People v. Santana CA2/1

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 25, 2014
DocketB248278
StatusUnpublished

This text of People v. Santana CA2/1 (People v. Santana CA2/1) 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. Santana CA2/1, (Cal. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

Filed 7/25/14 P. v. Santana CA2/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 ONE

THE PEOPLE, B248278

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. VA123745) v.

REYNALDO SANTANA,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. John A. Torribio, Judge. Affirmed as modified. Richard A. Levy, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Assistant Attorney General, Linda C. Johnson and Gary A. Lieberman, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. _______________________________ Reynaldo Santana appeals from a judgment entered after a jury found him guilty of committing a lewd act upon a child under the age of 14 years. (Pen. Code, § 288, 1 subd. (a).) After Santana admitted a prior conviction for continuous sexual abuse of another child (§ 288.5), the trial court sentenced him to 55 years to life in prison. Santana contends the trial court erred in failing to instruct sua sponte on lesser included offenses, unanimity, and “that the touching be for immediate or concurrent sexual gratification, not just to facilitate a subsequent sexual touching.” He also contends the court made errors (1) in overruling his objection to a “misstatement of the law” in the prosecutor’s closing argument and (2) in conducting the court trial on his prior conviction (before he admitted that conviction). As explained below, we modify the minute order from the sentencing hearing and the abstract of judgment to correct a clerical error regarding a statutory sentencing provision. As so modified, we affirm. BACKGROUND Evidence Presented at Trial The victim is Santana’s granddaughter, Elizabeth. Santana’s son is Elizabeth’s father. The conduct which forms the basis of the lewd conduct charge occurred in late August 2011, when Elizabeth was eight years old. Elizabeth reported Santana’s conduct to her mother, Nancy R., in October 2011. The evidence presented at trial began with that disclosure. Elizabeth was nine years old at the time trial commenced on March 26, 2013. Nancy R.’s testimony On October 17, 2011, Santana picked up Nancy and her seven-year-old son at the train station. Santana drove them to his ex-wife’s (Elizabeth’s grandmother) home to pick up Elizabeth. As she entered the car, Elizabeth did not “say hi” or “anything” at all. From there, Santana took Nancy and her two children to their house. Nancy noticed Elizabeth was quiet on the ride home, which was “strange.”

1 Further statutory references are to the Penal Code.

2 When they arrived at her house, Nancy exited Santana’s car and took her belongings inside. Elizabeth also exited the car, but stayed outside. When Nancy returned, Santana and Elizabeth were standing behind the car looking at clothes Santana had bought for Elizabeth. Elizabeth appeared “happy” as Santana showed her the clothes. Santana had often given Elizabeth gifts during the short period of time he was in her life—between one and two months. Before he left on October 17, 2011, Santana asked Elizabeth for a hug and kiss. Elizabeth “stepped back” from him. Nancy told Elizabeth to hug and kiss Santana and “give him a thank you.” Elizabeth gave Santana a “[q]uick hug and release.” They said goodbye and Santana drove away. When they went inside the house, Nancy asked Elizabeth “what was going on.” Nancy thought Santana and Elizabeth had “a good relationship.” Elizabeth had “always” seemed “happy” when Santana bought her gifts and took her for outings to get ice cream and to see movies. Nancy had never seen Elizabeth act “strange” around Santana prior to October 17, 2011. Elizabeth told Nancy “the reason why she didn’t want to hug and kiss her grandfather” (Santana). Elizabeth explained that on the day Santana took her to see The Smurfs movie—which Nancy recalled was during the last week of August in 2011— 2 Santana made her touch him while he was wearing his underwear. Nancy’s “heart fell.” Although she was aware Santana had been in trouble in the past for sexual misconduct with children, she had allowed Elizabeth to spend time alone with him. On October 17, 2011, Nancy called the sheriff’s department to report Santana’s conduct. A deputy responded to her home that evening and interviewed her and Elizabeth. According to Nancy, Elizabeth told the deputy Santana should go to jail for what he did to her. A few days later, a detective interviewed Nancy and Elizabeth.

2 Sustaining Santana’s hearsay objection, the trial court did not allow Nancy to testify about the specific statements Elizabeth made to her regarding the charged conduct.

3 Elizabeth’s testimony In August 2011, Santana took Elizabeth to see The Smurfs movie. Elizabeth felt “[s]cared” during the movie because Santana “was sticking his hand down [her] back.” She demonstrated at trial how Santana was touching her back below the nape of her neck. After the movie and a stop at a shoe store, Santana brought Elizabeth back to his home. At trial, the prosecutor asked Elizabeth, “When you got back to his home, what happened at his home?” Elizabeth responded, “He made me touch his penis.” During further questioning, Elizabeth explained how the touching occurred. Elizabeth was sitting by herself on the couch watching television. Santana, who was wearing pants and a shirt, went inside the bathroom and came out wearing only boxer shorts. He grabbed a blanket, sat down on the couch next to Elizabeth, and covered the two of them with the blanket. Their hands were underneath the blanket. Santana grabbed Elizabeth’s wrist, pulling her hand toward him, “and made [her] touch his penis.” On direct examination by the prosecutor, Elizabeth initially denied her hand touched the skin on Santana’s penis. She testified the tip of her left index finger “[j]ust barely” touched Santana’s boxer shorts over his penis. She described the sensation she felt as “[s]mooth.” Later, on redirect examination, Elizabeth testified the tip of her finger touched both Santana’s boxer shorts and the skin on the tip of his penis. Elizabeth felt scared as Santana covered her with the blanket, grabbed her wrist, and made her touch him. When her finger made contact with his boxer shorts/penis, she “pulled away and he let go.” Santana told her, “You should listen to me.” He “got up and grabbed the blanket.” Later, Santana put on swimming trunks and Elizabeth went swimming in a pool with him and his female friend. On the day it happened, Elizabeth did not tell anyone about the incident with Santana. She was “scared” Santana “might do something to [her] mom or something like that.” Elizabeth wound up telling her mother (Nancy) about the incident when her mother asked her why she did not want to hug Santana on an occasion when he came “to drop . . . off clothes and stuff.” Elizabeth told her mother, “he made me touch his penis.”

4 According to Elizabeth, her mother “started crying and called the cops.” Elizabeth told a deputy about the incident on the day it occurred. A few days later, she spoke with a detective. She also met with counselors and told them about the incident. Elizabeth answered affirmatively when Santana’s counsel asked her if she had talked to her mother and grandmother (Santana’s ex-wife) “a lot about what happened” with Santana.

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Bluebook (online)
People v. Santana CA2/1, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-santana-ca21-calctapp-2014.