People v. Osborne CA2/4

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 9, 2025
DocketB329334
StatusUnpublished

This text of People v. Osborne CA2/4 (People v. Osborne CA2/4) 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. Osborne CA2/4, (Cal. Ct. App. 2025).

Opinion

Filed 1/9/25 P. v. Osborne CA2/4 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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(a). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115(a). IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION FOUR

THE PEOPLE, B329334

Plaintiff and Respondent, Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. NA112395 v.

JOHN OSBORNE,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Judith L. Meyer, Judge. Affirmed. Robert E. Boyce under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Scott A. Taryle and Daniel C. Chang, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. INTRODUCTION AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A jury convicted John Osborne of first-degree murder, finding he killed his girlfriend, Nancy Romero, with premeditation and deliberation. (Pen. Code1, § 187, subd. (a).) It also found true allegations that he committed the murder by personally and intentionally discharging a firearm, namely, a handgun, which caused Romero to suffer great bodily injury and death. (§ 12022.53, subds. (b)-(d).) The trial court sentenced Osborne to 50 years to life in prison, consisting of a 25-year-to-life term for the murder and a 25-year-to-life term for the firearm enhancement. On appeal, Osborne contends his conviction must be reversed because the trial court abused its discretion by allowing the prosecution to present evidence showing that, after Romero’s death, the police recovered firearms and firearm-related paraphernalia from his bedroom, which were not used to commit the murder. He also argues that his sentence must be vacated, as the trial court abused its discretion by declining to strike the firearm enhancement under section 1385, subdivision (c). As discussed below, we reject Osborne’s contentions and affirm.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

I. Prosecution Evidence Between 6:55 and 7:00 a.m. on July 11, 2019, Mercedes Guaspari left her home near the Long Beach courthouse to move her car for street sweeping. As she was walking to her car, she saw a couple – later identified as Osborne and Romero – arguing

1 All undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.

2 on the sidewalk. As Guaspari tried to walk past the couple, Romero stepped out in front of her and started walking. Osborne followed, walking behind Guaspari. Growing uncomfortable, Guaspari stepped off the sidewalk and began walking in the street. Romero then quickened her pace, and Osborne followed her. Soon thereafter, Guaspari lost sight of the couple. Less than an hour later, at approximately 7:50 a.m., Romero was found lying on a sidewalk near the Long Beach courthouse with a bloody gunshot wound to her back. An ambulance transported Romero to the hospital, where she died. At around 8:00 a.m., Osborne arrived at his mother’s house. His mother testified that Osborne was upset and crying, and appeared to be under the influence of alcohol. Osborne said he had gotten into a fight with Romero, that he thought she was going to leave him, and that he had shot her. A few hours later, after shaving his head, Osborne left his mother’s home with her boyfriend. After that, Osborne’s mother did not see or hear from Osborne again. During their investigation of Romero’s death, the police recovered several items from the scene of the shooting and nearby areas, which included the following. On the ground near where Romero had been found, the police collected a discharged .40-caliber cartridge casing. In a nearby alley, they found the black leather jacket Osborne had been wearing earlier that morning in a recycling bin. From a dumpster in the same alley, the police recovered a black leather holster. Inside one of the holster’s slots was a magazine marked “Sig Saur P229,” which contained 10 .40-caliber rounds of ammunition. Romero’s autopsy revealed the cause of her death to be a gunshot wound to the right mid-back. A .40-caliber bullet was

3 recovered from the center of Romero’s chest. The bullet perforated several organs, including her heart, right lung, and liver. A .40-caliber Sig Saur P229 handgun could have fired that bullet, along with the cartridge casing found at the scene of the shooting. A gun of that type was registered to Osborne, but was not recovered by the police.2

II. Defense Evidence Osborne testified he owned several firearms, all of which were registered to him except a .357-caliber revolver. When outside, he always carried a .40-caliber Sig Saur P229 at the small of his back in a concealed, custom-made holster worn around his waist. While holstered, the Sig Saur P229 always had a round in the chamber and was ready to shoot. The holster also contained an extra magazine with 10 rounds of .40-caliber Smith & Wesson ammunition. Osborne testified he carried a firearm with him at all times because he is a strong advocate of the Second Amendment. With respect to his relationship with Romero, Osborne testified that they started dating soon after they met on Christmas Eve in 2018. Romero moved in with him two to three months later. She used methamphetamine regularly, and they argued often about her drug use. A few months into their relationship, Romero became pregnant with Osborne’s child. She continued to use methamphetamine while pregnant. In May 2019, she had a miscarriage, which Osborne believed was related to her drug use.

2 We discuss the firearms and firearm-related paraphernalia later recovered from Osborne’s bedroom in part I.A of the Discussion.

4 According to Osborne, late in the night before the shooting, he and Romero went to a bar. Afterwards, they went to a pier by the beach and later returned home. Romero then disappeared for an indeterminate amount of time. When she returned home in the early morning, Osborne suspected she had been using methamphetamine and confronted her. At that point, they began to argue. After a while, Romero started packing her bags, said she was going to leave, and left the home. Osborne followed her because he did not want her to leave and sought to get her to come back home. Osborne was carrying his firearm when he left the house. Osborne testified that he and Romero left their home at approximately 6:50 a.m. Romero started to walk around the block, and Osborne followed her. They walked and argued for the next 30 minutes, during which time Romero repeatedly told Osborne she was going to leave him, and Osborne implored her to go back home. At some point, Osborne testified, Romero “told [him] that she’s glad she didn’t have [his] [expletive] baby.” She then turned and started walking away from him. In response, Osborne “snapped.” He turned around and drew his gun as he started walking away from Romero. To do so, he reached under his jacket and shirt, grabbed the gun’s handle, which was resting flat against his back, and lifted the gun up six inches to unholster it. Then, Osborne testified, he raised the gun to nearly shoulder height and blindly fired a shot behind him, in Romero’s direction. He heard the gun go off, but did not look back toward Romero. Osborne testified that, after firing the gun, he did not call or flag someone down for help. Instead, he continued to walk and threw “everything” in trash cans in an alley. After that, he went to his mother’s house. There, he told his mother that he thought

5 Romero was going to leave him, and that he had shot her. He later shaved his head and left to stay at a motel. Three to four days later, he turned himself in to the police.

DISCUSSION

I. Motion in Limine

A.

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Bluebook (online)
People v. Osborne CA2/4, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-osborne-ca24-calctapp-2025.