Opinion
C083625
03-20-2018
THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. ROBERT LLOYD TYLER, Defendant and Appellant.
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115. (Super. Ct. No. 15F7879)
Appointed counsel for defendant Robert Lloyd Tyler has asked this court to review the record to determine whether there are any arguable issues on appeal. (People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436.) We find no errors that arguably would result in a disposition more favorable to defendant and therefore affirm the judgment.
BACKGROUND
On the early evening of December 5, 2015, 17-year-old Dillon Hunter and his good friend 15-year-old Aaron Mieger were walking shoulder-to-shoulder on the side of the road, in the gravel. Suddenly Hunter saw Mieger fly into the air with his shoes and hat falling off. Mieger landed to the right of Hunter, by a speed limit sign. Hunter did not see the vehicle come from behind and hit Mieger, or hear a horn honk, or see any headlights.
The car that struck Mieger, a Toyota Camry, kept driving. Hunter saw the taillights but no break lights as the car accelerated. Mieger died as a result of the impact.
Matrayasa Acknecht and defendant were part of a group of mutual friends. On December 5, 2015, at around 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., defendant drove her from church to the Anderson outlets. Nothing was wrong with the car. It had started to rain.
Since it was raining and the defroster was not on, the windows fogged up, making it difficult to see out of the car. There was a loud boom against the windshield that shook the car. The impact happened on her side of the car, but Acknecht did not see anything.
Defendant was very upset following the impact. They freaked out and pulled over momentarily, saw nothing, and drove on.
Acknecht told a district attorney investigator that she told defendant to go back and see what he hit, but defendant refused. She told a church elder that defendant drove with a lead foot and was mad while driving.
The Camry was found about a mile from the scene. It had fresh collision damage to the hood and right front windshield. Damage to the windshield was consistent with being struck by a pedestrian's buttocks or head. According to an accident reconstruction expert, the Camry was traveling at 41 to 44 miles per hour at impact, and all four wheels were on the gravel, to the right of the fog line, at contact.
Defendant presented an accident reconstruction expert who opined that the impact happened on the road or the road's shoulder, and was unavoidable at 30 miles an hour or more.
Following a jury trial, defendant was convicted of failure to stop at the scene of an accident resulting in death or serious injury (Veh. Code, § 20001, subd. (b)(2)) and misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter as a lesser included offense of gross vehicular manslaughter (Pen. Code, § 192, subd. (c)(2)). The trial court sentenced defendant to a four-year state prison sentence, imposed various fines and fees, and awarded 125 days of presentence credit (63 actual and 62 conduct). On motion of appellate counsel, the trial court amended the award of presentence credits to 725 days (363 actual and 362 conduct).
DISCUSSION
Counsel filed an opening brief that sets forth the facts of the case and requests this court review the record and determine whether there are any arguable issues on appeal. (People v. Wende, supra, 25 Cal.3d 436.) Defendant was advised by counsel of the right to file a supplemental brief within 30 days of the date of filing of the opening brief. More than 30 days elapsed, and we received no communication from defendant. Having undertaken an examination of the entire record, we find no arguable error that would result in a disposition more favorable to defendant.
DISPOSITION
The judgment is affirmed.
/s/_________
Duarte, J. We concur: /s/_________
Hull, Acting P. J. /s/_________
Murray, J.