Opinion
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS
Santa Clara County Super. Ct. No. CC649567.
ELIA, J.
Following a jury trial, defendant Tyrone Brennen was found guilty of one count of receiving stolen property. (Pen. Code, § 496, subd. (a).) Thereafter, the trial court found true an allegation that defendant had a prior strike conviction for second degree robbery (§ 211, 212.5, subd. (c)), for which he had served a prior prison term (§§ 667, subds. (b)-(i), 1170.12, 667.5, subd. (b)).
Unless noted, all statutory references are to the Penal Code.
After the court denied defendant's Romero motion (People v. Superior Court (Romero) (1996) 13 Cal.4th 497) to strike the prior strike conviction, the court sentenced defendant to five years in prison consisting of the mid-term of two years for the receiving stolen property count doubled pursuant to sections 667 and 1170.12 and a one-year consecutive term for the section 667.5, subdivision (b) enhancement.
We appointed counsel to represent defendant in this court. Counsel filed an opening brief that stated the facts, but raised no specific issues. On September 17, 2007, we notified defendant of his right to submit written argument on his own behalf within 30 days. To date, we have not received a response from defendant.
Pursuant to People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436, we have reviewed the entire record and have concluded there are no arguable issues on appeal. Pursuant to People v. Kelly (2006) 40 Cal.4th 106, we provide "a brief description of the facts and procedural history of the case, the crimes of which the defendant was convicted, and the punishment imposed." (Id. at p. 110.)
Facts
Michael Gonzalez, an employee of the EZ-8 Motel in San Jose, testified that after the occupants of room 229 failed to pay the bill, he entered the room and saw clothes and camcorders. The camcorders were lined up on a dresser with price tags still attached. Gonzalez notified the manager of the motel. The manager called the police.
Room 229 was registered to a Jeremiah Brennen. He checked into the room on July 27, 2006. The identification he showed Gonzalez showed an address in Hayward. Gonzalez believed that there was more than one person staying in the room because he saw two or three men unloading belongings from a big orange SUV into the motel room. The men were Black males in their early 20's. They were approximately six feet two inches tall. The men carried about two or three normal size gym bags, duffel bags and backpacks.
Gonzalez did not see Jeremiah Brennen again until several days after the police arrived on July 29, 2006. He was no longer in the orange SUV, but was in a white car with another person.
San Jose Police Officer Wilson Yeung was dispatched to the EZ-8 Motel on July 29, 2006. When he entered room 229 he saw a bed with a pile of clothes on top and five hand-held camcorders with price tags attached lined up on the dresser. The camcorders were taken into evidence and introduced at trial.
In room 229, Officer Yeung discovered a black backpack on a chair and a black briefcase on the floor. The briefcase contained paperwork and another camcorder. Some of the paperwork was addressed to Isa Harris and some was addressed to defendant Tyrone Brennen. The paperwork that had defendant's name on it included Verizon Wireless bills. The camcorder found in the briefcase contained a video clip of a Black male with sunglasses that was not defendant.
Sergeant Ted Lewis found a receipt for the EZ-8 Motel in the name of Jeremiah Brennen in the black briefcase. It was the only document with Jeremiah Brennen's name in room 229. Also in the room, Sergeant Lewis discovered an envelope with paperwork from Bank of America addressed to defendant including a notice of insufficient funds. In addition, officers found a California Highway Patrol speeding ticket for Isa Harris. The officers did a records check through dispatch and discovered that Harris had a felony warrant out of Contra Costa County.
As Officer Yeung was going to the motel office, he noticed a brown Taurus driving into the motel parking lot. The person driving the Taurus was the same person who was on the video found on the camcorder in room 229. Officer Yeung saw the people in the car look up to room 229. Officer Harden was standing outside the room in full uniform. The Taurus made a U-turn to drive out of the parking lot. Officer Yeung approached the driver and told him to stop. He asked the driver to get out of the car and pat-searched him for weapons. Officer Yeung turned over the driver to Officer Harden to get further information while he approached the passenger, who was identified as defendant. The driver was Isa Harris.
Officer Harden sat Harris on the concrete curb and asked him his name. Officer Harden recognized the name Isa Harris from the ticket found in room 229. He attempted to handcuff Harris. Harris tried to flee, but Officer Harden grabbed his shirt. Officer Yeung handcuffed defendant and put him face down on the ground in order to go and assist Officer Harden. Eventually, Officer Yeung took Harris down to the ground and handcuffed him. Defendant was arrested. He provided an address in Hayward, which turned out to be the same as the one on the motel receipt in Jeremiah Brennen's name, and a phone number, which turned out to be the same as that on the Verizon Wireless bills found in room 229.
When the brown Taurus was searched, in the trunk, Sergeant Lewis found a Bank of America checkbook with defendant's name on it, a map of businesses in Santa Barbara, and a page from the Yellow Pages directory for Santa Barbara listing camera shops. Counsel stipulated that a cell phone taken from the Taurus was assigned the number 510 828-2968. This was the same phone number that defendant gave when he was booked.
The manager of the Calumet store in San Francisco testified that his store carried camera equipment, printers, darkroom equipment and film. On June 7, 2006, the police called him to the store regarding a robbery. When he arrived at the store he saw that the glass had been removed from the door and set on the sidewalk. The scissor gate behind the glass had been cut, but the alarm had not gone off. Camcorders and cameras were taken in the robbery. The manager was given a list of the items recovered from room 229. He confirmed through matching serial numbers that the items were stolen from his store on June 7.
Similarly, the manager of the Calumet store in Santa Barbara testified that there was a break-in at her store on July 24, 2006. When she arrived at the store she noticed that there was no glass in the door. Later, she saw the glass in the parking lot. In the store, some of the display cabinets had been emptied of video equipment and small digital cameras. Again, the alarm had not gone off. The manager identified some of the items recovered from San Jose as the items taken from her store.
Contra Costa County Deputy Sheriff Michael Schneider testified that on July 21, 2006, he responded to a call on San Ramon Valley Boulevard. He saw a newer gray Dodge Charger with the windows rolled down. The engine was still warm and the car was unlocked. When Deputy Schneider searched the car, he found Enterprise rental car papers and collision report for another car in the name of Tyrone Brennen. The collision report listed defendant's address in Hayward and his phone number. In addition, the deputy found a Google map in the glove compartment with directions from an address in Antioch to 288 East Cota Street in Santa Barbara. The parties stipulated that the Calumet store in Santa Barbara was located at that address.
In the trunk of the Dodge Charger the deputy found a fluorescent green and gray bag. The bag had a luggage tag on it with the name Isa Harris. The bag contained a hammer, three screwdrivers, a small pry bar, a propane torch, and sunglasses. The deputy opined that the tools would be considered burglary tools. In the glove compartment, the deputy found a cell phone, a receipt from the Sunglass Hut, a check, and a small handwritten receipt. The receipts both had defendant's name on them. Fingerprints lifted from the car matched defendant's fingerprints.
Wayne James, the manager of the Verizon Wireless store in Blossom Hill, confirmed that defendant's cell phone number was 510 828-2968. James explained that through cell phone records the location of a person making a call can be determined within one to two miles.
Pursuant to a search warrant, the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department obtained defendant's cell phone records for the time period between July 14 and July 29. Deputy Allan Shields analyzed and summarized the record. He testified that the place where the gray Dodge Charger was recovered in San Ramon corresponded to the cell phone towers that were used on the night of July 21, 2006, by the cell phone belonging to defendant. From July 22, 2006, at 9:08 p.m. to July 23, 2006 at 7:20 p.m. calls were made from the Salinas area on defendant's cell phone. Then, on July 23, 2006, between 12:25 p.m. and 7:20 p.m. defendant's phone was used in the Santa Barbara area. From July 27, 2006 at 3:19 p.m. to July 29, 2006 at 2:15 p.m. defendant's cell phone was used in Hayward, San Martin, San Jose, Milpitas, Cupertino and Los Gatos.
After deliberating for approximately eight hours over two days, during which the jury submitted questions regarding the standard of proof to be used for circumstantial evidence, the jury returned a verdict of guilty of one count of receiving stolen property. (§ 496, subd. (a).)
In full, the jury submitted the following questions. " 1. Are we to determine circumstantial evidence as beyond reasonable doubt for innocence or for guilt looking at the evidence as a whole or do we need to access each piece of evidence as a judgment of innocence or guilt? [¶] 2. We need a clearer explanation of what reasonable doubt is." After consulting with counsel and getting their agreement on the answer to the questions, the court read an additional instruction to the jury regarding circumstantial evidence.
In conclusion, after a comprehensive review of the entire record, we have failed to discover any issue requiring this court's attention.
Disposition
The judgment is affirmed.
WE CONCUR: RUSHING, P. J., PREMO, J.