People v. Trujillo

154 Cal. App. 3d 1041
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 25, 1984
DocketCrim. No. 43311
StatusPublished

This text of 154 Cal. App. 3d 1041 (People v. Trujillo) 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. Trujillo, 154 Cal. App. 3d 1041 (Cal. Ct. App. 1984).

Opinion

Opinion

GATES, J.

Defendant appeals from the judgment entered following a jury trial that resulted in his conviction upon two counts of felonious assault (Pen. Code, § 245) during one of which he had intentionally inflicted great bodily injury within the meaning of Penal Code section 12022.7. He was also found to have served two prior and separate terms of imprisonment. (Pen. Code, § 667.5, sub. (b).) He contends: “I. Because the trial court’s admonition regarding the dangers of self-representation were inadequate, appellant did not knowingly and intelligently waive his right to counsel. II. Appellant’s request for counsel on the day trial was to begin was not untimely. [III.] It was prejudicial error to shackle and gag appellant during a portion of the trial and then fail to instruct that the restraints had no bearing on appellant’s guilt. [IV.] Appellant’s motion for a new trial was improperly denied since the trial court had a sua sponte duty to bifurcate the trial on the issue of guilt and the validity of the prior convictions.”

Viewed in the light most favorable to the judgment, as required by the usual rule governing appellate review, the evidence herein established that on August 28, 1981, Paul Sanchez was managing a hotel in Huntington Beach. At approximately 3:30 p.m. that day he had gone to the bathroom located on the second floor in response to a tenant’s complaint that “some guys had run up there to go shoot up.” There was no one there when he arrived but as he turned to leave appellant came up behind him, turned him about and smashed him in the face with a beer bottle. The force of the blow drove Sanchez to his knees, splitting and breaking his nose as well as opening a cut below his eye.

Since appellant and Sanchez were well acquainted, a fact even appellant conceded, the possibility of mistaken identity was not truly an issue. Sanchez testified that he believed appellant had hit him with the bottle because “I had warned him over and over not to be going inside the hotel,” and using its facilities for improper purposes. The police were called and given appellant’s description.

A few hours later when Sanchez and his daughter exited through the rear door of the hotel to purchase food, they were met in the alley by appellant and two other men. After one of them said, “We got you this time,” Sanchez was struck in the head with an iron bar wielded by one of his assailants. [1080]*1080He fell to the ground where the three men joined in kicking him, injuring his ribs. Not content with this, appellant while standing over Sanchez, so savagely slashed his face with a razor that he inflicted a permanent scar “running from the center portion of his eyebrow, starting an inch above the eyebrow, to his ear on the right side of his head.”

When others, including Sanchez’ wife and another tenant, came to Sanchez’ rescue, appellant and his cohorts fled separately. Appellant initially entered a car driven by the woman with whom he was living, Glenda Lopez. However, he leaped therefrom when she struck a large trash can, propelling it against Sanchez’ daughter, injuring her. The police were called once more and as one of the units responded its driver, Officer John Clewett, observed appellant, whose description had again been broadcast, hastening from the scene. Following a short pursuit in his police car, Officer Clewett briefly lost sight of the fleeing appellant. He began a foot search and soon saw “somebody’s head protruding” from a large Dempsey dumpster. He described appellant’s capture in the following exchange:

“Q. [Deputy District Attorney] What did you do then? A. I approached to where I could get a view into the dumpster, hoping that he couldn’t see me first, or whatever was in there. At that time, I drew my revolver, approached the dumpster, looked over and observed the defendant sitting inside the dumpster. Q. Did you recognize him as the same man you had been chasing? A. Yes. He was the same man. And I observed at that time that he was sitting, holding his baseball cap in his hands. Q. His baseball cap he was holding in his hands? A. Yes. Q. Was it blue? A. Yes, it was a blue L.A. Dodger type. Q. Did he still have that white tank top on? A. Yes, he did. Q. Did you notice anything else about his appearance as you were getting him out of the trash can? A. I observed that he had blood on his right hand. Fresh blood. Q. Not coagulated yet? A. No. It was still bright red. Q. Did you see any cuts or injuries to his body? A. No. After removing him from the trash can, I inspected his hands and there was no cuts or bruises on him or his hands that I could see.”

In defense appellant averred that although he had had a disagreement with Sanchez in the past, he had not assaulted Sanchez on either occasion on August 28, 1981. He asserted that he had first seen Sanchez that day when the latter had entered a bar where appellant was drinking with Miss Lopez. Appellant claimed that at that time Sanchez had already been engaged in a fight with two other men and was bleeding from a facial wound. Not wishing to become involved, appellant decided to leave when he heard sirens approaching and ultimately was discovered hiding in the trash can as described by Officer Clewett. He acknowledged that there was blood on his hand at that time but asserted that it had come from a small cut inflicted by Sanchez [1081]*1081when, for some unexplained reason, appellant had attempted to trip Sanchez as Sanchez was backing out of the bar.

Manifestly, once all questions of credibility had been resolved, the foregoing evidence, albeit conflicting, was abundantly sufficient to sustain appellant’s conviction. Quite appropriately he does not contend otherwise. His first two contentions arise from the procedural incidents we now describe. On October 15, 1981, when appellant appeared for his continued preliminary hearing the following exchange occurred:

“The Court: Mr. Trujillo, it is my understanding that you wish to represent yourself in this felony charging you with violation of Section 245a of the Penal Code in two counts. You understand you have a right to have an attorney with you. You have a right to have an attorney appointed if you are not able to hire one yourself. You have been represented by the Public Defender and it is my understanding from them that you wish to make a motion to have the Public Defender relieved as attorney of record and that you wish to appear in pro per as your own attorney; is that correct, sir?

“The Defendant: Yes, it is.
“The Court: You understand on the other side there will be a trained District Attorney who has been through college and law school and knows the rules of law and the rules of evidence, knows how to make motions and arguments and objections and presumably unless you have been through law school you do not know all of that and are not similarly qualified and you might be at a disadvantage; do you understand that?
“The Defendant: Yes, sir, I do.
“The Court: And you feel you are capable of handling this without the assistance of an attorney?
“The Defendant: Yes, I do.
“The Court: You understand you would not be able to appeal based upon the fact that you had inadequate Counsel since you have chosen and are choosing to represent yourself, be your own attorney; do you understand that?
“The Defendant: Yes, I do.

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Bluebook (online)
154 Cal. App. 3d 1041, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-trujillo-calctapp-1984.