People v. Riazati

195 Cal. App. 4th 514, 129 Cal. Rptr. 3d 152, 2011 Cal. App. LEXIS 574
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 25, 2011
DocketNo. D056670
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 195 Cal. App. 4th 514 (People v. Riazati) 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. Riazati, 195 Cal. App. 4th 514, 129 Cal. Rptr. 3d 152, 2011 Cal. App. LEXIS 574 (Cal. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

Opinion

NARES, J.

Manuchehr Riazati accumulated at his residence more than 90 animals, which the County of San Diego Department of Animal Services (Department) ultimately seized pursuant to a search warrant after animal [517]*517control officers made multiple unsuccessful attempts to persuade Riazati to rectify code violations concerning the living conditions of the animals. A jury convicted Riazati of two counts of felony animal neglect (rabbits & dogs) and four counts of misdemeanor animal neglect (chickens, birds, guinea pigs & a duck) in violation of Penal Code1 section 597, subdivision (b) (hereafter section 597(b)). The court suspended imposition of sentence for five years, granted formal probation to Riazati, and ordered him to pay $42,263 in restitution and fines.

Riazati appeals, contending (1) the evidence is insufficient to support any of his six animal neglect convictions because there is no evidence he “failed to properly provide food, water, or shelter to the six species of animals under his care in a manner that created a high risk of death” to the animals, and thus there is no evidence he acted with the gross negligence required for a conviction under section 597(b); and (2) the court prejudicially erred and violated his rights to due process and a fair trial by instructing the jury (at Riazati’s request) that he could be found guilty of animal neglect under section 597(b) if his acts or omissions created a high risk of great bodily injury to an animal under his care, thereby reducing the prosecution’s burden of proof.

We conclude (1) Riazati is barred under the doctrine of invited error from challenging the jury instructions on the elements of the offense of animal neglect (§ 597(b)) and the definition of gross negligence given by the court, because his repeated and successful requests for those instructions were the result of a deliberate tactical choice at trial; (2) Riazati’s instructional error claim is unavailing on the merits because the challenged instructions are correct statements of applicable law; and (3) the evidence is sufficient to support all six of his section 597(b) animal neglect convictions. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

A. The People’s Case

It is undisputed that the Department received complaints about the condition of animals at Riazati’s residence and that during multiple visits there on and between February 28 and April 16, 2008,2 Department officers observed more than 90 animals.

[518]*518 February 28

On February 28, Shalimar Oliver, an animal control officer employed by the Department, responded to a complaint from one of Riazati’s neighbors regarding an aggressive dog on Riazati’s roof that was trying to jump down and possibly attack people walking by. When Officer Oliver arrived at Riazati’s home, she observed in the front yard various items of junk and holes in the ground that were filled with water with insects flying around. She detected a strong, foul odor emanating from both the front yard and the home. While knocking on the front door, Officer Oliver heard dogs barking and the sound of a lot of birds inside the home.

When Riazati answered the door, Officer Oliver, who was assisted by other officers, identified herself and explained she was there to investigate the complaint the Department had received. Riazati said one of his dogs might have been able to get on the roof from bales of straw located on the side of the house. Officer Oliver and Riazati entered the side yard on the left side of the home and observed a tethered juvenile German Shepherd-type dog, which was not sheltered from the elements and was lying in a muddy area with insects flying around it. The dog had no access to food or water.

In the backyard, Officer Oliver saw a large number of “random junk items,” such as an old toilet, and smelled a very noticeable odor of feces and urine. She testified that the feces “smelled as though it had been there for a while.” During the visit, Officer Oliver observed five dogs on the property. They did not have dog tags, and only one was licensed. As Riazati, who was becoming argumentative and uncooperative, did not want to purchase licenses through Officer Oliver, she issued a correctable citation.

When Riazati went inside to get his identification, Officer Oliver noticed an enclosed patio with a sliding glass door. A chicken that had come through the vertical blinds was leaning its head against the glass door in an unresponsive and atypical manner. Through the blinds Officer Oliver saw rabbits and guinea pigs, and she could hear birds, some of which were flying through the vertical blinds.

After explaining to Riazati her concern about the animals, Officer Oliver entered the enclosed back patio to check on their welfare. With free-roaming rabbits and guinea pigs at her feet, she noticed she was standing on what appeared to be soiled hay and feces. She saw at least 20 rabbits running [519]*519around and numerous noisy birds flying around. She saw about 30 birds, most of which were caged. Officer Oliver counted nine chickens, including the free-roaming chicken she saw leaning against the glass door; eight were in a cage that did not give them enough room to move around. The room had a very strong odor of a combination of feces and urine, and the sharp scent of ammonia associated with urine caused Officer Oliver’s eyes to water. The ventilation was inadequate because the windows in the room were barely open. The free-roaming chicken appeared weak. Feces appeared to be on the birdseed inside the bird cages, and the color of the water in the cages was brownish green. Some of the water had feces in it. The coats of some of the rabbits and guinea pigs appeared to be stained with feces.

From the enclosed back patio, Officer Oliver was able to see more animals in the living room and kitchen areas. When she entered those areas, Officer Oliver saw on the kitchen floor stains of significant size that appeared to be smeared feces. She smelled in both the kitchen and the living room the same strong odor of feces and urine. She found a glass aquarium full of finches and saw one that was missing a large amount of feathers, which caused her concern that other birds were picking on it. She was also concerned about the poor sanitation inside that aquarium. She found an adult Boxer inside a crate covered by a blanket. The dog appeared to be thin, and it had no access to water. Officer Oliver advised Riazati about how to properly feed the dog.

Riazati did not allow Officer Oliver and the other officers to further inspect the house. Officer Oliver explained to Riazati the violations she observed, advised him how to improve the conditions of the animals, and issued him a notice of complaint. The violations she noted were inadequate food, inadequate water, inadequate ventilation, and inadequate sanitation. Riazati relinquished a rat, and Officer Oliver took no other animals because the Department’s aim was to educate people and give them a chance to correct the violations.

March 8

Officer Oliver, accompanied by police officers, returned to Riazati’s home on March 8. The front yard appeared to be in about the same condition. In the backyard, the items of junk appeared to have been rearranged in different piles, but were still cluttering the yard. The rabbits and guinea pigs had been moved into a penned area in the backyard.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
195 Cal. App. 4th 514, 129 Cal. Rptr. 3d 152, 2011 Cal. App. LEXIS 574, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-riazati-calctapp-2011.