People v. Montalvo

248 Cal. Rptr. 3d 708, 36 Cal. App. 5th 597
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal, 5th District
DecidedJune 20, 2019
DocketC078115
StatusPublished
Cited by28 cases

This text of 248 Cal. Rptr. 3d 708 (People v. Montalvo) 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. Montalvo, 248 Cal. Rptr. 3d 708, 36 Cal. App. 5th 597 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

MURRAY, J.

*601Posing as undercover police officers, defendant and a female associate committed two robberies. On one occasion, they took money from a couple at a hotel. On another occasion, they pretended to be conducting a prostitution sting operation and stole money from their target. In a hotel room where defendant was eventually arrested, police discovered rock cocaine and a glass smoking pipe.

Defendant was convicted of various crimes including robbery in the first degree ( Pen. Code, §§ 211, 212.5, subd. (a) )1 and robbery in the second *602degree ( §§ 211, 212.5, subd. (c) ). After striking one of two prior serious felony conviction allegations, the trial court sentenced defendant to a determinate term of 25 years in state prison and a consecutive one-year term in county jail.

On appeal, defendant contends: (1) the evidence was legally insufficient to prove the "accomplished by means of force or fear" element of robbery; (2) in the alternative, his robbery convictions should be vacated because his conduct constituted violations of more specific statutes, obtaining money by false impersonation and false pretenses (§§ 530, 532), and thus a prosecution for robbery was preempted under the rule in In re Williamson (1954) 43 Cal.2d 651, 276 P.2d 593 ( Williamson ) (the Williamson rule); (3) the admission of a nontestifying victim's statement to a police officer, as relayed to the jury by the officer, was error because the statement was inadmissible testimonial hearsay, the admission of which violated defendant's right to confrontation; (4) the prosecutor committed misconduct in his closing argument by displaying to the jury a definition of force or fear and a corresponding case citation despite the trial court having expressly rejected that definition; (5) the trial court erred in imposing a prior serious felony enhancement on count 2 and imposing and staying the same enhancement on count 3; (6) the trial court erred in imposing a prior prison *713term enhancement pursuant to section 667.5, subdivision (b), because the trial court had granted defendant's application to redesignate the underlying conviction a misdemeanor; (7) the trial court erred in failing to stay execution of the sentences imposed on counts 7, 8, and 9 pursuant to section 654; and (8) the abstract of judgment must be corrected to reflect that the trial court stayed execution of the sentence imposed on count 3 pursuant to section 654. Additionally, while this appeal was pending, Senate Bill No. 1393 (Stats. 2018, ch. 1013) (Senate Bill 1393) amended sections 667, subdivision (a), and 1385, subdivision (b), effective January 1, 2019, to give courts the discretion to dismiss or strike a prior serious felony conviction enhancement for sentencing purposes. Defendant filed a supplemental brief urging us to remand the matter to afford the trial court the opportunity to exercise its discretion to strike the prior serious felony conviction enhancement imposed in this case, and in their supplemental brief, the People do not oppose defendant's request.

In the published portion of this opinion, we reject defendant's contention that there was insufficient evidence of the force or fear element of robbery. While we find the evidence of fear insufficient, we conclude the evidence of force sufficient to support the verdicts. We also reject defendant's contention that the assertedly more specific crimes of theft by false impersonation and false pretenses preempted the prosecution for robbery under the Williamson rule because neither of those crimes covers defendant's conduct as established by the evidence.

*603In the unpublished portion of this opinion, we agree that the admission of the statement of the nontestifying victim given to the investigating officer violated the confrontation clause, but the error was harmless. We also conclude there were sentencing errors, requiring us to: (1) strike the section 667, subdivision (a)(1), enhancements imposed on count 2 and imposed and stayed on count 3; (2) dismiss the section 667.5, subdivision (b), prior prison term enhancement; (3) order that execution of the sentences imposed on counts 8 and 9 be stayed pursuant to section 654; and (4) remand and order that the trial court impose a full-term sentence on count 3 and stay execution thereof pursuant to section 654. Also, given the statutory change in section 667, subdivision (a), we remand for the trial court to consider whether to exercise its discretion to dismiss or strike that enhancement allegation pursuant to section 1385.

As so modified, we affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The Charges

By amended information, defendant was charged with two counts of robbery in the first degree ( §§ 211, 212.5, subd. (a) ; count 1 (victim J.T.)), robbery in the second degree ( §§ 211, 212.5, subd. (c) ; count 2 (victim J.N.)), burglary in the first degree (§§ 459, 460 subd. (a); count 3 (victims J.T. & I.A.)), possession of a controlled substance ( Health & Saf. Code, § 11350, subd. (a) ; count 4), two counts of petty theft with a prior conviction (§§ 484, subd. (a), 488, 666, subd. (b); counts 5 & 6), possession of controlled substance paraphernalia (former Health & Saf. Code, § 11364.1 ; count 7), and two counts of impersonating an officer (§ 146a, subd. (a); counts 8 & 9). In connection with count 3, the information alleged that, during the commission of the first degree burglary, another person not an accomplice to the crime was present in the premises within the meaning of section 667.5, subdivision (c)(21). The information further alleged that defendant had two *714prior strike convictions within the meaning of section 667, subdivision (e)(2), that he was previously convicted of a serious felony within the meaning of section 667, subdivision (a)(1), and that he served a prior prison term within the meaning of section 667.5, subdivision (b).

The Prosecution's Evidence

The Pacific Adult Motel Incident

In June 2012, J.T. and his wife, I.A., were staying in a hotel in West Sacramento. J.T. and I.A. arrived at the hotel at approximately 10:00 p.m.

*604They had been at a friend's house, and J.T. had been drinking beer and did not want to drive home. After J.T. and I.A. checked in and went to their room, someone knocked on the door. J.T. opened the door and saw a thin woman with tattoos on her neck. The woman entered without invitation and offered the couple sex. J.T. said he was there with his wife and told the woman to leave. The woman lifted her blouse, displayed a badge, and said that she was an undercover police officer. I.A. testified that the woman also had a gun, but J.T. testified he did not see it.2 The woman then spoke into a radio.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
248 Cal. Rptr. 3d 708, 36 Cal. App. 5th 597, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-montalvo-calctapp5d-2019.