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In re Efrain F.

California Court of Appeals, Second District, Sixth Division
Mar 24, 2008
2d Juv. No. B199443 (Cal. Ct. App. Mar. 24, 2008)

Opinion


In re EFRAIN F., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law. THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. EFRAIN F., Defendant and Appellant. B199443 California Court of Appeal, Second District, Sixth Division March 24, 2008

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

Superior Court County of Ventura Super. Ct. No. 2007007354, Manuel J. Covarrubias, Judge

Kenneth I. Clayman, Public Defender, Michael C. McMahon, Chief Deputy for Defendant and Appellant.

Edmund G. Brown, Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Pamela C Hamanaka, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Stephanie C. Brenan, Yun K. Lee, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

GILBERT, P.J.

The juvenile court sustained a petition alleging Efrain F. resisted, obstructed or delayed a peace officer in the performance of his duty. (Pen. Code, § 148, subd. (a)(1).) Efrain F. contends there is insufficient evidence to sustain the juvenile court's finding. We affirm.

All statutory references are to the Penal Code.

FACTS

Oxnard Police Officer James Langford was on patrol on February 26, 2007. At about 5:00 p.m., he was dispatched to investigate vandalism at a home behind a church. Langford was in uniform and driving a marked police car.

Langford was talking to the vandalism victim when he saw five or six minors peeking over a backyard wall. They looked both ways, then jumped over the wall in a single file. They gathered for a moment, looked towards the police car, and ran down an alley.

Langford followed in his police car. As he followed, he noticed graffiti on the walls of the house from which the minors jumped. There was also graffiti on the cars in the backyard.

Langford caught up with Efrain F. and his brother, U., as they walked toward a house. Langford stopped his car, rolled down the window, yelled at them, and told them to come to him. They did not come to him, but continued to walk down the driveway to the house.

Langford got out of his car and told Efrain and U. to "come here." They both looked at Langford and walked into the yard of the house. Efrain rolled a wrought iron gate closed after them. Efrain and U. stood on the driveway behind the closed gate facing Langford.

Langford opened the gate and told the minors to "come here and have a seat on the curb," where his car was parked. U. followed the officer's directions. Efrain stayed where he was.

Langford told Efrain three or four times to come and speak with him outside the yard. Efrain clenched his fists and said something to the effect of "what the fuck do you want?"

Langford walked up to Efrain to place him a control hold. Langford intended to take hold of his arm and escort him to the curb. When Langford reached out to take Efrain's arm, Efrain began swinging both of his arms to keep Langford away. Langford grabbed Efrain's shirt, eventually got hold of his arm and put him in a control hold.

DISCUSSION

Efrain contends there is insufficient evidence to support a finding that he violated section 148, subdivision (a)((1).

Section 148, subdivision (a)(1), provides that it is a crime to willfully resist, delay or obstruct any peace officer in the discharge or attempted discharge of his duty. The prosecution must prove that the defendant willfully delayed, resisted or obstructed a peace officer; that the peace officer was engaged in the performance of his duty; and that the defendant knew or reasonably should have known that the person was a peace officer engaged in the performance of his duties. (In re Muhammed C. (2002) 95 Cal.App.4th 1325, 1329.)

In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence we view the evidence in a light most favorable to the judgment. (People v. Johnson (1980) 26 Cal.3d 557, 578.) We discard evidence that does not support the judgment as having been rejected by the trier of fact for lack of sufficient verity. (People v. Ryan (1999) 76 Cal.App.4th 1304, 1316.) We have no power on appeal to reweigh the evidence or judge the credibility of witnesses. (People v. Stewart (2000) 77 Cal.App.4th 785, 790.) We must affirm if we determine that any rational trier of fact could find the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. (People v. Johnson, supra, at p. 578.)

Here the only element in question is whether Efrain willfully delayed, resisted or obstructed a peace officer. Efrain argues it is not sufficient for the officer simply to say, "come here." He relies on Florida v. Royer (1983) 460 U.S. 491. There the court stated, "[L]aw enforcement officers do not violate the Fourth Amendment by merely approaching an individual on the street or in another public place, by asking him if he is willing to answer some questions . . . . [Citations.] . . . [Citations.] The person approached, however, need not answer any question put to him; indeed, he may decline to answer the question at all and may go on his way. [Citation.]" (Id. at pp. 497-498.)

But Royer concerns a consensual encounter, not an officer's attempt to detain someone. If repeatedly ordering Efrain to "come here" is not sufficient to inform Efrain the officer was attempting to detain him, then the officer's attempt to grab him should have made that clear. That Efrain reacted by swinging his arms to keep the officer away shows both that Efrain understood he was being detained, and that he was resisting the officer in the performance of his duty. There is more than sufficient evidence to sustain the juvenile court's finding.

The judgment is affirmed.

We concur YEGAN, J., PERREN, J.


Summaries of

In re Efrain F.

California Court of Appeals, Second District, Sixth Division
Mar 24, 2008
2d Juv. No. B199443 (Cal. Ct. App. Mar. 24, 2008)
Case details for

In re Efrain F.

Case Details

Full title:In re EFRAIN F., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law. THE PEOPLE…

Court:California Court of Appeals, Second District, Sixth Division

Date published: Mar 24, 2008

Citations

2d Juv. No. B199443 (Cal. Ct. App. Mar. 24, 2008)