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People v. Guereca

California Court of Appeals, Fourth District, Third Division
Jul 10, 2008
No. G039664 (Cal. Ct. App. Jul. 10, 2008)

Opinion

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

Appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court of Orange County No. 06CF3908, M. Marc Kelly, Judge.

Jackie Menaster, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Gary W. Schons, Assistant Attorney General, and Jeffrey J. Koch, Deputy Attorney General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.


OPINION

THE COURT:

Before Sills, P. J., Fybel, J., and Ikola, J.

The jury found appellant Oscar Mendoza Guereca guilty of dissuading a victim without force or threat (Pen. Code, § 136.1, subd. (b)), a lesser-included offense in count two of the amended information. The jury acquitted him of the charge of second degree robbery in count one and, although it found him guilty of receiving stolen property in count three, he does not challenge that conviction.

Appellant argues, and the Attorney General after consultation with the District Attorney concedes, that under the corpus delicti/independent proof rule of People v. Alvarez (2002) 27 Cal.4th 1161, no evidence supports the conviction on count two and therefore that conviction must be reversed. We agree. Alvarez holds a conviction is prohibited “where the only evidence that the crime was committed is the defendant’s own statements outside of court.” (Id. at p. 1180.) The purpose of this rule of proof “is to assure that a defendant has not confessed to a crime that did not occur.” (People v. Martinez (2007) 156 Cal.App.4th 851, 855.) This is why the prosecution must establish the corpus delicti based on evidence other than defendant’s extrajudicial statements. The prosecution did not do that here and therefore the conviction on count two must be reversed.

Appellant’s accuser, Ricardo Reyes, testified he and appellant were enrolled in the same Proposition 36 drug program. Reyes told his probation officer that one day appellant robbed him at knifepoint of a necklace and cash. When he said he would report him, appellant reportedly said he would send “his homies” after Reyes if he did. Appellant was arrested and, after waiving his Miranda rights, spoke with a Santa Ana Police Department detective. He denied robbing Reyes and said what really happened is that the two had hired a woman for sex and when she left the motel room Reyes accused appellant of taking his necklace. When Reyes said he would call the police, appellant told him not to do so. A few days later appellant saw the woman again and demanded the necklace back, which she returned. At trial, the motel clerk confirmed appellant had rented a room at the motel that night, and two workers at a restaurant across the street from the motel also testified Reyes had come up to them that night yelling that a woman had stolen his watch, wallet, and a necklace. Reyes pointed out the woman, who was quickly walking away, but they did not recognize her. They also did not recognize the man walking with her.

The Attorney General acknowledges the jury clearly did not believe Reyes’ version of events. If it had, it would have found appellant guilty of dissuading a victim with force or threat. The jury, therefore, must have found the attempt to dissuade a victim occurred in the motel room and the only evidence of such an attempt is appellant’s extrajudicial statement during police questioning. No other evidence in the record establishes the crime.

The judgment is affirmed as to count three. The judgment is reversed as to count two. The matter is remanded to the superior court to amend the abstract of judgment and to send a copy of the amended abstract to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.


Summaries of

People v. Guereca

California Court of Appeals, Fourth District, Third Division
Jul 10, 2008
No. G039664 (Cal. Ct. App. Jul. 10, 2008)
Case details for

People v. Guereca

Case Details

Full title:THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. OSCAR MENDOZA GUERECA, Defendant…

Court:California Court of Appeals, Fourth District, Third Division

Date published: Jul 10, 2008

Citations

No. G039664 (Cal. Ct. App. Jul. 10, 2008)