People v. McCarter CA1/3

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 26, 2022
DocketA164258
StatusUnpublished

This text of People v. McCarter CA1/3 (People v. McCarter CA1/3) 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. McCarter CA1/3, (Cal. Ct. App. 2022).

Opinion

Filed 4/26/22 P. v. McCarter CA1/3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, A164258 v. BRYAN LEE MCCARTER, (Fresno County Super. Ct. No. F19900477) Defendant and Appellant.

A jury found defendant Bryan Lee McCarter guilty of attempted carjacking (Pen. Code, §§ 664, 215, subd. (a)),1 and the trial court sentenced him to 30 years to life in prison.2 On appeal, defendant argues that the trial court (1) erroneously admitted a witness’s opinion testimony, (2) abused its discretion by refusing to strike one of defendant’s prior felony strike convictions, and (3) violated the federal and state constitutional prohibitions against cruel and unusual punishment. We affirm.

1 Further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless indicated otherwise. 2 This matter was transferred over by California Supreme Court Order on January 3, 2022, from the Fifth Appellate District to the First Appellate District.

1 FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND In January 2019, K.C.3 drove to a Union 76 gas station to fuel her car. As K.C. was looking at the gas pump’s monitor, a man approached her, reached into her left jacket pocket, and grabbed her car keys. K.C. pulled on the lanyard attached to her keys as the man entered her car and tried to put the key into the ignition. K.C. struggled to pull the man out of her car while yelling “No.” When the man resisted, K.C. fell to the ground and hurt her leg. Robert R. heard K.C. yelling as she struggled with the man. The man ran away as Robert R. approached them, and K.C. said the man had her keys. Robert R. chased the man toward a nearby Shell gas station. The man told Robert R. that he no longer had the keys, and Robert R. could see that the man’s pockets were empty.4 The man then fled the scene by jumping onto a moving semi-truck. Fresno Police Detective Parvinder Dhillon reviewed surveillance footage from the Shell station and released a “be on the lookout” flyer. Sergeant Mandeep Khela told Dhillon he had made contact with defendant the previous day. Dhillon reviewed Khela’s body camera footage from that incident and saw that defendant’s hairstyle matched the hairstyle of the suspect in the Shell station footage. Detective Dhillon created a six-person photographic line-up that included a photograph of defendant taken in 2015. K.C. chose two photographs from the line-up, one of which was defendant’s 2015 photograph

3 We will refer to the victims and witnesses by the first name and last initial, or initials only to protect their privacy. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.90.) 4 Although K.C. saw the broken key lanyard next to her car and thought the man had taken her keys, she later found the keys in her pocket or on her car seat.

2 and said, “ ‘I think it’s him.’ ” She chose the other photograph “[j]ust [because] the hair” was similar to her attacker’s shoulder-length hair. Dhillon later presented the same line-up to Robert R., who also chose two photographs, one of which was defendant’s. Defendant was arrested 12 days after the incident. He was then interviewed by Detective Dhillon and another detective, during which he denied any involvement in the attempted carjacking. Defendant was charged by information with one count of attempted carjacking (§§ 664, 215, subd. (a)). The information further alleged that defendant had previously suffered two felony strike convictions (§§ 667, subds. (b)–(i), 1170.12, subds. (a)–(d)) in 1997 for carjacking (§ 215, subd. (a)), both of which qualified as serious felony convictions (§ 667, subd. (a)(1)). It also alleged that defendant had suffered prior felony convictions for: vehicle theft in 2015 (Veh. Code, § 10851, subd. (a)); receiving stolen property in 2015 (§ 496d, subd. (a)); and grand theft in 1996 and 1992 (§ 487, subd. (c)), all of which resulted in imprisonment (§ 667.5, subd. (b)). At the time of the offense in question, defendant was sixty years old. At trial, K.C. identified defendant as her attacker, though at first she was unable to do so. She explained she did not initially recognize him because he looked different, i.e., his facial hair was longer, his head hair length was shorter, and his clothing differed from when he attacked her. Sergeant Khela also identified defendant at trial, but Robert R. was unable to do so. During the prosecutor’s examination, Detective Dhillon testified that she reviewed the Shell station surveillance video, talked with Sergeant Khela and reviewed Khela’s body camera footage, and conducted the photographic line-up with K.C. and Robert R. and interviewed them. Dhillon also testified

3 that when she interviewed defendant, she noticed that defendant’s shoes matched the shoes of the suspect in the surveillance video. Following this testimony, the prosecutor and Dhillon engaged in the following colloquy: “Q: Now, after you interviewed the Defendant, did you form an opinion as to who the suspect that attacked and tried to steal [K.C.’s] vehicle? “A: Yes. “Q: And what was your opinion? “A: That it was Mr. McCarter. “Q: And what’s your opinion based on? “A: Based on the totality of my investigation, the surveillance footage, the, um, contact with Sergeant Khela the day before the incident and the other information I received during the investigation.” The trial court allowed the foregoing testimony to remain in evidence after having denied defendant’s motion in limine regarding the detective’s anticipated testimony and overruling defendant’s objection once the detective so testified. The jury found defendant guilty of attempted carjacking. Defendant then admitted his two prior strike convictions and one of the two prior serious felony convictions, and the remaining prior conviction allegations were dismissed pursuant to section 1385. Thereafter the trial court refused defendant’s motion to strike one of his prior strike convictions and ultimately imposed the indeterminate term of 25 years to life for the attempted carjacking (§§ 667, subd. (e)(2)(A)(ii), 1170.12, subd. (c)(2)(A)(ii)), and an additional five-year enhancement (§ 667, subd. (a)(1)), resulting in an aggregate sentence of 30 years to life. Defendant appealed.

4 DISCUSSION I. Detective Dhillon’s Opinion Testimony As indicated, Detective Dhillon testified it was her opinion that defendant was K.C.’s attacker. Defendant challenges the admission of this opinion testimony on two grounds: (1) Dhillon’s identification lacked foundation because she had no personal knowledge of his appearance prior to the offense at issue, and (2) Dhillon gave an improper opinion on defendant’s guilt. A. Personal Knowledge Opinion testimony from a lay witness is admissible provided that the testimony is based on the witness’s personal knowledge and is helpful to a clear understanding of his or her testimony. (Evid. Code, § 800.) A person’s identity is within the permissible scope of a lay witness’s opinion testimony (People v. Leon (2015) 61 Cal.4th 569, 601 (Leon)), and courts have long admitted “testimony identifying defendants in surveillance footage or photographs” (id. at pp. 600–601). We review a claim that a witness’s opinion was erroneously admitted for abuse of discretion. (People v. Smith (2003) 30 Cal.4th 581, 627.) Several decisions are instructive on this issue. In People v.

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Bluebook (online)
People v. McCarter CA1/3, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-mccarter-ca13-calctapp-2022.