People v. Nunez CA5

California Court of Appeal·Decided July 22, 2022·No. F079571·Unpublished

Opinion

Filed 7/22/22 P. v. Nunez 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NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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, F079571 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. VCF322675A) v.

PEDRO GALVAN NUNEZ,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Tulare County. Gary L. Paden, Judge. Paul Couenhoven, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Xavier Becerra and Rob Bonta, Attorneys General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Michael P. Farrell, Assistant Attorney General, Eric L. Christoffersen, Robert C. Nash and Darren K. Indermill, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. -ooOoo- INTRODUCTION Defendant Pedro Galvan Nunez and Fernando Prado participated in the gang- related murder of Frank R.1 Defendant drove his car into an alley just past where Frank stood while Prado approached on bicycle. After shooting and killing Frank, Prado jumped into defendant’s car and defendant drove them both from the murder scene. A jury convicted defendant of murder with a gang benefit special circumstance, participation in a criminal street gang, and found true allegations that a principal used and discharged a firearm resulting in death and that defendant committed the crime to benefit a criminal street gang. Defendant contends on appeal that (1) the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury that defendant was required to aid and abet the murder before the murder was committed, (2) the trial court abused its discretion by merely referring back to the aiding and abetting instruction when responding to jury question No. 4 as to whether the getaway or driving away is part of the commission of the crime, and (3) the trial court abused its discretion in denying defendant’s motion for personal juror identifying information. In supplemental briefing, defendant contends that we should overturn his murder conviction and remand for retrial in light of recently enacted Penal Code2 section 1109, which requires bifurcation of the gang enhancement from the trial of the substantive offense when requested by a defendant. The People respond that the trial court properly instructed the jury, answered its question, and did not abuse its discretion in denying defendant’s motion for juror information. The People also oppose retroactive application of section 1109 and argue that failure to bifurcate was harmless in any event. We reject defendant’s claims of error

1 Pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 8.90, we refer to the victim and some witnesses by their first names and last initials and thereafter by their first names for convenience and/or because they share a surname. No disrespect is intended. 2 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.

2. except as to the trial court’s order with respect to the release of juror information, and we remand with instructions to the trial court to conduct a hearing on defendant’s motion for juror identification information in accordance with Code of Civil Procedure section 237. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND The District Attorney of Tulare County filed an information on April 22, 2016, charging defendant Pedro Galvan Nunez with murder (§ 187, subd. (a); count 1) with the special circumstances that defendant intentionally killed while an active participant in, and to further the activities of, a criminal street gang (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(22)) and participation in a criminal street gang (§ 182.5; count 2).3 As to count 1, the information also included special allegations that a principal personally and intentionally discharged a firearm causing great bodily injury or death (§ 12022.53, subds. (d), (e)(1)), a principal personally and intentionally discharged a firearm (§ 12022.53, subds. (c), (e)), and defendant committed a felony punishable by life in prison for the benefit of a criminal street gang (§ 186.22, subd. (b)(5)). Defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges and denied all special allegations. After a four-day trial, on September 24, 2018, the jury convicted defendant of first degree murder (§ 187, subd. (a); count 1) and participation in a criminal street gang (conspiracy) (§ 182.5; count 2) and found true the special circumstance that the murder was committed while defendant was an active participant in a criminal street gang (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(22)). As to count 1, the jury also found true special allegations that the crime was committed for the benefit of a criminal street gang (§ 186.22, subd. (b)) and that a principal personally and intentionally discharged a firearm, which caused death (§ 12022.53, subds. (d), (e)(1)).

3 The information initially titled the crime as “CRIMINAL STREET GANG CONSPIRACY,” but on September 17, 2019, the trial court granted the prosecution’s motion to amend the information to read “Participation in a Criminal Street Gang” in accordance with the title of section 182.5.

3. Defendant filed motions for a new trial based on jury misconduct and to unseal discharged jurors’ identifying information on December 7, 2018. Defendant supplemented his motion with the declaration of an alternate juror on February 26, 2019. The trial court denied both motions on March 27, 2019. On June 24, 2019, the trial court sentenced defendant to a term of life without the possibility of parole as to count 1 (§§ 187, subd. (a), 190.2, subd. (a)(22)), plus a consecutive term of 25 years to life (§ 12022.53, subds. (d), (e)). As to count 2, the trial court sentenced defendant to life in prison without the possibility of parole (§ 182.5) and stayed the sentence pursuant to section 654. The court imposed a $1,000 restitution fine (former § 1202.4), a stayed $1,000 parole revocation restitution fine (§ 1202.45, subd. (a)), victim restitution (former § 1202.4, subd. (f)(2)),4 $80 in court operations assessments (§ 1465.8), and $60 in criminal conviction assessments (Gov. Code, § 70373). Defendant filed this timely appeal on July 2, 2019. FACTS

I. Prosecution evidence.

A. C.M. C.M. and her boyfriend, Freddie,5 drove by Freddie’s father’s residence on their way to drop off their friend, Kelly M., at a nearby liquor store (the store) to cash a check. C.M. noticed an individual, approximately six houses from the father’s residence, who

4 The court ordered defendant to pay $5,000 to the California Victim Compensation Board and that restitution remain open as to both the victims and the California Victim Compensation Board. 5 Freddie is a nickname for Fernando R., Frank’s brother. We shall refer to Fernando R. as “Freddie” to avoid confusion with Fernando Prado, to whom we refer as Prado. No disrespect is intended.

4. was wearing a hooded sweater, a hat, and one glove.6 He appeared to be texting on his phone and had a bicycle nearby. C.M. believed his clothing to be strange for such a hot day. Chucky,7 the resident of the home Prado stood in front of, was also standing outside with Prado and looking toward Freddie’s father’s home. After dropping Kelly off at the store, Freddie drove C.M. to his family’s house and parked across the street. C.M. intended to check the mail for a letter that she was expecting, but the mailbox was locked, and Freddie’s father was not home. However, Freddie’s brother, Frank, came out of the house to speak with them and stood in the road on the driver’s side of the car. They discussed Frank’s baby who was in the hospital. During the conversation, C.M. saw Prado ride the bicycle from Chucky’s house and turn down a street just in front of them. C.M.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

People v. Nunez CA5, (Cal. Ct. App. 2022).

People v. Nunez CA5 (People v. Nunez CA5) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Tumey v. Ohio
273 U.S. 510 (Supreme Court, 1927)
Chapman v. California
386 U.S. 18 (Supreme Court, 1967)
Bruton v. United States
391 U.S. 123 (Supreme Court, 1968)
McKaskle v. Wiggins
465 U.S. 168 (Supreme Court, 1984)
Waller v. Georgia
467 U.S. 39 (Supreme Court, 1984)
Vasquez v. Hillery
474 U.S. 254 (Supreme Court, 1986)
Gomez v. United States
490 U.S. 858 (Supreme Court, 1989)
Sullivan v. Louisiana
508 U.S. 275 (Supreme Court, 1993)
People v. Valdez
281 P.3d 924 (California Supreme Court, 2012)
People v. Brown
278 P.3d 1182 (California Supreme Court, 2012)
People v. Anzalone
298 P.3d 849 (California Supreme Court, 2013)
People v. Linton
302 P.3d 927 (California Supreme Court, 2013)
People v. Kelly
822 P.2d 385 (California Supreme Court, 1992)
People v. Cooper
811 P.2d 742 (California Supreme Court, 1991)
People v. Silva
300 P.2d 25 (California Court of Appeal, 1956)
In Re Hitchings
860 P.2d 466 (California Supreme Court, 1997)
People v. Brown
756 P.2d 204 (California Supreme Court, 1988)
People v. Pinholster
824 P.2d 571 (California Supreme Court, 1992)
People v. Montoya
874 P.2d 903 (California Supreme Court, 1994)
People v. Pulido
936 P.2d 1235 (California Supreme Court, 1997)