People v. Riser CA2/2

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 1, 2014
DocketB245327
StatusUnpublished

This text of People v. Riser CA2/2 (People v. Riser CA2/2) 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. Riser CA2/2, (Cal. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

Filed 10/1/14 P. v. Riser CA2/2

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 TWO

THE PEOPLE, B245327

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. YA075152) v.

DEANDRE BRANDON RISER et al.,

Defendants and Appellants.

APPEALS from judgments of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Mark S. Arnold, Judge. Affirmed. Robert Franklin Howell, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant Deandre Brandon Riser. Richard D. Miggins, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant Olton Vernell Drake. John A. Colucci, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant Helen Eva Spry. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Assistant Attorney General, Margaret E. Maxwell and Douglas L. Wilson, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. Defendants and appellants (defendants) Deandre Brandon Riser (Riser), Olton Vernell Drake (Drake), and Helen Eva Spry (Spry), appeal from their convictions of murder and attempted murder. Each defendant joins in any applicable arguments of their codefendants. Challenging the admission of three surreptitiously recorded conversations between Riser and Drake while sharing a jail cell, defendants assert violations of the Fourth Amendment, the confrontation clause, and the hearsay rule. In addition, Spry contends that the trial court erred in failing to give the jury accomplice instructions and that the prosecutor argued an improper theory of guilt. Drake contends that the evidence was insufficient to support a finding that he harbored an intent to kill. Drake and Spry contend that a sentence enhancement must be stricken as unauthorized due to defective pleading. We find defendants’ contentions to be without merit or forfeited, and affirm the judgments. BACKGROUND Procedural history All three defendants were named in each count of the nine-count information. Count 1 charged them with the murder of Amador Cendejas-Cortes (Cendejas-Cortes), in violation of Penal Code section 187, subdivision (a).1 Counts 2 through 9 charged defendants with the attempted, willful, deliberate, and premeditated murder in violation of sections 664 and 187, subdivision (a), of the following persons, respectively: Juan Carlos Laben (Laben);2 Maribel Magallon (Magallon); Jesus Rodriguez Negrete (Jesus); Hugo Sanchez (Sanchez); Jorge Cantu (Cantu); Mitsuhiro Nakano (Nakano); Jesus Rodriguez Torres (Torres); and Bryan Rodriguez Negrete (Bryan). The information alleged with regard to counts, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, that a principal and Riser personally used and intentionally discharged a rifle, causing great bodily injury or death to Cendejas-Cortes, Cantu, Laben, Magallon, Jesus, and Sanchez, within the

1 All further statutory references are to the Penal Code, unless otherwise indicated.

2 Laben spelled his name when he testified at trial, but the information was not amended. We use his spelling.

2 meaning of section 12022.53, subdivisions (b), (c), (d), and (e)(1). As to counts 7, 8, 9, the information alleged that a principal and Riser personally used and intentionally discharged a rifle, within the meaning of section 12022.53, subdivisions (b), (c), and (e)(1). With regard to all nine counts, it was alleged pursuant to section 186.22, subdivisions (b)(1)(C) and (b)(4), that the crimes were committed for the benefit of, at the direction of, and in association with a criminal street gang, with the specific intent to promote, further and assist in criminal conduct by gang members. The information further alleged pursuant to the “Three Strikes” law (§§ 1170.12, subd. (a)-(d), 667, subd. (b)-(i)), that Riser and Drake had each suffered a prior serious or violent felony conviction or juvenile adjudication. For purposes of section 667.5, subdivision (b), Riser was alleged to have suffered two prior convictions with qualifying prison terms. Defendants were jointly tried, and a jury found each defendant guilty of all nine counts as charged, found the murder to be in the first degree, and as to Spry and Riser, found all the attempted murders to have been willful, deliberate, and premeditated. Through inadvertence the willful, deliberate, and premeditated finding was omitted from Drake’s verdict forms for counts 2 and 6. Thus the jury made true findings on that allegation only as to counts 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 9. The jury found true the gang and firearm allegations as to all nine counts, including the allegation under section 12022.53, subdivision (d), which had been alleged in the information only as to counts 1 through 6. Drake admitted a prior juvenile adjudication for robbery for purposes of the Three Strikes law. Riser stipulated to the admission of conviction records, and the trial court found that he had been convicted as alleged. Riser and Drake were sentenced November 6, 2012, and Spry was sentenced January 7, 2013. The trial court sentenced defendants to aggregate prison terms as follows: Riser’s total term was 395 years to life; Drake’s total term was 338 years 8 months to life; and Spry’s total term was 50 years to life. The trial court awarded presentence custody credits, imposed mandatory fines and fees, ordered defendants to provide DNA samples, and ordered defendants to pay victim restitution of $52,925.43 as a joint and several liability. Defendants filed timely notices of appeal.

3 Prosecution evidence The shootings and investigation On April 29, 2009, at approximately 10:30 p.m., Jaime Carpio (Carpio) was cooking inside his taco truck at its usual location on Inglewood Avenue near its intersection with Lennox Boulevard, with about 15 customers outside. When Carpio heard gunshots and saw people collapsing or throwing themselves onto the ground, he looked out the window, saw an African-American man wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and blue pants, shooting a rifle toward his customers. When the shooting stopped, the man walked quickly away toward Lennox Boulevard. Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff Ernesto Castaneda and his partner arrived within minutes and found a chaotic scene and six gunshot victims, including Cendejas- Cortes who was soon declared dead by paramedics. He died when a bullet perforated his brain and entered his brain stem. The surviving victims suffered the following wounds: Laben was shot in the head; Cantu was shot in his right hip; Magallon was shot in the chest as she stood next to Nakano; and Jesus was shot in the upper back as he stood next to his father, his brother Bryan, and his cousin Sanchez, who was shot in his shin and thigh. All the victims were customers of the taco truck. At the time of the shooting Detective John Sanchez was patrolling with his partner Deputy Colter about a block from the crime scene. They heard what sounded like fireworks and then saw a white two-door car pass them at a high rate of speed, eastbound on Lennox Boulevard. The headlights of the patrol car illuminated the interior of the white car as it passed, and Detective Sanchez could see a white female driver and an African-American man in the front passenger seat.

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People v. Riser CA2/2, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-riser-ca22-calctapp-2014.