People v. Taplin CA4/3

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 30, 2014
DocketG047672
StatusUnpublished

This text of People v. Taplin CA4/3 (People v. Taplin CA4/3) 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. Taplin CA4/3, (Cal. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

Filed 1/30/14 P. v. Taplin CA4/3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent, G047672

v. (Super. Ct. No. 11NF1700)

GARRETT EDWARD TAPLIN, OPINION

Defendant and Appellant.

Appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court of Orange County, James Edward Rogan and M. Marc Kelly, Judges. Affirmed. Athena Shudde, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Julie L. Garland, Assistant Attorney General, Melissa Mandel and Meredith S. White, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. In 2012, a jury convicted Garrett Edward Taplin of sexual penetration by a foreign object by force (Pen. Code, §§ 289, subd. (a), 801.1, subd. (a),1 count 1); assault with intent to commit rape (§ 220, subd. (a), count 2); and child annoyance with a prior sex conviction (§ 647.6, subds. (a)(1) & (c)(2), count 3). At a bifurcated bench trial later that day, the trial court found true Taplin suffered a prior serious and violent felony conviction (§§ 667, subds. (a)(1), (d), & (e)(1), 1170.12, subds. (b), (c)(1), 667.71, subd. (a)), and suffered two prior prison terms (§ 667.5, subd. (b)). At a sentencing hearing the following month, the trial court denied Taplin’s motion to strike his prior conviction pursuant to People v. Superior Court (Romero) (1996) 13 Cal.4th 497, 529- 530. The trial court sentenced Taplin to 67 years to life in prison as follows: count 2-the upper term of six years doubled to 12 years plus a consecutive term of five years for the prison prior; and count 1-25 years to life doubled to 50 years to life. The court stayed the sentence on count 3 pursuant to section 654. On appeal, Taplin argues his prosecution for counts 2 and 3 was barred by section 654’s proscription against multiple prosecutions, there was insufficient evidence to support count 2, and the trial court erred in instructing the jury with a modified version of CALCRIM No. 1191. Finding none of the contentions have merit, we affirm the judgment. FACTS In March 1999, 14-year-old Irene A. (Irene) was leaving a party when she stopped to talk with Taplin, who was standing behind the fence of an adjacent yard. At some point during the conversation, Taplin reached through the fence, touched Irene’s breast, stated, “‘I’m going to fuck you, bitch. I’m going to fuck you[,]’” digitally penetrated her vagina, and had her touch his erect penis. Irene returned to the party and told a friend what had happened. A teacher helped Irene report the incident to the police.

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

2 Over 10 years later, in December 2009, 17-year-old J. C. (J.) lived in Placentia with her mother and Taplin, her stepfather. One morning, J. and Taplin were alone in the house. J. was watching television in her bedroom when Taplin entered the room. Taplin “look[ed] at [her] funny,” which gave her a “weird vibe” and made her uncomfortable. J. collected her clothes and cell phone, walked into the bathroom to take a shower, and locked the door. After using the toilet, but before showering, J. heard the doorknob wiggling and then saw the doorknob moving. Knowing it was Taplin, J. asked what he wanted. Taplin responded, “‘Open the door so I can fuck you.’” J. used her cell phone to call her brother Jaspar and asked him to come get her because Taplin was trying to get into the bathroom. Taplin managed to open the locked door and J. saw a little black tool in his hand before she used her body weight to close the door and relock it. J. encountered “a little” resistance as she pushed the door close. Jaspar arrived approximately 15 minutes later and did not see Taplin in the home. Jaspar drove J. to the police station to report the crime. Later, police officers searched the home and found Taplin’s personal items, including his clothes hanging in a bedroom closet. J.’s mother informed the officers Taplin had resided in the home for two years, was on parole, and was a registered sex offender in Fullerton. Taplin was arrested for failing to register as a sex offender (§ 290). In May 2010, Taplin pleaded guilty to violating sections 290, subdivision (b), and 290.018, subdivision (b) [failure to register as sex offender] and was sentenced to two years in prison. Over eight months later, in January 2011, a complaint charged Taplin with assault with intent to commit rape (§ 220, subd. (a)), and child annoyance with a prior sex conviction (§ 647.6, subds. (a)(1) & (c)(2)). The charges arose from the 2009 incident involving J. In September 2011, the trial court granted the prosecutor’s motion

3 to dismiss the case, and the prosecutor re-filed the case alleging counts 1, 2, and 3 in October 2012. Taplin entered a not-guilty plea and denied all the allegations. Taplin filed a motion to dismiss counts 2 and 3, which allegedly occurred in 2009. He asserted prosecution was barred pursuant to section 654 and Kellett v. Superior Court (1966) 63 Cal.2d 822 (Kellett), because the 2009 charges stemmed from the same course of conduct as the May 2010 section 290 violation. Alternatively, Taplin moved to dismiss the information on the grounds the 12-month delay in filing the charges denied him his constitutional right to due process and a speedy trial. The prosecutor opposed the motion. The prosecutor argued Kellett did not apply in this case because counts 2 and 3 were committed at a different time and place than the section 290 offense. The prosecutor added Taplin failed to establish he was prejudiced by any delay in filing the charges or prosecuting the case. The trial court denied Taplin’s motion to dismiss. Regarding multiple prosecution, the court concluded the 2009 offenses and the section 290 offense were committed at different times, did not involve the same course of conduct, and were not transactionally related. As to due process, the court determined Taplin failed to show prejudice and denied the motion without prejudice. The court denied Taplin’s renewed motion to dismiss for an alleged due process violation because Taplin failed to establish actual prejudice. The prosecutor filed a motion to consolidate the offense involving Irene with the offenses concerning J. As relevant here, defense counsel argued consolidation was prejudicial under Evidence Code section 352 because the cases were weak and they “bootstrap[]” each other. The parties agreed the same Evidence Code section 352 analysis was applicable to Evidence Code section 1108. As relevant here, the court noted the Irene offense was 10 years old but there were “a lot of similarities” between the offenses and they were cross-admissible.

4 At the close of the prosecutor’s case-in-chief, Taplin moved to dismiss count 2 pursuant to section 1118.1, which the prosecutor opposed. The trial court denied the motion concluding there was sufficient evidence supporting each element of count 2. During the hearing on jury instructions, the prosecutor requested a modified version of CALCRIM No. 1191, substituting the words “‘beyond a reasonable doubt’” for “‘preponderance of the evidence’” so the prior sexual offense evidence had to be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Taplin objected to the instruction, arguing it applied to uncharged sex offenses and not charged offenses.

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People v. Taplin CA4/3, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-taplin-ca43-calctapp-2014.