People v. Rodriguez

236 Cal. Rptr. 3d 304, 25 Cal. App. 5th 1100
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal, 5th District
DecidedJuly 19, 2018
DocketD071405
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 236 Cal. Rptr. 3d 304 (People v. Rodriguez) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal, 5th District primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Rodriguez, 236 Cal. Rptr. 3d 304, 25 Cal. App. 5th 1100 (Cal. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

BENKE, J.

*1103Pedro Rodriguez met Rebecca on an online dating application when he was 41 and she was 16 years old. Rodriguez arranged an in-person meeting with Rebecca a few weeks later and, on numerous occasions over the next several months, engaged in various sexual acts with her in hotel rooms he had rented. A jury convicted Rodriguez of 11 offenses involving unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, one count of burglary in violation of Penal Code section 459,1 and one count of attempting to dissuade a witness from reporting a crime in violation of section 136.1, subdivision (b)(1).

Rodriguez contends there was insufficient evidence to support the conviction for burglary because section 459 requires an invasion of a possessory interest in the subject room or building and, much like the lessee of an apartment, he had an unconditional possessory interest in the hotel room he rented. He asserts the trial court should have either dismissed the charge or provided the jury with a pinpoint instruction regarding the significance *306of any such possessory interest. To the extent this court concludes there is a relevant distinction between his possessory interest in the hotel room and a homeowner or lessee's possessory interest in a home or apartment, Rodriguez argues the result would be a violation of his constitutional right to equal protection. In addition, Rodriguez contends there was insufficient evidence to support the conviction for attempting to dissuade a witness pursuant to section 136.1, subdivision (b)(1) because any attempt he made to dissuade Rebecca occurred only after she made an initial report to the police.

We conclude there was sufficient evidence to support both convictions, that the court did not err in its refusal to dismiss the burglary charge or its *1104instruction to the jury concerning burglary, and that the equal protection clause is not applicable because individuals renting hotel rooms are not similarly situated to those owning or leasing a residence. We therefore affirm the judgment.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Rebecca went on a trip to San Francisco with a school group in January 2014 when she was 16 years old. While on the trip, she logged into a social media dating application on her phone that allowed her to create a profile and locate other individuals in the same geographic area. Using the application, Rebecca made contact with an individual identifying himself as "Max Powers." "Max" initially told Rebecca he was 16, but she eventually learned his real name was Pedro Rodriguez and that he was actually 41 years old.

Rebecca and Rodriguez continued talking on various messaging applications and exchanged telephone numbers within a couple of weeks. By mid-February, Rebecca had sent Rodriguez nude photographs of herself at his request. Around that time, they also started discussing meeting in person, but Rebecca told Rodriguez that she did not want to have sex until marriage and that she did not believe in using birth control, due to her religious beliefs.

On February 22, 2014, Rodriguez drove from San Francisco to San Diego County to see Rebecca. Rodriguez rented a hotel room and then drove to Rebecca's neighborhood. He parked his car in a cul-de-sac behind Rebecca's house and she snuck out through the backyard to ensure her parents would not see them. They drove around running errands together for a while, and then drove to the hotel Rodriguez was staying at so he could get a different shirt from his room. Rodriguez asked Rebecca to come up to the room but she said she did not feel comfortable and waited for him in the car. When Rodriguez returned, he continued to pressure her to go up to the hotel room, saying that he did not think she trusted him, and Rebecca eventually agreed. As soon as they entered the room Rodriguez grabbed her and kissed her. He then removed her clothes and engaged in various sex acts with her.

Rodriguez drove back to San Diego County on March 8, 2014, and rented a room at the same hotel. He took Rebecca out to breakfast, then back to the hotel, where he took her clothes off, orally copulated her, and engaged in intercourse with her. Rebecca took several photographs during the encounter, including one of Rodriguez orally copulating her and one of the two of them lying in bed together without any clothes.

Over the course of the next several months, Rodriguez met Rebecca and engaged in various sex acts with her on several other occasions. At their last *1105meeting, in May 2014, Rodriguez was upset that Rebecca had been talking and sending pictures *307to another individual-a boy closer to her own age-and told her if she did not stop, he would tell her mother everything they had been doing and would send her mother illicit pictures and videos that Rebecca had sent to him. They continued to argue throughout the following week. Rebecca felt Rodriguez was blackmailing her with his threats so she decided to tell her mother what had happened with Rodriguez herself. She gave her mother a phone that Rodriguez had given her so they could communicate without anyone knowing and told her what had been happening.

Shortly thereafter, Rebecca's mother took her to the police station to make a report. The next day, after discovering Rebecca had talked to the police, Rodriguez sent Rebecca an e-mail asking her to sign a statement that said she was forced to give an inaccurate statement to the police after being told she was a party to a crime, and that she only knew Rodriguez from an online dating application. Rebecca did not sign the statement and, instead, spoke with a detective from the police department several more times and went with the detective to identify each of the hotel rooms she had visited with Rodriguez. However, she also remained in contact with Rodriguez, both directly and through an intermediary, and he continued to threaten her and pressure her to change her story.

The police arrested Rodriguez in June. While in jail, he had his brother send another phone to Rebecca so he could communicate with her. He also moved to represent himself at the preliminary hearing and rehearsed the questions he planned to ask Rebecca over the phone with her. By the time of the preliminary hearing in August, Rodriguez had convinced Rebecca to change her testimony to say that she never had a sexual relationship with him. However, the court did not find her testimony credible and allowed the case to continue.

After the preliminary hearing, Rodriguez moved to set aside the burglary charge pursuant to section 995. He argued he could not be guilty of burglary in violation of section 459 because, in accordance with People v. Gauze (1975) 15 Cal.3d 709, 125 Cal.Rptr. 773, 542 P.2d 1365 ( Gauze

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
236 Cal. Rptr. 3d 304, 25 Cal. App. 5th 1100, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-rodriguez-calctapp5d-2018.