Opinion
A101345.
10-28-2003
THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. RONALD EUGENE PEARSON, Defendant and Appellant.
Ronald Pearson appeals from a judgment of conviction entered upon a jury verdict of guilty. Appellants court appointed counsel has briefed no issues and asks this court to review the record pursuant to People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436.
An information filed in Solano County Superior Court charged appellant with evading a police officer while driving with wanton disregard for the safety of others (Veh. Code, § 2800.2, subd. (a))[] and possession of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor (Health & Saf. Code, § 11364). The information further alleged that appellant suffered a prior strike (Pen. Code, § 1170.12) and served a prior prison term, a sentencing enhancement (Pen. Code, § 667.5, subd. (b)).
During pretrial in limine motions, the court granted the prosecutions motion to dismiss the misdemeanor (Health & Saf. Code, § 11364) and appellants motion to bifurcate the special allegations. Appellant then waived his right to have the jury decide the truth of the special allegations.
The jury found appellant guilty as charged (§ 2800.2, subd. (a)), and the court found both special allegations to be true (Pen. Code, §§ 1170.12, 667.5, subd. (b)).
The court sentenced appellant to the aggravated term of three years in state prison for evading a police officer while driving with wanton disregard for the safety of others (§ 2800.2, subd. (a)) and then doubled the term to six years because of appellants strike (Pen. Code, § 1170.12). The court enhanced the term by one year because appellant served a prior prison term (Pen. Code, § 667.5, subd. (b)). Thus, the aggregate term totaled seven years in state prison. The court granted appellant 211 days total presentence credit and ordered him to pay a $400 restitution fine.
Prosecution Case
On August 16, 2002, Benicia Police Officer Fred Ayala was on routine uniformed patrol in his marked police car. Just before 10:00 p.m., Ayala observed a green Ford Escort in the parking lot of Benicia Park. Because state park parking lots normally close at sunset, Ayala decided to investigate. Ayala touched the Ford Escorts hood and noticed that it was cold. He ran the cars license number and learned that the FBI had a warrant outstanding for the arrest of someone associated with the car named Ronald Pearson. In the interim, a second uniformed Benicia officer pulled into the lot in his marked car, and the two peace officers waited for a photo of the person named in the warrant to be transmitted so they could search the park.
Before the officers received the photo, Ayala noticed a 40- or 50-year-old male, later identified as appellant, drive the Escort out of the parking lot. Ayala activated the lights on his patrol car and within a very short distance detained appellant. Ayala told appellant to remove the keys from the ignition of the Escort and place them on the roof of the car. Appellant initially seemed to turn his engine off but shortly thereafter started it again and drove away.
Ayala pursued appellant onto a freeway with his siren on and his emergency lights activated. Appellant headed toward the Benicia Bridge at speeds of over 90 miles per hour and crossed the bridge at almost 100 miles per hour. Appellant weaved through the moderate traffic that was on the bridge and at times drove on the shoulder of the bridge. A second marked patrol car from the Benicia Police Department joined in the chase with its lights activated. After crossing the Benicia Bridge, appellant turned off his headlights and veered through traffic, cutting off several other vehicles. Appellant turned his lights back on and got off the freeway at the Pacheco Boulevard exit. He then proceeded at high speed along the residential and commercial streets in and around Martinez and in the process disregarded numerous stop signs and red lights. At one point, appellant drove 70 to 80 miles an hour on Contra Costa Boulevard.
When appellant approached the intersection of Pacheco and Arthur, the traffic light in his direction was red. Appellant lost control of his vehicle and veered into a pedestrian barrier pole off the roadway. He then turned left onto Contra Costa Boulevard and proceeded in the wrong direction facing oncoming traffic. At this point, appellant had slowed to 10 to 20 miles per hour and seemed to be about ready to stop. Ayala saw two police cars maneuver into position and one deliberately smash into appellants vehicle, bringing it to a halt.
Ayala and Pleasant Hill Police Officer Steve Woffinden approached appellants car, and Woffinden ordered appellant out of his vehicle. Appellant did not respond. Ayala opened appellants car door, and the officers pulled appellant out and placed him in restraint. During the two to three minutes that appellant was in Woffindens presence, the officer did not observe any objective symptoms of intoxication. Ayala drove appellant back to the Benicia Police Department where the officer questioned appellant. Ayala, too, saw no evidence that appellant was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. A pipe for smoking methamphetamine was recovered from appellants vehicle.
While in custody, appellant told Ayala that he fled because he knew the FBI was looking for him after he failed to appear for sentencing on a conviction for bank robbery. Appellant did not mention that he had been seeing demons or believed that anyone other than the police had been chasing him. However, he did state that he had been drinking and felt suicidal during the chase.
Defense Case
Appellant testified that he had been addicted to methamphetamine for 20 years. Up until a week before the incident, appellant had been in a rehabilitation program but fell quickly back into binging on the drug after he walked away from the program. Appellant spent the week before his arrest ingesting as much methamphetamine as he could. He spent the day of the high-speed chase smoking methamphetamine and drinking vodka at the park in Benicia.
Just before the chase, appellant began to hallucinate, believing that friends from his rehabilitation program had surrounded him and were trying to convince him to return to the program. He became terrified and wanted to get away by driving out of the park.
Almost immediately upon leaving the park, appellant recognized that two police cars were trying to pull him over, and he quickly complied. The officers ordered him out of the car, and as he looked back to see them, he suddenly hallucinated that the officers were demons out to harm him. Appellant floored the accelerator of his car and tried to escape as quickly as he could from what he believed were threatening creatures. At that point, appellant had no idea what he was doing; he only instinctively reacted out of self-preservation. The next thing appellant could remember was being pulled out of his vehicle and thinking, " `Oh, God, what have I done? " At a court trial on the issue of appellants prior convictions, the prosecution submitted certified copies of appellants commitment order (abstract of judgment) to the California Department of Corrections in 1997 for robbery (Pen. Code, § 211) and prison records indicating that he had been discharged in 2002 after having served a prison term.
Substantial evidence supports the jurys verdict and the courts findings.
The jury was properly instructed.
Appellant was represented by counsel throughout the proceedings.
There was no sentencing error.
There are no issues that require further briefing.
The judgment is affirmed.
We concur: Stevens, Acting P. J. and Gemello, J. --------------- Notes: All statutory references are to the Vehicle Code unless otherwise indicated.