People v. Sobbe CA5

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 24, 2026
DocketF088724A
StatusUnpublished

This text of People v. Sobbe CA5 (People v. Sobbe CA5) 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. Sobbe CA5, (Cal. Ct. App. 2026).

Opinion

Filed 3/24/26 P. v. Sobbe CA5 Opinion after vacating prior opinion

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

THE PEOPLE, F088724 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. 23CM2517) v.

CASEY PATRICK SOBBE, OPINION Defendant and Appellant.

THE COURT* APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Kings County. Melissa R. Lucero D’Morias, Judge. Gordon B. Scott, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Kimberley A. Donohue, Assistant Attorney General, Eric L. Christoffersen and Amanda D. Cary, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. -ooOoo-

* Before Detjen, Acting P. J., Peña, J. and Harrell, J. Defendant and appellant Casey Patrick Sobbe (defendant) was convicted by a jury of evading a peace officer, felony driving a vehicle without consent, felony receiving a stolen vehicle, misdemeanor hit and run resulting in property damage, and misdemeanor possession of burglar’s tools. Defendant was sentenced to a total term of five years, four months. On appeal, defendant contends that: (1) he was improperly convicted of both stealing a vehicle and receiving the same vehicle as stolen property; (2) his felony conviction for stealing a vehicle must be reduced to a misdemeanor because there was no evidence of the vehicle’s value; and (3) the abstract of judgment must be corrected to reflect that the count 3 conviction was for receiving a stolen vehicle and not for vandalism. We will remand this matter to correct the abstract but otherwise affirm. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND On May 6, 2024, the Kings County District Attorney filed a six-count amended information that charged defendant with: evading a peace officer (Veh. Code, § 2800.2, subd. (a); count 1); felony driving or taking a vehicle without consent (Veh. Code, § 10851, subd. (a) (section 10851(a)); count 2); felony receiving a stolen vehicle (Pen. Code, § 496d, subd. (a) (section 496d(a)); count 3); felony vandalism (Pen. Code, § 594, subd. (a); count 4); misdemeanor hit and run resulting in property damage (Veh. Code, § 20002, subd. (a); count 5); and misdemeanor possession of burglar’s tools (Pen. Code, § 466; count 6). All offenses were alleged to have occurred on or about September 10, 2023. With respect to the first four counts, the amended information alleged that defendant had a strike prior (Pen. Code, §§ 667, subds. (b)–(i), 1170.12, subds. (a)–(d)), and alleged a number of circumstances in aggravation. Also on May 6, 2024, a jury trial commenced. On May 7, 2024, the trial ended when the jury reached a verdict. Prior to the jury returning a verdict, the trial court granted defendant’s motion to dismiss the count 4 vandalism charge. The jury found defendant guilty on the five remaining counts. In a

2. bifurcated proceeding, the court found true the prior strike allegations and found true many aggravating circumstances. On July 31, 2024, defendant filed a motion to strike the strike prior. On September 24, 2024, the trial court denied defendant’s motion to strike. The court also imposed a total sentence of five years, four months as follows: on count 1, four years (the middle term doubled by the strike prior); in count 2, 16 months consecutive to count 1 (one-third of the middle term doubled by the strike); on count 3, 16 months stayed pursuant to Penal Code section 654 (one-third of the middle term doubled by the strike prior); on count 5, 180 days concurrent to count 1; and count 6, 180 days concurrent to count 1. On September 25, 2024, defendant filed a notice of appeal. FACTUAL BACKGROUND Defendant’s Arrest On September 10, 2023, the Hanford Police Department received information from a Flock camera system1 that a reportedly stolen truck was near an intersection within Hanford. At 12:48 a.m., the Hanford Police dispatched two separate patrol vehicles, one driven by officer Ernest Escalera and the other driven by officer Wayne Shoemake, to check on the stolen truck. Escalera located the stolen truck and attempted to conduct a traffic stop. Escalera could see that there was one person in the truck. After the truck pulled to the side of the road and Escalera exited his patrol vehicle, the truck sped away. The driver was speeding (reaching speeds of between 60 and 70 miles per hour in areas with 25 to 35 miles per hour speed limits) and ran numerous stop signs in his attempt to escape from Escalera. The driver eventually lost control of the truck and crashed through a residential fence and struck a parked car. The driver then exited the

1 The Flock camera system has the ability to read license plate numbers and detect stolen vehicles.

3. truck and ran away. Escalera tried to chase after the driver but lost sight of him for two or three minutes. Shoemake was traveling behind Escalera during the pursuit. However, after the driver crashed the stolen truck, Shoemake took a different route and arrived on the scene from the opposite direction between 30 seconds and one minute after the driver crashed the truck. Shoemake did not see anyone running when he arrived. However, a resident of the area waved at Shoemake and pointed to a parked lifted truck. Under the lifted truck, Shoemake saw someone who appeared to be hiding. The individual under the lifted truck was sweating, had dirt on him, and seemed scared and to be “in some sort of state of panic.” Shoemake took the individual, who was later identified as defendant, into custody and turned him over to Escalera. Escalera recognized defendant as the driver of the stolen truck who had fled on foot. Escalera arrested defendant. Escalera searched defendant and found three shaved vehicle keys2 in defendant’s pocket. A screwdriver and more shaved keys were also found in the stolen truck. The steering column of the truck was damaged, and wires were exposed. The condition of the steering column was such that the truck could be started with a screwdriver. Trial Testimony of Luis Ibarra At trial, Luis Ibarra testified that he was the registered owner of the stolen truck and that he had not given anyone in the courtroom permission to drive it. The prosecutor asked Ibarra, “Now, prior to—on or about September 10th, 2023, did you previously report your [truck] as stolen?” Ibarra replied, “Yes.” The prosecutor then asked, “And on September 10th, 2023, was your [truck], in fact, stolen?” Ibarra replied, “Yes.” After

2 Shaved keys are filed down so they can be used to start vehicles with a key ignition and are considered burglary tools.

4. Ibarra confirmed that he still had the keys in his possession when the truck was stolen, the prosecutor asked, “And just to clarify, you reported your [truck] as stolen before September 10th, 2023?” Ibarra asked the prosecutor to repeat the question, and the prosecutor asked, “You reported your [truck] as stolen prior to September 10th, 2023?” Ibarra answered simply, “Yes.” Jury Instructions In part, the jury was given CALCRIM Instruction No. 1820 (Instruction 1820), involving count 2 for taking or driving a vehicle without permission in violation of section 10851(a). Instruction 1820 as given to the jury read in full:

“The defendant is charged in Count 2 with unlawfully taking or driving a vehicle in violation of … section 10851(a).

“To prove that the defendant is guilty of this crime, the People must prove that:

1. The defendant drove someone else’s vehicle without the owner’s consent;

AND

2.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
People v. Sobbe CA5, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-sobbe-ca5-calctapp-2026.