The People v. Rivera CA4/3

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedSeptember 4, 2013
DocketG046458
StatusUnpublished

This text of The People v. Rivera CA4/3 (The People v. Rivera CA4/3) 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
The People v. Rivera CA4/3, (Cal. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

Filed 9/4/13 P. v. Rivera CA4/3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent, G046458

v. (Super. Ct. No. 08CF0989)

LUIS ROSALES RIVERA, OPINION

Defendant and Appellant.

Appeal from a judgment and postjudgment order of the Superior Court of Orange County, Steven D. Bromberg, Judge. Judgment affirmed. Postjudgment order affirmed as modified. Michelle May, 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, Lilia E. Garcia and Felicity Senoski, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. * * * INTRODUCTION Defendant Luis Rosales Rivera was convicted of first degree murder, having struck his roommate three or four times in the head with a sledgehammer. Defendant first argues that there was insufficient evidence of premeditation and deliberation. The evidence of motive, planning, and the manner of killing, however, supports the jury‟s finding that defendant committed first degree murder. Defendant next argues the jury was incorrectly instructed regarding the ways in which it could consider evidence of defendant‟s voluntary intoxication, both at the time the crime was committed and during defendant‟s police interrogation. These arguments were forfeited because they were not raised in the trial court. We have nevertheless considered whether the failure to request additional or modified instructions constituted ineffective assistance of counsel, and we conclude that there was no violation of defendant‟s right to effective counsel. We therefore affirm the judgment. Finally, defendant argues that the trial court erred in imposing an administrative fee under Penal Code section 1203.1, subdivision (l). We agree, and direct the trial court to amend the restitution order to delete the reference to the administrative fee.

STATEMENT OF FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY Manuel Ramirez is the owner of a property located on Sycamore Avenue in Stanton.1 Defendant lived with two other men—Ruben Rojo and Miguel Delacruz—in a garage on the property. On March 26, 2008, Rojo arrived at the garage about 4:00 p.m., after work. Delacruz was in the garage at that time. Rojo left to do his laundry between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m.; he saw defendant at a pizza parlor during that time. After returning

1 We will refer to Manuel Ramirez and his son, Alberto Ramirez, by their first names to avoid confusion; we intend no disrespect.

2 to the garage, Rojo watched television with Delacruz for about an hour; about 9:00 p.m., they turned off the lights and went to sleep. Rojo awakened to the sound of thumping and moaning. The overhead garage light came on, and Rojo saw defendant next to his own bed; defendant put on a sweater and then left “[f]ast.” Rojo saw that Delacruz‟s face was bloody and injured. Rojo went to Manuel‟s residence on the property. About a half hour later, Manuel and his son, Alberto, arrived in the garage. Using a blanket, Manuel and Alberto carried Delacruz‟s dead body into a nearby alley. Alberto tried to clean the bloody trail from the sidewalk, and to clean the garage. Manuel and Alberto discarded Delacruz‟s bloody mattress and bedding in a nearby vacant lot. Investigators from the Orange County Sheriff‟s Department responded to a report of a body in an alley. Extensive blood spatter was found on the ceiling and on various items in the garage. A sledgehammer found in the garage tested positive for Delacruz‟s blood. No knife was found at the scene. A forensic pathologist testified that Delacruz died as a result of severe blunt head trauma. Delacruz had suffered a crushing-type injury at the lower forehead and upper nasal area, which had been inflicted by a heavy object. The sledgehammer was consistent with the type of instrument that could have caused the type of injuries Delacruz had suffered. Delacruz‟s body showed no signs of defensive wounds. About 6:30 a.m. on March 27, police investigators encountered defendant in front of the house next door to Manuel‟s house. Defendant was holding a 12-pack of beer, less one beer, and had a slight odor of alcohol about him. He did not attempt to run from the investigators. Defendant was observed to have what appeared to be blood on his shoe. He had no injuries on his hands or other parts of his body. Defendant was arrested, and interviewed by homicide investigator Daniel Salcedo at the sheriff‟s department. Defendant was read his rights under Miranda v.

3 Arizona (1966) 384 U.S. 436, and waived those rights. Defendant was calm and cooperative throughout the interview, and did not appear intoxicated. Some of defendant‟s responses to Salcedo‟s questions were nonresponsive or responsive to a different subject matter. When pressed by Salcedo, defendant admitted he had attacked Delacruz. Defendant told Salcedo that when he returned to the garage on the evening of March 26, he turned on the light, and saw Delacruz, who was lying in his bed, “straighten[] up” or “get[] up somehow.” Defendant then lunged at Delacruz and hit him with whatever he could grab. He stated that Delacruz was not able to defend himself because defendant “didn‟t give him a chance.” Defendant stated that he thought Delacruz was going to hit him, so he hit him first. He did not see Delacruz holding a knife that night, but assumed he had one because he always did. Defendant told Salcedo that, if given the chance, he would attack Delacruz again. He also accepted responsibility for committing the crime. When asked why he had attacked Delacruz that night, rather than at some other time, defendant responded that he had more anger inside him. He believed that Delacruz was “watching [him] sleep.” Defendant told Salcedo he did not have a good relationship with Delacruz, and defendant had wanted to fight Delacruz for about a year. He claimed Delacruz ordered him to clean the garage and the bathroom, and humiliated him. Defendant also told Salcedo that Delacruz had tried to pull down defendant‟s pants or underwear, and had twice tried to stab him. Defendant told Salcedo he drank five Bud Light beers at a pizza parlor after work on March 26. He denied being drunk, and said he knew what he was doing when he attacked Delacruz. After the attack, defendant went to a bar, and had “a good time” drinking and dancing until the bar closed. Defendant fell asleep under a tree; when he woke up, he bought more beer before returning home.

4 Defendant‟s blood was drawn after his interview with Salcedo; at that time, defendant had a blood alcohol level of 0.11 percent. Defendant was charged in an information with one count of first degree murder. (Pen. Code, § 187, subd. (a).) The information alleged, as a sentencing enhancement, that defendant personally used a deadly weapon in the commission of the crime. (Id., § 12022, subd. (b)(1).) A jury convicted defendant of first degree murder, and found the enhancement to be true. The trial court sentenced defendant to one year plus 25 years to life, with the possibility of parole. Defendant timely appealed.

DISCUSSION I. SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE Defendant argues there was insufficient evidence to support an inference of premeditation and deliberation, and therefore contends the judgment should be reversed as to degree.

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The People v. Rivera CA4/3, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/the-people-v-rivera-ca43-calctapp-2013.