People v. Baul
| Decision Date | 02 April 2012 |
| Docket Number | B225051 |
| Parties | THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. JOEL BAUL, Defendant and Appellant. |
| Court | California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS
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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.
(Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. LA063524)
APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Martin Herscovitz, Judge. Affirmed as modified with directions.
Karyn H. Bucur, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.
Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Assistant Attorney General, Victoria B. Wilson and Erika D. Jackson, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
A jury convicted appellant Joel Baul of carjacking (Pen. Code, § 215, subd. (a))1 (count 1); two counts of assault with a deadly weapon (§ 245, subd. (a)(1)) (counts 2 & 5); assault with intent to commit rape (§ 220, subd. (a)) (count 3); and attempted robbery (§§ 664, 211) (count 4). With respect to counts 1, 3 and 4, the jury found that appellant personally used a deadly and dangerous weapon (§ 12022, subd. (b)(1)). The jury also found true the allegations that appellant had suffered three prior prison term convictions within the meaning of section 667.5, subdivision (b), that he had suffered two prior serious felony convictions within the meaning of section 667, subdivision (a), and that he had suffered six prior serious or violent felony convictions within the meaning of the Three Strikes law (§§ 667, subds. (b)-(i) & 1170.12, subds. (a)-(d)).
The trial court sentenced appellant to state prison for a total of 119 years to life as a third-strike defendant. In count 1 (carjacking), the trial court imposed the high term of nine years tripled, or 27 years, with a one-year enhancement for knife use, 10 years for two 5-year priors, and three years for three 1-year priors for a total of 41 years to life in count 1. In count 3 (assault with intent to commit rape), the trial court imposed a consecutive term of 25 years to life with one year for knife use, 10 years for two 5-year priors, and three years for three 1-year priors for a total of 39 years to life in count 3. In count 4 (attempted robbery), the trial court imposed a consecutive term of 25 years to life, with one year for knife use, 10 years for two 5-year priors, and three years for three 1-year priors for a total of 39 years to life in count 4. The trial court stayed sentences of 38 years to life in counts 2 and 5 under section 654.
Appellant appeals on the grounds that: (1) he was deprived of his constitutional right to self-representation; (2) there was insufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict in count 3; (3) the trial court erroneously denied new counsel a copy of the trial transcript to prepare a defense for postconviction and sentencing proceedings; (4)appellant is entitled to per se reversal of his sentence because he was completely denied the assistance of counsel during his sentencing hearing; and (5) two of the one-year prison prior enhancements imposed in counts 1 through 5 should be stricken because the prior convictions for these prison priors were used to enhance appellant's sentence under section 667, subdivision (a)(1).
FACTS
Prosecution Evidence
On February 18, 2009, at approximately 7:30 p.m., Jasmine Irving drove into the underground parking garage of her apartment building on Vanowen Street in Canoga Park. She parked in her assigned space and got out of the car to fix a light inside the car in the backseat area. A man, later identified as appellant, came from behind and put a knife to her throat and held her. He pushed her inside the backseat with his body and closed the car door. He told her to be quiet and not to scream. He then choked her with both hands. She could not breathe and believed she was going to pass out. He tied her hands behind her back. Appellant put Irving on the floor in a crouching position, moved up to the driver's seat, and started the car. He began backing up and leaving the parking lot. Irving asked appellant if he wanted her car or money and told him to take everything. Appellant said he wanted money and Irving told him to take it. Her purse was in the front passenger seat. However, appellant just started driving the car. Irving managed to untie one of her hands, opened the back door, and jumped out of the car when appellant stopped at a stop sign. Irving ran to a gas station as appellant drove off with her car with her purse inside.
Irving called the police and reported what had happened. Irving's car and her purse were recovered later the same day in the parking lot of a Home Depot store that was less than a mile away. The police returned Irving's purse but retained custody of the car to search for evidence. Irving's pink slip for the car and $400 cash were missingwhen she got her purse back. Irving was unable to identify anyone in a six-pack photographic lineup and a live lineup.
On March 5, 2009, at some time before 7:00 p.m., A.K. drove into the gated parking area of her condominium building on Sherman Way in the San Fernando Valley. The parking garage was under the building and protected by a sliding iron gate. She parked her car in her parking spot. As she was texting a friend while seated in the driver's seat, the rear passenger door opened and a man later identified as appellant got into the backseat. Appellant grabbed A.K.'s hair and pushed her head to the side, almost to the passenger seat. He held a knife to her left cheek underneath her ear and told her to move to the passenger seat. Appellant said, "Just shut up," "Be quiet," and "Just move." A.K. took the key from the ignition and moved to the passenger seat. Appellant kept telling her to be quiet. Appellant moved to the driver's seat. He smelled of alcohol. Appellant asked A.K. personal questions, such as her name, her marital status, whether she had any children or a boyfriend, if she lived alone, and what her job was. Appellant took the keys from her. He told her to take her shoelace from her shoe. A.K. took off her shoe and removed the shoelace.
A.K. noticed that appellant wore gloves with the finger portion cut off. Appellant tried to tie her hands behind her back with the shoelace but could not. A.K. kept talking and trying to raise her head to see appellant and he told her several times to just shut up. Appellant told her that if she did not shut up he would hurt her. Appellant tried to use A.K.'s keys to start the car, but he could not figure out how they worked and began swearing. Appellant put the shoelace around A.K.'s neck at one point, and she managed to move her right hand and place it between the shoelace and her neck. Appellant also told A.K. to take off her pants. She refused.
A.K. 's car alarm went off twice as appellant tried to start the car. The first time, appellant pushed A.K. 's head down and told her to just shut up. When it went off the second time, A.K. managed to get free and get out of the car. She ran from the car to herneighbor, Dmitry Voznenko, who was nearby. She told him that there was a man in her car trying to kill her. Voznenko had heard a terrible scream and had seen two silhouettes in her car. He saw A.K. get out of her car without shoes and with a shoelace on her neck.
Appellant eventually got out of the driver's seat and headed toward A.K. and Voznenko while holding something in his right hand. Voznenko put A.K. behind his back, and appellant stared at them for around 10 seconds. When another neighbor, Starling Jenkins, opened the gate to the parking area, appellant left. A.K. yelled that he had her keys and appellant threw them down to the side. Voznenko called 911. Jenkins saw a hooded figure walking away "aggressively." Jenkins followed appellant on foot. Appellant headed west, up an alley, until he reached a bicycle chained to a pole. Jenkins then went to get his truck to follow appellant, but he lost track of him.
The police arrived shortly thereafter and talked to everyone about what had happened. A.K. was shown a six-pack photographic lineup but was unable to identify anyone.
Brent Epstein is a parole agent employed by the Department of Corrections. He supervises registered sex offenders within the San Fernando Valley, and he supervised appellant from January 12, 2009, through March 13, 2009, the date of appellant's arrest. Appellant wore a GPS device to monitor his movements. The device results in red dots on a grid on a computer screen that indicate whether the parolee is moving or standing still. The dots also show the pace of movement, i.e., whether the person is walking, on a bike, or in a car. The device is tamper-resistant.
During March 2009, at the request of law enforcement, Parole Agent Steve Reinhart performed a crime scene correlation with the tracking data on appellant's monitoring device. The monitoring bracelet can lose its signal when underground or under buildings. Reinhart used appellant's GPS monitoring bracelet to track his location on February 18, 2009, between 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. Reinhart found that appellant had been lingering near Irving's apartment complex at 7:05 p.m. There was also a 30-minute lapse in tracking between 7:12 p.m. and 7:58 p.m. The 7:12 p.m. signal was directly at the entrance to the underground parking structure. From 7:58 p.m. to 8:08 p.m., the tracking device showed appellant had gone to the Home Depot parking lot. He then left the Home Depot parking lot on foot. At 8:23 p.m., the GPS monitor showed appellant was back at his residence.
Reinhart also tracked appel...
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