People v. Whitehorn CA4/2

California Court of Appeal·Decided June 9, 2015·No. E061273·Unpublished

Opinion

Filed 6/9/15 P. v. Whitehorn CA4/2

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent, E061273

v. (Super.Ct.No. RIF1305052)

MARCUS DSHAUN WHITEHORN, OPINION

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from the Superior Court of Riverside County. Edward D. Webster,

Judge. (Retired judge of the Riverside Super. Ct. assigned by the Chief Justice pursuant

to art. VI, § 6 of the Cal. Const.) Affirmed.

Marcus Dshaun Whitehorn, in pro. per.; Arielle Bases, under appointment by the

Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

No appearance for Plaintiff and Respondent.

1 FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

A. STATEMENT OF THE CASE

On February 3, 2014, an information charged defendant and appellant Marcus

Dshaun Whitehorn with unlawful possession of a controlled substance, to wit,

methamphetamine, a felony, under Health and Safety Code section 11377, subdivision (a)

(count 1). The information further alleged that defendant was previously convicted of

first degree burglary, a serious and violent felony, in violation of Penal Code section 459,

within the meaning of Penal Code sections 667, subdivisions (c) and (e)(1), and 1170.12,

subdivision (c)(1).

On April 2, 2014, the court held a Marsden1 hearing. Defendant complained that

he did not have enough time to speak with his public defender. The court continued the

case for defendant and his public defender to have adequate time to speak. Thereafter,

the court denied the Marsden motion.

On April 14 and 15, 2014, a jury trial was held. Defendant testified on his own

behalf. Defendant admitted that he had the drugs in his possession. His only defense was

that he took possession of the drugs for the sole purpose of disposing of them. The jury

was instructed on the defense of transitory possession.

Defense counsel asked defendant why, after finding the drugs in his garage, he did

not call the police. Defendant responded: “Truthfully, I never really been in a position to

call the police, and, basically, calling the police just wasn’t something that was—I was

1 People v. Marsden (1970) 2 Cal.3d 118.

2 programmed to do.” Defense counsel then asked about the demographics of defendant’s

neighborhood. The prosecution objected; the court sustained the objection.

At a side bar, defense counsel argued that he was trying to establish defendant’s

state of mind for not calling the police. The court responded that counsel could ask

defendant why he did not call the police and in general about his values. The court,

however, told defense counsel that he could not ask about general ethnic breakdowns of

neighborhoods as such questioning would not be fair to those neighborhoods. The court

also stated that questions regarding how defendant grew up would allow the prosecution

to spend a lot of time on cross-examination and that these issues would be marginally

relevant. Thus, the court sustained the prosecution’s objection on Evidence Code section

352 grounds. Later, the court stated on the record that if it had allowed defense counsel

to ask about defendant’s background, the prosecution would have been able to question

defendant about his criminal background.

On April 15, 2014, the jury returned a guilty verdict for count 1, possession of

methamphetamine under Health and Safety Code section 11377, subdivision (a).

On that date, a court hearing was held on the prior strike. The prosecution

submitted evidence regarding the April 19, 2004, burglary conviction, including a

chronological history and an abstract of judgment indicating that defendant had pled

guilty to violation of Penal Code section 459, and had been sentenced to the midterm of

four years. The court found the prior strike true.

3 On May 9, 2014, defense counsel filed a Romero2 motion, which the prosecution

opposed. On May 23, 2014, the court denied defendant’s Romero motion, stating that

defendant had a regular and ongoing criminal history. Moreover, the court noted that

defendant had told his probation officer that he really had the methamphetamine to

smoke with his girlfriend, admitting that he had perjured himself.

That same day, the trial court denied probation and sentenced defendant to the

midterm of two years on count 1, which was doubled because of the strike prior, for a

total of four years. The sentence was to run concurrent with the sentence in case No.

RIF1000271, for which defendant was on probation at the time he was arrested in the

instant offense. Defendant was given credit for 71 actual days and 70 days under Penal

Code section 4019, for a total of 141 days.

The court ordered defendant to pay a restitution fine of $280, a parole revocation

restitution fine of $280, a criminal conviction assessment of $30, and a court operations

assessment fee of $40. The court found defendant unable to pay booking fees or to

reimburse the county for attorney fees.

The court then denied probation for case No. RIF10002771, the case for which

defendant was on probation at the time of his arrest in this case. That case involved a

conviction for violating Penal Code section 211 (robbery). In case No. RIF10002771, the

court sentenced defendant to the midterm of three years in state prison, to be served

2 People v. Superior Court (Romero) (1996) 13 Cal. 4th 497, 917 P.2d 628.

4 concurrently with the sentence in this case. The court then awarded defendant 212 actual

credits and 212 conduct credits under Penal Code section 4019.

On June 3, 2014, defendant filed this notice of appeal.

On November 3, 2014, defendant’s appellate counsel filed a brief on behalf of

defendant in accordance with the procedures outlined in People v. Wende (1979) 25

Cal.3d 436 and Anders v. California (1967) 386 U.S. 738. On November 24, 2014,

defendant filed a supplemental brief.

On January 5, 2015, we affirmed the trial court’s decision. On January 12, 2015,

defendant’s appellate counsel filed a petition for rehearing arguing that Proposition 47

applied to defendant. We denied defendant’s petition for rehearing on January 26, 2015.

On January 15, 2015, defendant filed a petition for resentencing with the trial

court, which is still pending.

On February 5, 2015, defendant filed a petition for review with the California

Supreme Court. On March 25, 2015, the Supreme Court granted defendant’s petition and

transferred the case back to this court to determine the retroactivity of Proposition 47. On

April 10, 2015, defendant filed a supplemental brief.

B. PROSECUTION EVIDENCE

On June 6, 2013, Officer Garcia responded to a call reporting suspicious activity

on Lasselle Street, near the mailboxes by the front of the gated community. The caller

described two suspects, one black and one white, both wearing hoodies and carrying

flashlights.

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