People v. White

34 Cal. Rptr. 3d 848, 133 Cal. App. 4th 473, 2005 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 9061, 2005 Daily Journal DAR 12331, 2005 Cal. App. LEXIS 1611
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 14, 2005
DocketB166502
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 34 Cal. Rptr. 3d 848 (People v. White) 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. White, 34 Cal. Rptr. 3d 848, 133 Cal. App. 4th 473, 2005 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 9061, 2005 Daily Journal DAR 12331, 2005 Cal. App. LEXIS 1611 (Cal. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

Opinion

CURRY, J.

Appellant Keith L. White appeals from his conviction on charges of forcible rape, forcible oral copulation by future threats, and robbery. In his original appeal, he contended that the evidence was insufficient to support the charge of oral copulation through threat of future injury. We sent a letter to counsel asking them to address whether the 1998 changes in Penal Code 1 section 288a, which separated the various methods of committing forcible oral copulation into different subdivisions, were intended by the Legislature to be technical and not substantive. While the appeal was pending, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Blakely v. Washington (2004) 542 U.S. 296 [159 L.Ed.2d 403, 124 S.Ct. 2531] (Blakely). Accordingly, we granted leave to file supplemental briefing on sentencing issues raised by Blakely. Finally, in August of this year, appellant sought, and we granted permission, to file a second supplemental brief seeking review of purported nunc pro tunc orders issued by the trial court after notice of appeal was filed. The effect of the orders was to substantially increase appellant’s sentence on the robbery charge by increasing the enhancement.

In our original opinion, we concluded that substantial evidence supported appellant’s conviction of forcible oral copulation, but that Blakely required reversal of the sentence imposed. Additionally, as respondent had conceded, *476 the trial court committed sentencing error by improperly increasing the enhancement on the robbery in its nunc pro tunc orders. We concluded that the matter needed to be returned to the trial court for resentencing. The case is now on remand from the Supreme Court for reconsideration in view of its decision in People v. Black (2005) 35 Cal.4th 1238 [29 Cal.Rptr.3d 740, 113 P.3d 534]. We continue to believe that remand for resentencing is required, but only for correction of the errors in the nunc pro tunc orders.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On March 10, 2003, a four-count amended information was filed, charging appellant with: forcible rape by means of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful injury in violation of Penal Code section 261, subdivision (a)(2), in counts 1 and 3; forcible oral copulation by future threats in violation of section 288a, subdivision (c)(3), in count 2; and second degree robbery in violation of section 211 in count 4. It was alleged as to counts 1, 2, and 3 that appellant was ineligible for probation or suspension of sentence pursuant to section 1203.065, subdivision (a), and that he used a firearm or deadly and dangerous weapon within the meaning of section 667.61, subdivisions (a), (b), and (e). It was alleged as to all four counts that appellant personally used a firearm within the meaning of section 12022.53, subdivision (b).

Appellant pled not guilty to all charges. He was found guilty by a jury of one count of forcible rape; forcible oral copulation through future threats as alleged in count 2; and robbery as alleged in count 4. He was found not guilty on count 3. The jury found the weapons allegations to be true.

Sentencing

For count 2, the court imposed the upper term of eight years. Reviewing the aggravating factors, the court stated at the sentencing hearing that appellant’s crime “involved unspeakable violence, great bodily harm, [and] the threat of bodily harm,” in addition to being “vicious” and “callous.” The victim was said to be “particularly vulnerable” due to her “slight physiognomy.” The court further noted that appellant was on probation or parole at the time of the crime for robbery, and that appellant “personally used a firearm in the commission of the crime.” The court believed that the crime involved “planning” but chose to “disregard that as an aggravating factor.”

Appellant was sentenced to 37 years four months to life, consisting of: 15 years to life for count 1; the upper base term of eight years enhanced by 10 years for count 2; and one-third the base term or one year enhanced by a term of *477 one-third the prescribed term or three years four months for count 4, all to run consecutively. 2 He was given 288 days of custody credit, and restitution and parole revocation fines were imposed pursuant to section 1202.4, subdivision (b) and section 1202.45. 3

Trial

The victim, Rita B., testified that on July 27, 2002, between 1:00 and 2:00 p.m., she went out for a walk on the bicycle trail that ran along the San Gabriel River. She first spotted appellant, wearing a blue shirt and dark pants, climbing over the fence that separated the path from a nearby backyard. He appeared to be walking away from her. A short time later, she heard angry shouting behind her. The words she heard were initially incomprehensible, but she came to understand that someone was saying “Turn around, bitch. Stop. Turn around, bitch. Look at me.” She turned around and saw appellant pointing a gun at her. The gun was only about a foot from her face. He said he was going to shoot her and told her not to turn around. He forced her to walk backwards toward a freeway underpass. He kept telling her to keep walking and threatening to shoot her, and also kept telling her to look at him.

Once they were in a somewhat more secluded area, appellant told Rita to empty her pockets. She had a radio, and offered it to him. He told her to remove her clothing. She initially refused, but he put the gun to her head. He told her to get down on her knees and open her mouth or he would shoot her. He placed his penis in her mouth. She tried to pull away. Putting both his hands on her neck, he pulled her back towards him, propping the gun briefly against a nearby wall. He next told her to stand, and tried to put his penis inside her anally. He then led her further down toward the riverbed. He made her lie down and put his penis inside her vaginally. At that point, she was not looking at him and did not know whether the gun was in his hands or on the ground.

While the attack was going on, a man riding a bicycle on the path came within view. Appellant lay down and told Rita to sit on him, facing towards him. He smiled at the bicyclist and gave him a “thumbs up” sign. He told Rita he would shoot her if she said anything. She waived her hands behind her back, trying to signal to the bicyclist that something was wrong. When *478 the bicyclist moved away, appellant got up and told Rita to stand up and get her clothes. She started to run one way down the path, and he ran the other way.

Rita immediately encountered a young couple on bicycles and told them she had been raped. She indicated appellant who could still be seen running away. The young man chased after appellant. The young woman called 911, and sheriff’s deputies soon arrived. A few hours later, the deputies took Rita to view appellant, who had been placed in custody. She positively identified him as the attacker.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

People v. Towers
57 Cal. Rptr. 3d 530 (California Court of Appeal, 2007)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
34 Cal. Rptr. 3d 848, 133 Cal. App. 4th 473, 2005 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 9061, 2005 Daily Journal DAR 12331, 2005 Cal. App. LEXIS 1611, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-white-calctapp-2005.