People v. Morales

19 Cal. App. 4th 1383, 24 Cal. Rptr. 2d 847, 93 Daily Journal DAR 13829, 93 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 8132, 1993 Cal. App. LEXIS 1096
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 29, 1993
DocketC010739
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 19 Cal. App. 4th 1383 (People v. Morales) 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. Morales, 19 Cal. App. 4th 1383, 24 Cal. Rptr. 2d 847, 93 Daily Journal DAR 13829, 93 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 8132, 1993 Cal. App. LEXIS 1096 (Cal. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinion

*1385 Opinion

SCOTLAND, J.

Late one night, defendant Robert Morales acted as a lookout while his brother, Johnny Morales, broke into a locked car which was parked in the lot of an apartment complex. 1 Confronted by a resident of the complex, defendant and Johnny fled on foot. They were pursued by several apartment residents, including Terry McFarland and John Fitzgerald. Defendant, who was armed with a knife, was cornered by McFarland, who was armed with a baseball bat. McFarland told defendant to drop the knife. Defendant refused and lunged at McFarland, stabbing him fatally. Meanwhile, Johnny struggled with Fitzgerald. Defendant aided Johnny by stabbing Fitzgerald, but Fitzgerald obtained McFarland’s bat and struck Johnny and defendant. The brothers then charged Fitzgerald; Johnny held him down while defendant stabbed him two or three times.

Defendant was convicted of first degree murder of McFarland with personal use of a knife (Pen. Code, §§ 187, 189, 12022, subd. (b); further section references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise specified), attempted murder of Fitzgerald with personal use of a knife and a bat, and with the infliction of great bodily injury (§§ 187, 664, 12022, subd. (b), 12022.7), burglary of a motor vehicle (§ 459), and attempted vehicle theft (§ 664; Veh. Code, § 10851).

Noting this case was tried on the theory that the brothers broke into a locked car with the intent to steal, defendant contends there is insufficient evidence that his accomplice, Johnny, entered the vehicle with the intent to permanently deprive its owner of the car or property therein and, thus, defendant’s conviction for automobile burglary (a felony) must be reversed, as must his murder conviction (which was premised on the felony-murder rule) and his attempted murder conviction (as to which the prosecution argued that defendant had no right of self-defense because his victim was lawfully apprehending a felon).

Defendant acknowledges that an intent to permanently deprive the owner of property can be inferred from the attempted taking of that property. However, he suggests this rule should not apply to automobiles because the Legislature has enacted three statutes punishing the taking or use of a vehicle without the owner’s consent. Noting that “[o]ne entails intent to steal [section 487, subdivision 3 (grand theft automobile),] one entails intent to permanently or temporarily deprive the owner of title or possession [Vehicle *1386 Code section 10851 (unlawful driving or taking an automobile),] and one entails an intent to temporarily use [section 499b (joyriding)],” defendant argues “[t]hese statutes embody the Legislature’s recognition that the mere taking of a vehicle does not demonstrate the taker’s intent because an automobile—by its very nature—is the type of property which, unlike money, etc., is prone to taking for temporary as well as permanent use.” It follows, defendant argues, that an intent to permanently deprive the owner of property cannot be inferred from the break-in and attempted taking of a locked automobile.

In the published portion of this opinion, we reject defendant’s contention because, as we shall explain, the requisite intent for automobile burglary may be inferred from the circumstances surrounding the break-in of a locked vehicle. That the Legislature has enacted separate crimes and punishments for different types of automobile takings does not preclude the trier of fact from concluding, based on the circumstances of the break-in of a locked vehicle, that the culprit intended to permanently deprive the owner of the car or property therein. The statutes governing the taking or driving of a vehicle, or the attempt to do so, simply establish different crimes depending on the factual determination made by the trier of fact as to the intent of the perpetrator in attempting to take or drive a motor vehicle. Here, the circumstances surrounding the break-in (which occurred late at night and was committed by two culprits, one of whom was armed with a knife and used deadly force in an attempt to avoid being apprehended) support an inference that the brothers intended to permanently deprive the owner of property and, thus, are sufficient to support defendant’s conviction for the crime of automobile burglary.

In the unpublished parts of this opinion, we reject defendant’s many other claims of prejudicial error. Accordingly, we shall affirm the judgment. 2

Facts

Viewed in the light most favorable to the judgment (People v. Johnson (1980) 26 Cal.3d 557, 578 [162 Cal.Rptr. 431, 606 P.2d 738, 16 A.L.R.4th 1255]), the evidence is as follows:

At approximately 10 p.m. on December 2, 1988, Troy Morris was moving out of his South Watt Avenue apartment due to “recent burglaries” of residents’ cars at the apartment complex. While in the parking lot, Morris observed defendant and Johnny walking along the Jackson Highway and *1387 thought they were “acting suspicious” because they were looking around the parking lot and appeared nervous. After watching the brothers for a few minutes, Morris returned to his apartment and got a handgun for protection. He told his girlfriend there were “two guys acting funny in the parking lot,” and he was going to “check it out.”

When he returned to the parking lot, Morris saw defendant leaning against a brick wall, inquired what he was doing there, and asked where defendant’s friend was. Defendant said he was alone. When Morris again asked about the whereabouts of defendant’s companion, defendant replied that “he went to go get somebody, but that he was going to be right back.” Morris told defendant about recent car burglaries at the apartment complex and directed him to wait for his friend in the street. When he heard defendant speak to someone, Morris backed away.

Morris then looked into several cars to see if any had been vandalized or burglarized. As he reapproached defendant, Morris saw Johnny lying down in the front seat of Bonnie Butterfield’s car. Morris told defendant and Johnny to leave. The brothers walked a few feet, conversed in Spanish, and then turned and walked toward Morris. As Morris backed away, he saw defendant unzip his jacket. Feeling threatened, Morris drew his gun and told the brothers to “freeze.” They turned and walked away.

Morris yelled for someone to call 911 and ran to the apartment of John Fitzgerald and Sean O’Brien, who had been victims of a previous automobile burglary. 3 Morris told them someone had broken into a car in the parking lot.

Fitzgerald went to the lot and saw that a car window had been smashed. He looked down an alley but did not see anyone. Then he walked out to Prairie Trail Way and saw defendant and Johnny jump out from behind some hedges. Fitzgerald told the brothers to come toward him and asked if they had anything to do with the car break-in. When they ran away, Fitzgerald chased after them.

O’Brien followed approximately 50 feet behind Fitzgerald.

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19 Cal. App. 4th 1383, 24 Cal. Rptr. 2d 847, 93 Daily Journal DAR 13829, 93 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 8132, 1993 Cal. App. LEXIS 1096, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-morales-calctapp-1993.