to the right of traffic.

3. Pereira pushed off the driver’s side front quarter panel of the vehicle with his hands to keep the vehicle from colliding with him. He shouted in an attempt to get the attention of his coworkers and defendant, but the vehicle went right by him and collided with the bucket truck, pinning Neely — who had been at the back of the truck toward the passenger side, facing the truck — between the truck and the car. Starkey and Simon, who were behind the bucket truck, heard Pereira shout. Starkey looked over his shoulder and saw a car coming straight for the bucket truck at a speed Starkey estimated was roughly 20 miles per hour. Simon approximated the car as going 20 to 25 miles an hour and remained constant. Defendant, the driver, had his arms completely locked, with his elbows straight and his hands at the 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock positions on the steering wheel. He was looking straight at the back of the bucket and the crew, all of whom were wearing orange safety vests. The passenger was sitting with his arms by his sides and his hands in his lap. No part of his body crossed toward the driver’s side. The vehicle never deviated from a straight line. If Starkey had not moved, it would have struck him. Simon tried to get out of the way, but the car struck his back and hips. He was thrown 10 to 15 feet alongside the bucket truck, and landed on his hands and knees with his head facing the car.4 He jumped back up and saw that Neely was pinned between the truck and the car and screaming in pain. Neely, whose cell phone had just rung as he approached the bucket truck, saw nothing before he was hit. He felt the impact and had a quick blackout. When he came to, he found himself essentially sitting on the hood of the car, as the front end of that vehicle was underneath the bucket truck. His lower body was pinned underneath and his head was against the windshield.

4 As a result of being hit by the car, Simon sustained a chipped vertebra. He was placed on light duty for approximately six months, and still had occasional lower back and neck pain at the time he testified, more than 10 months after the incident.

4. Tonya Baker was across the street when she saw the PG&E crew with their truck at the corner and a black, mid-sized car coming right at the truck. Defendant was driving. Baker heard people screaming, but the car went straight at the truck. Baker and her daughter, Ginger Miller-Barraza, started across the street when Baker first saw the car. Pereira ran to assess Neely’s injuries and also called 911. He saw defendant stand up out of the vehicle and, while in the “V” of the doorway, lean his body over the hood where Neely was pinned. Pereira could not hear their conversation, but he saw defendant reach over and grab Neely’s shoulders and pull on him. Starkey recalled defendant twice trying to get out of the car. Both times, Starkey slammed the door on him and told him to stay in the car. Simon did not see what defendant did immediately after the crash.

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Bluebook (online)
People v. McBride CA5, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-mcbride-ca5-calctapp-2016.