People v. Soto CA5

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 5, 2021
DocketF079046
StatusUnpublished

This text of People v. Soto CA5 (People v. Soto 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. Soto CA5, (Cal. Ct. App. 2021).

Opinion

Filed 8/5/21 P. v. Soto CA5

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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, F079046 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. BF170449A) v.

PEDRO RODRIGUEZ SOTO, OPINION Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Kern County. Brian M. McNamara, Judge. Randall Conner, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Xavier Becerra and Rob Bonta, Attorneys General, Michael P. Farrell, Assistant Attorney General, Julie A. Hokans and Henry J. Valle, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. -ooOoo- Defendant Pedro Rodriguez Soto contends on appeal that (1) the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support his conviction for making criminal threats; (2) the trial court failed to instruct the jury sua sponte on the lesser included offense of attempted criminal threats; and (3) defendant’s one-year prior prison term enhancement should be stricken in light of Senate Bill No. 136 (2019-2020 Reg. Sess.). We strike the prior prison term enhancement and affirm in all other respects. PROCEDURAL SUMMARY By information filed April 2, 2018, the Kern County District Attorney charged defendant with first degree burglary (Pen. Code, § 460, subd. (a);1 count 1) and criminal threats (§ 422; count 2). The information further alleged as to count 1 that the dwelling was inhabited at the time of the offense (§ 667.5, subd. (c)(21)) and alleged as to both counts that defendant had served four prior prison terms (§ 667.5, former subd. (b)). On October 24, 2018, the jury found defendant guilty on count 2 (§ 422). As to count 1, the jury was unable to reach a verdict, and the court declared a mistrial. In a bifurcated proceeding, the trial court found one prior prison term allegation true. On March 21, 2019, the trial court sentenced defendant to four years in state prison, consisting of the upper term of three years on count 2, plus a one-year prior prison term enhancement. On March 28, 2019, defendant filed a notice of appeal. FACTS On the night of November 19, 2017, Jorge and his wife, Janessa, were at home, asleep in their bed.2 Their one-year-old child was also asleep in their room. Their two other children, six and seven years old, were asleep in a room located about five feet from

1 All statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise noted. 2 Pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 8.90, we refer to some persons by their first names. No disrespect is intended.

2. the front door of the home. Janessa’s sister, Jennifer, and her boyfriend, Justin, were asleep in a third bedroom. At approximately 2:30 a.m., Janessa heard someone at the front door and woke Jorge. Jorge went to the front door. Janessa went to Jennifer and Justin’s room to wake them. Jennifer testified that Janessa was crying and saying that someone was trying to get in and that help was needed. Jennifer was terrified. She ran to Janessa’s room. There was a camera at the front door that points to the exterior of the door and it connected to a small monitor located in Janessa’s room. As Jennifer watched and listened to what was going on at the front door from that monitor, she called 911. Jennifer saw a man, later identified as defendant, asking for someone named Abel. When Jorge told defendant there was no one with that name at the address and that he had the wrong house, defendant got aggressive and said he was coming in. When Jorge told defendant he was not coming in, defendant said, “Yes, I am.” Jennifer heard defendant state that he was going to shoot everyone in the house. She saw defendant reach in his waistband. She demonstrated what she saw by making “her hand into a gun formation and [then] point[ing] it towards her waistband and [then] pull[ing] it back up.” Jennifer saw an object in defendant’s hand which she believed was a gun. She saw defendant grab a broom that was by the door and use it to try to break the window that was next to the door. The screen at the front door “busted open” right above the doorknob. Defendant then tried to reach in to unlock the door. She heard defendant say that he was “going to come in,” was “going to kill everybody,” and was “going to shoot everybody in the house.” Defendant motioned with his hands to Justin and Jorge to come out and fight him. Jennifer then heard the police helicopter, the police car engines, and the sirens and told the dispatcher the police had arrived. The 911 call ended and Jennifer went to the front door where the police were. Jennifer described the incident as a “very traumatic event” during which she was “super shaky, super anxious,” “scared,” and

3. “fear[ed] for [her] life . . . because [they were] being threatened.” Jennifer learned, when the police came, that the object she thought was a gun was the bottom part of the broom. Jorge testified that, when he got to the front door, defendant was pulling hard on the exterior locked metal security screen door, trying to open it. Jorge opened the interior front door. Defendant “stepped back a little bit” and let go of the screen door. Jorge asked if he could help defendant. Defendant said, “Let me in.” Jorge had never seen defendant before. Jorge told defendant that he had the wrong house. Defendant insisted it was the right house and raised his voice. Justin joined Jorge at the front door. Jorge asked defendant four to five times to leave his property. Because Jorge was not letting defendant in, defendant became “more mad” and, when asked to leave, defendant became more aggressive. Defendant stated the house belonged to his brother. When denied access to the house, defendant became “irate.” Defendant started kicking the bottom of the door under the door handle. He kicked “[m]aybe, like, five times” stating he was going to come in. Jorge was “a little nervous” and was afraid defendant would hurt the people in the house. There was an aluminum broom outside the house. Defendant picked up the broom, “snapped it in half,” and used it to jam and pry the metal screen above the deadbolt lock succeeding in prying the screen door open. Defendant cussed, hollered, kicked the door, and “was just mad.” Defendant put his hand inside the broken screen and “fixated on opening” the inside deadbolt lock. Justin handed a machete to Jorge. When defendant reached in, Jorge told him he would cut his hand off. Defendant continued to stick his hand inside the house. After warning defendant five times, Jorge used the “nonsharp edge” of the knife to strike defendant’s hand. Defendant removed his hand, then tried to “waist” the end of the broom like he had a gun stating he was going to shoot them. Defendant realized he had a cut on his hand and started kicking the door again. Defendant said he was going to shoot them or come back and shoot them. Jorge did not see a firearm. Defendant then gestured to Jorge and Justin to come outside to fight. Neither Jorge nor Justin exited the home. They did try to keep defendant at the

4. door because defendant said he was coming back and because they could hear the police coming and they wanted “[t]o make sure [defendant] got caught.” They did not tell defendant not to leave. When defendant saw the police, he ran. Jorge did not exit his home until after the police arrived because it was not safe. Joseph Armijo, a City of Bakersfield police officer, testified. He stated that he was dispatched at 2:35 a.m. on November 19, 2017, to Jorge’s home. He was with Officer Hernandez. The Kern County Sheriff’s Office helicopter also responded.

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People v. Soto CA5, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-soto-ca5-calctapp-2021.