People v. Vargas CA5

California Court of Appeal·Decided May 27, 2021·No. F077967·Unpublished

Opinion

Filed 5/27/21 P. v. Vargas 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NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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, F077967 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. DF012823A) v.

MIGUEL ANGEL VARGAS, OPINION Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Kern County. John D. Oglesby, Judge.

Hilda Scheib, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Xavier Becerra and Rob Bonta, Attorneys General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Michael P. Farrell, Assistant Attorney General, Catherine Chatman, Harry Joseph Columbo, and A. Kay Lauterbach, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. -ooOoo- INTRODUCTION A jury convicted defendant Miguel Angel Vargas of various offenses and enhancements related to his attack on a fellow inmate during which defendant cut the inmate’s face, requiring the inmate to get 21 sutures. The jury also convicted defendant of aggravated battery by an inmate on a state prison officer (Pen. Code, § 4501.1) after defendant spat a substance believed to be blood at an officer through the food port of defendant’s cell. (Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.) During jury deliberations, the trial court discharged a juror over defendant’s objection and replaced the juror with an alternate after concluding the juror was influenced by a situation at his workplace that prevented him from functioning as a fair and impartial juror. On appeal, defendant argues the court reversibly erred in discharging the juror. Defendant also contends the court prejudicially erred in refusing to instruct the jury on self-defense regarding the charges arising from his assault on a fellow inmate. He further asserts remand is necessary to permit the court to exercise its newfound discretion pursuant to Senate Bill No. 1393 (2017–2018 Reg. Sess.) (Senate Bill 1393) and consider whether to strike defendant’s section 667, subdivision (a) enhancement. Finally, in supplemental briefing, the parties concede defendant’s prior prison term enhancements must be stricken under Senate Bill No. 136 (2019–2020 Reg. Sess.) (Senate Bill 136). We conclude defendant is entitled to remand for resentencing under Senate Bill 1393 and, on remand, the trial court must strike the prior prison term enhancements. In all other respects, we affirm the judgment. FACTUAL BACKGROUND January 2, 2017, assault against fellow inmate Inmate Julio Rocha was housed in Wasco State Prison on January 2, 2017. At trial, Rocha testified he was walking down the stairs that day during the evening meal pass and getting his tray when he felt something cut him from behind. Rocha turned around and saw someone going upstairs; Rocha chased him. He neared the person and tried to throw him downstairs, but he was unable to. The officers began telling Rocha to get down, so he walked away and got down. At trial, Rocha identified defendant as the person who cut him. Rocha asked defendant who sent him and defendant responded, “2-

2. 5,” which is a prison gang. Rocha explained he associated with 2-5ers at one point but then he dropped out and asked that his name be taken off the gang “roll call” approximately three years before the January 2017 attack. Rocha was searched after the incident, but no weapons were found on him. Officer George Chacon was on watch at a control booth in the unit that day. He controlled the release of the prisoners from their cells for dinner, and he began releasing them one section at a time beginning with the lowest tier. As he was releasing the upper tier, he heard Officer Alex Mendoza shout, “Get down.” Chacon then saw two inmates fighting “with clenched fists [punching each other] in the upper facial area and chest area”; “[t]hey were fighting toe to toe.” He did not see anything that occurred between the inmates before he heard Officer Mendoza’s command. Officer Jacob Carter responded to a code regarding an inmate fight at approximately 6:35 p.m. on January 2, 2017. As he arrived at the housing units, he looked around and saw “all the inmates were down in a prone position.” Defendant was “proned out” in front of cell 225; he was housed in cell 227. Inmate Rocha was “proned out” near cell number 221. Carter searched the area for weapons and evidence. The cell doors were closed because the inmates had been walking to dinner at the time. There were no inmates in cell 225. Carter explained inmates utilize a one-and-a-half-inch gap between the floor and the cell to pass contraband. During his search, Carter recovered “what looked like … a slashing device … right by the door of [cell] 225”; it was in the middle of the doorway. It appeared to be a sharp razor with the handle taken off and the razor was tied to the handle with string. Carter believed it was made from a “shaving razor.” Another officer testified this was the most common type of weapon seen in prison. Licensed vocational nurse Laura Bernal initially examined Rocha. Rocha had a bruise on his arm, dried blood on his knuckles, fingers, and down his chest, and a bruise on his inner right thigh in addition to a “pretty bad slash” across his face. Bernal

3. documented Rocha’s injuries and secured a pressure dressing to his face before moving him to the “T.T.A.” (triage and treatment area). Dr. Andrew Zepp then tended to Rocha’s laceration. He noted the wound was 12 centimeters in length and it extended from Rocha’s right earlobe to the middle of his cheek. According to Zepp, the wound was not going to close on its own without some kind of “closure procedure,” so he sutured it with 21 stitches. He explained the wound “was not a laceration made for cosmetic intent,” meaning it was “not going to heal nice”; “[n]o matter how you try to close it, it’s gonna leave a scar.” Officer Jose Aceves explained that type of facial injury was often referred to as a “bitch mark” or a “puta mark.” It “usually signifies that the person who received it is either a snitch, a rat, or has some sort of sex offense, whether he’s a child molester or rapist.” Officer Aceves had also seen gang dropouts with such a mark because they were “basically considered a snitch.” Licensed vocational nurse Marilyn Kazaryan examined defendant in a holding cage after the altercation. He had dried blood on his forehead, the back of his head, and on his left thumb and right hand. The right side of his head, left inner arm, and right chest were all red. January 20, 2017, incident with Officer Gonzales Sean Gonzales was working as a correctional officer in January 2017. He was working in the administrative segregation (Ad Seg) unit in Wasco State Prison on January 20, 2017. At trial, Gonzales explained Ad Seg was considered “a prison within the prison”; inmates are sent there to separate them from the general prison population. Gonzales explained the cell doors are made of slotted metal and plexiglass, and they have a port through which laundry and meals are passed. There is a latch with a locking system on the port. Defendant was housed in the bottom tier of the Ad Seg unit on January 20, 2017. Officer Gonzales recalled opening the port to defendant’s cell and collecting and returning defendant’s laundry that day without incident. Later that afternoon, Gonzales

4. unlocked the port to defendant’s cell again to serve him “chow.” When Gonzales returned to pick up defendant’s tray, defendant “grab[bed] the food port.” Gonzales asked defendant to move his arm so Gonzales could lock the port; defendant moved his food tray and pulled his arm back into the cell.

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