People v. Williams CA4/1

California Court of Appeal·Decided February 3, 2015·No. D066230·Unpublished

Opinion

Filed 2/3/15 P. v. Williams CA4/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

THE PEOPLE, D066230

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v. (Super. Ct. No. FSB1100344)

CEDRIC DALE WILLIAMS,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of San Bernardino County, Kyle

S. Brodie, Judge. Affirmed.

Lynda A. Romero, 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, Eric A. Swenson, Lynne

McGinnis and Elizabeth M. Carino, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and

Respondent. A jury convicted Cedric Dale Williams of second degree robbery (Pen. Code, 1

§ 211; count 1), sexual penetration by a foreign object (§ 289, subd. (a)(1); count 2) and

attempted murder (§§ 187, subd. (a) & 664; count 3). As to all counts, the jury found true

a principal of Williams was armed with a firearm (§ 12022, subd. (a)(1)) and Williams

personally used a firearm (§ 12022.53, subd. (b)). As to count 3 only, the jury also found

true Williams personally used a firearm (§ 12022.5, subd. (a)), personally discharged a

firearm (§ 12022.53, subd. (c)), personally discharged a firearm causing great bodily

injury (§ 12022.53, subd. (d)), personally inflicted great bodily injury (§ 12022.7, subd.

(a)) and committed the offense for the benefit of a criminal street gang (§ 186.22, subd.

(b)(1)(C)). The court sentenced Williams to an indeterminate term of 25 years to life and

to a determinate term of 38 years four months.

On appeal, Williams contends his conviction on counts 1 and 2 must be reversed

because defense counsel was ineffective when counsel did not move to exclude

identification testimony from victim Jane Doe that Williams contends was based on

unduly suggestive pretrial identification procedures. As we explain, we disagree with

this contention and thus affirm the conviction on counts 1 and 2.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL OVERVIEW

A. Counts 1 and 2

In mid-December 2010, Doe and her friend were walking through an empty field

near her home in the City of Highland when she heard footsteps and the next thing she

knew, a man came from behind, wrapped his arm around her neck and put a silver gun

1 All statutory references are to the Penal Code. 2 inside her mouth. At the same time, the man's accomplice pointed a black gun at her

friend. The man told Doe, "Give me what you got." At gunpoint, Doe gave the man

cigarettes, keys to her home, her ID, some change and a piece of paper containing her

then current address.

Next, the man fondled Doe's breasts, including her nipples. The man then licked

two of his fingers and, while facing Doe, twice digitally penetrated her vagina. After the

man made a derogatory comment to Doe about the licking, the attackers demanded she

and her friend take off their shoes and socks. The attackers then ran off yelling, "Spook

Town Piru."

After the robbery and sexual assault, Doe went home, took a shower and then sat

in a tub with bleach because she felt "dirty." Doe did not then report the crime to the

police because her attackers knew where she lived and she worried they would cause her

and/or her family further harm.

B. Count 3

A few days later, Daniel Henderson was walking through the same field where

Doe and her friend had been attacked. Henderson was on his way home from the store

when Henderson saw a man he later identified as Williams. Henderson had seen

Williams many times before, including at Henderson's apartment complex, where

Henderson lived with his wife and three daughters.

As they passed each other, Henderson heard the man say, "What's up?" in an angry

tone. As Henderson kept walking, the man said, "Hey cuz, hey cuz" and when

Henderson turned around, the man was close behind him. Feeling nervous and uneasy,

Henderson took a few steps toward the man because Henderson did not like the man

3 following him. The man told Henderson he was a member of the "Spook Town Crips."

Henderson noticed one of the man's hands was hidden under a hoodie, by the man's

waistline.

The man pulled out a gun from his waistline and pointed it at Henderson. As the

man continued to ask Henderson what he was looking at, Henderson apologized and told

the man he was not in a gang and meant no disrespect. The man in response cocked the

gun and said to Henderson, "Get out of here you . . . old-ass nigger." Unarmed,

Henderson started walking away. As he did, his right bicep was hit by a bullet. When

Henderson looked at his arm, he saw the man shooting at him. Henderson heard two

more gunshots and realized he had been hit in the femur and the buttocks. Henderson's

left leg broke from underneath him and he fell to the ground. Henderson dragged himself

to the edge of the field where he remained until help arrived.

About 20 or so people came to Henderson's assistance. One person called 911.

As relevant here, another person that witnessed the Henderson shooting was Doe , who

according to Henderson was wearing a long white T-shirt on the night he was shot. As he

lay on the ground, Doe walked across the street and told Henderson she knew his

attacker. Specifically, Henderson testified she told him, "that guy robbed me the other

day -- the other night."

On the evening Henderson was shot, Doe was on her way to visit a friend. As she

walked, Doe saw a man standing by a telephone pole near the field where she had been

attacked. Doe believed the man was the "same person who had robbed [her], maybe, two

or three days before." Doe recognized the man based on his clothing, hair and stature.

Scared, Doe started walking faster when she heard gunshots and saw the man by the

4 telephone pole shoot another man holding a bag (i.e., Henderson). According to Doe, the

man holding the bag was unarmed. Doe testified she walked over to the injured man and

said, "the person that shot you, that was the person that robbed me a couple of days ago."

The 911 call was played for the jury. In response to the 911 operator's request for

a description of the shooter, Doe was heard in the background saying, "I know who he is,

that's the same guy, he just robbed [me] just the other night." During the same 911 call,

as Henderson was telling the operator his assailant was wearing a hoodie, Doe was also

heard saying the man was a "black guy" and something about a "silver gun." Shortly

thereafter, the woman who called 911 gave the phone over to Doe, who engaged in the

following exchange with the 911 operator:

"JD [Jane Doe]: Hello.

"911: Hi ma'am, did you see the guy at all?

"JD: Yeah you know what, this is, not last night but the night before he robbed

me. It was the same guy.

"911: So the same guy . . .

"JD: Yes.

"911: Tried to robbed [sic] you that shot this guy?

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