People v. R.E. CA2/5

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 30, 2022
DocketB310841
StatusUnpublished

This text of People v. R.E. CA2/5 (People v. R.E. CA2/5) 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. R.E. CA2/5, (Cal. Ct. App. 2022).

Opinion

Filed 6/30/22 P. v. R.E. CA2/5 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FIVE

THE PEOPLE, B310841

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. PJ53438) v.

R.E.,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment and order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Morton Rochman, Judge. Affirmed as modified. Torres & Torres and Steven A. Torres, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Scott A. Taryle, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, Colleen M. Tiedemann, Deputy Attorney General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. ________________________

In a petition filed to declare juvenile R.E. a ward of the court under Welfare and Institutions Code section 602, it was alleged that R.E. committed two counts of rape of an intoxicated person. The juvenile court declared R.E. a ward of the court and found true the allegations. The court ordered commitment to the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) for a term not to exceed 10 years. On appeal, R.E. contends: (1) there is insufficient evidence to support the juvenile court’s finding that he raped one of the two victims, (2) the court abused its discretion by committing him to the DJJ, and (3) R.E.’s term of commitment must be reduced to no greater than eight years pursuant to Senate Bill No. 823 (Stats. 2020, ch. 337, § 28) (Senate Bill 823), which applies to his case retroactively. R.E. requests that this court remand the matter for a new dispositional hearing to afford him the opportunity to present evidence of his behavior during commitment and to permit him to argue for a less serious allegation under Los Angeles District Attorney Special Directive 20-09. The People agree that Senate Bill 823 applies to R.E.’s case, and that his term of commitment must be reduced. The People argue that this court should reduce the commitment term to the maximum of eight years. Remand is not necessary, as the juvenile court imposed the maximum term of commitment. The People dispute R.E.’s other contentions. We modify R.E.’s maximum term of commitment to eight years, but otherwise affirm the judgment and order.

2 FACTS Prosecution

The Incident

K.A. testified that, on October 7, 2019, she and her friend J.G. took a bus to Ralphs with J.C. and J.B. K.A. had ingested two beers before she boarded the bus. The group met up with R.E. and went to the rooftop of a building in North Hollywood, where they drank alcohol together. They intended to get drunk and then go home. K.A. drank five mouthfuls of alcohol and felt “very tipsy.” She had never been so drunk. K.A. remembered talking, J.G. and J.C. dancing, and music playing on her phone. She remembered J.G., who was also intoxicated, kissing J.C. and J.B. K.A. passed out. When she regained consciousness, she was lying on the ground and her whole body hurt. She thought she fell over. R.E. took a video of K.A. while she was on the ground. Someone shook her and tried to wake her up, but she remembered nothing after that. K.A. did not consent to any sexual contact or kissing with R.E., J.C., or J.B. while they were on the roof. K.A. woke up in a hospital but she did not know how she got there. The police took her to the Center for Assault Treatment Services (CATS) where she spoke to a detective and was examined by a nurse. During the examination, the nurse photographed K.A.’s body and swabbed her vagina and mouth. The exam revealed facial injuries and an abrasion on her right breast. A vaginal exam revealed bruising around the urethra and petechia at the entrance of the vagina, which was indicative

3 of penetration. At the hearing on the petition, K.A. denied having been sexually assaulted. J.G. testified that, on October 7, 2019, she went to a park with K.A., J.C., and J.B. She drank three beers and was feeling “tipsy.” They met up with R.E. and went to Ralph’s grocery store, where they purchased two bottles of alcohol. The group then went to the rooftop of an apartment building. J.G. drank two large gulps of alcohol and felt very drunk. She remembered music playing, talking, and dancing. J.C. came up behind her and grabbed her waist, but she blacked out after that. J.G. did not consent to having sex with anyone that night. J.G. woke up in the hospital. She had pain inside her vagina and was bleeding. She was taken to CATS in a police car, where she spoke to a detective and was examined by a nurse. The nurse photographed her entire body, including her vagina. The nurse swabbed her vagina, legs, mouth, and face. J.G.’s arms, chest, and back were bruised. She also had abrasions on her back. A vaginal exam revealed a hymenal transection, bruising, and a small oozing cut. That day J.G. viewed a video on R.E.’s Instagram page in which she was lying on the ground with J.C. on top of her. Melinda Gross testified that on the evening of October 7, 2019, she went to the rooftop area of her building to smoke a cigarette. She saw three or four men and a woman who seemed very intoxicated and appeared to be passed out. The men were passing alcohol around. Gross was concerned about the woman and asked if everything was okay. One of the men responded that everything was fine. Gross went downstairs but soon returned because she was worried. The atmosphere seemed like a “ruckus party,” with a lot of cheering and jesting. Gross heard

4 the woman making a “howling moan” and saying, “I don’t want to.” Gross went downstairs and called 911. Police responded within five minutes.

The Investigation

Los Angeles Police Department Officer Elizabeth Cairns and other officers responded to the call of a possible rape in progress. When Officer Cairns reached the rooftop of the building, J.G. was lying on the ground with her shirt and bra pulled up to her neck. Her pants were down by her ankles and her underwear was pulled to the side. J.G.’s pants were wet with what appeared to be urine. She was unconscious and unresponsive. R.E. was on top of her. Officer Cairns ordered R.E. to stand and put his hands in the air. R.E. initially tried to put his erect penis back inside his pants. J.C. and J.B. were near K.A. K.A.’s pants were also wet with urine. Her bra and shirt were pulled up above her breasts and her zipper was down. She had what appeared to be gravel on her clothing. Officers detained R.E., J.C., and J.B. K.A. and J.G. were transported to the hospital by ambulance. Officers recovered a condom, a bottle of Jose Cuervo tequila, and a Bombay gin bottle cap from the rooftop. R.E.’s DNA was found on swabs of J.G.’s vagina, perianal area, external genital area, and perioral area, as well as on the inside and outside of the condom. J.G.’s DNA was also found on the outside of the condom. A combination of DNA from R.E., J.C., J.G. and K.A. was found on a swab of R.E.’s penile shaft. A combination of DNA from J.B., J.G. and K.A. was found on swabs of J.B.’s glans penis, penile shaft, and scrotum. A combination of

5 DNA from J.C. and J.G. was found on swabs of J.C.’s glans penis and penile shaft. Male DNA was detected on K.A.’s neck. Male DNA was not detected on swabs of K.A.’s vaginal, cervical, perianal, and external genital areas. The use of a condom could prevent the transfer of DNA to those areas. With respect to J.C.’s DNA on R.E.’s penile shaft, it was possible that J.C. had sex with someone and left DNA, and then R.E.

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

Related

People v. Clark
261 P.3d 243 (California Supreme Court, 2011)
People v. Bean
760 P.2d 996 (California Supreme Court, 1988)
In Re Estrada
408 P.2d 948 (California Supreme Court, 1965)
People v. Jones
792 P.2d 643 (California Supreme Court, 1990)
People v. Teofilio A.
210 Cal. App. 3d 571 (California Court of Appeal, 1989)
People v. Matthew A.
165 Cal. App. 4th 537 (California Court of Appeal, 2008)
People v. Angela M.
4 Cal. Rptr. 3d 809 (California Court of Appeal, 2003)
People v. Eddie M.
73 P.3d 1115 (California Supreme Court, 2003)
People v. Yeoman
72 P.3d 1166 (California Supreme Court, 2003)
People v. Casares
364 P.3d 1093 (California Supreme Court, 2016)
People v. Dalton
441 P.3d 283 (California Supreme Court, 2019)
People v. M.S.
174 Cal. App. 4th 1241 (California Court of Appeal, 2009)
People v. Carlos J. (In re Carlos J.)
231 Cal. Rptr. 3d 160 (California Court of Appeals, 5th District, 2018)
People v. Buycks
422 P.3d 531 (California Supreme Court, 2018)
People v. N.C.(In re N.C.)
251 Cal. Rptr. 3d 629 (California Court of Appeals, 5th District, 2019)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
People v. R.E. CA2/5, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-re-ca25-calctapp-2022.