People v. Herrera

• Decision Date: 16 May 2016
• Docket Number: 2d Crim. No. B261842
• Parties: The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Richard Arce HERRERA, Defendant and Appellant.
• Court: California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals

247 Cal.App.4th 467

202 Cal.Rptr.3d 187

The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent

v.Richard Arce HERRERA, Defendant and Appellant.

2d Crim. No. B261842

Court of Appeal, Second District, Division 6, California.

Filed May 16, 2016

Leslie Conrad, Pacific Palisades, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Gerald A. Engler, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Steven D. Matthews, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, and David E. Madeo, Deputy Attorney General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

PERREN

, J.

A jury convicted Richard Arce Herrera of first degree murder and found true an allegation that he personally used a weapon. (Pen.Code, §§ 187, subd. (a)

, 189, 12022, subd. (b)(1).)¹ The trial court sentenced him to prison for 26 years to life with 986 days of presentence custody credit. Herrera contends that the trial court violated his constitutional rights to a fair trial and to present a defense by improperly restricting the psychiatric testimony that he could introduce. We agree and reverse.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Prosecution Evidence

Shortly before midnight, Herrera met up with his childhood friend, Bobby Khamvongsa, at Trunks, a bar in West Hollywood. Khamvongsa introduced his roommate, Diego Contreras, to Herrera. Herrera told Contreras that “he used to have the biggest crush on [Khamvongsa] back in high school.” The three of them walked to the Abbey, a club down the street. Khamvongsa told Contreras that he and Herrera were going to a club across the street and would meet up with him later. After about 15 minutes, Khamvongsa texted Contreras that he was going home.

Around one hour later, Herrera walked into a CVS store near the clubs. He purchased a steak knife, scissors, and a chocolate bar. The knife was in a security package that required a sharp tool to open. As Herrera spoke with the cashier, he had “a big smile on his face” and was “maybe even laughing.” He got into the car he had borrowed from his parents and drove away.

Shortly afterward, Herrera's car skidded to a stop at the corner of Orlando Avenue and Oakwood Avenue. Witness Christie Samani saw Herrera chasing Khamvongsa south along Orlando but lost sight of them. Herrera was about 5'>10? tall and weighed about 210 pounds. Khamvongsa was about 5'>6? tall and weighed about 140 pounds. Herrera returned to the car alone and drove to a location about 280 feet south of the intersection.

Witness Christiano Covino was a passenger in a car heading north along Orlando when he saw Herrera's car parked in the middle of the street. There was a pool of blood underneath the car. At first Covino thought Herrera was putting Khamvongsa into the car but then realized Herrera was pulling Khamvongsa out of the car. Khamvongsa appeared unconscious. Herrera placed him on the ground. He kneeled over Khamvongsa and appeared to be performing CPR. Herrera then got back in his car and drove off.

Khamvongsa died from blood loss after being stabbed 21 times. He was stabbed six times in the chest, abdomen, and armpit area and eight times in the back. He had defensive wounds

on both hands. The non-fatal stab wounds to his armpit and back were not deep, and he would have been able to run 280 feet after sustaining them. The deeper stab wounds

to his chest and back would have rendered him unable to move more than a few steps before collapsing. His blood alcohol level was 0.13 percent.

Herrera drove to his parents' apartment 11 miles away in Eagle Rock. He told his parents, “Help me. I killed somebody.” He was shaking and crying and appeared “really scared.” He said he had been attacked and raped and that he killed in self-defense. He showed his parents a wound

on the right side of his stomach. He told his parents that “he wanted to get away” and asked for the address of their relatives in San Diego. He asked his father to help him remove the license plate on the car. He did not want to call the police.

After taking off his bloody clothes, Herrera told his parents to take them outside and burn them. While he took a shower, his father called 911. The police arrived and took Herrera into custody.

Herrera did not have any visible cuts or major injuries. He had an abrasion on his right front hip. It was bright red, circular in shape, and about two inches across. It was consistent with him banging against a hard, circular object, such as the automatic shift in the center console of a car, rather than a knife wound

. Herrera did not complain of any pain and had no problem walking.

The police found Khamvongsa's bloody shorts in Herrera's parents' apartment. When the police searched Herrera's apartment, his computer was open to a search about rape and the “disciplines” of rape.

Defense Evidence

Herrera was born in the Philippines. He moved to Hawaii with his father when he was five years old and lived there until he was 20. His father was very strict. Sometimes, when his father used to drink, they would argue and his father would hit him.

When Herrera was eight years old, he joined a dance group led by Howell Mahoe. Before every concert, Mahoe would go into the boys' dressing

room and massage Herrera's penis until he became erect. Mahoe molested Herrera more than 200 times over a three-year period. Herrera did not tell his parents about the sexual abuse at the time because he did not understand what was happening.

When Herrera was 15 years old, he met Santos Rosario, who was 10 years older, on a public bus he was taking to school. One evening Rosario took him to a gay bar in Waikiki and bought him a few drinks. After Herrera was drunk, Rosario took him to his (Rosario's) house and started undressing him. Herrera, who “was a virgin,” repeatedly told Rosario, “no,” but Rosario forced him to have anal sex. He did not “realize the gravity” of what Rosario had done to him until years later when he was an adult.

Herrera next saw Rosario four years later when he was attending community college. Herrera and his father had been having “bad” arguments and Herrera was “looking to get out.” When he ran into Rosario at a gay bar, Rosario offered to rent him a room in his house. After Herrera moved in, Rosario and his friends convinced him to smoke “crystal meth” by telling him it was marijuana. He stayed awake for three days. He fell asleep after taking a pill Rosario gave him. He regained consciousness for a few seconds, realizing he was naked and his hand was on Rosario's penis, but then “passed out again.” When he awoke the next morning, his anus felt painful and there was blood and feces around it. He immediately moved back in with his parents.

A year later, Herrera was staying with Joseph Teig, his best friend at the time. Teig started using drugs and acting erratically. He made sexual advances, which Herrera rebuffed. Herrera suspected Teig had sold some of his belongings for drugs, which led to “a heated argument on the phone.” When Herrera returned to their apartment, Teig walked up to Herrera's car and started punching him through the window. Herrera was bleeding all over his face. He “had never experienced ... such violence” and thought Teig was trying to kill him. “It brought back ... a flood [of] memories” of Rosario and Mahoe.

Herrera moved to Los Angeles to live with his mother. His father joined them a few months later. Over the next few years, Herrera attempted suicide three times. He “couldn't get over all the stuff that had happened to [him] since [he] was a kid.” Eventually, he sought help at the Edelman Health Center, where he was treated by Dr. Kenneth Chuang.

On the day he met up with Khamvongsa and Contreras, Herrera was “in a panic” because he saw Teig's name and picture on Facebook as a friend suggestion based on their friends in common.² Herrera had felt that he “was getting [his] life back together,” but when he saw Teig he thought, “I can never get away from it.” He went to his parents' house, and his mother helped him deal with the trauma by telling him to forget Teig and “move on with [his] life.”

That evening, Herrera went to dinner with a few friends from the Filipino American Student Association (FASA) at California State University, Northridge. Afterwards, he called Khamvongsa, who told Herrera to meet him at Trunks and they would “hang out.” When Herrera arrived, Khamvongsa was there with Contreras and another friend. Herrera told Contreras about his high school crush on Khamvongsa as “friendly, funny banter.” He was no longer attracted to Khamvongsa and was dating someone else.

Khamvongsa asked Herrera to give him a ride home. Khamvongsa had been “drinking a lot” and was “wasted.” On the way to the car they stopped at a video store. While they were browsing the video selection, Khamvongsa came up behind Herrera, grabbed his buttocks, and massaged them for about five seconds. This caused Herrera to panic because he was having flashbacks of the times that he was molested. He felt conflicted because he knew Khamvongsa was his friend but thought that Khamvongsa was “trying to do something” to him.

Herrera tried to “put [what had happened] out of his mind” as they walked back to the car. He thought about a FASA luau that he planned to attend the next day. He wanted to bring “Salisbury steak tips.” In preparation, he thought that he should go to CVS to buy a kitchen knife and to Ralph's to buy some steak.

They got into the car and Herrera drove to CVS. Herrera went inside while Khamvongsa waited for him.

Herrera purchased the knife both to cook with and “just in case [he] had to defend [him]self.” He purchased the scissors because the pair he already had was rusting. He used the scissors to open the knife packaging to make sure that the knife was sharp enough to chop steak. When he got back into the car, he placed the bag in the center console. The knife handle was sticking out.

As Herrera was driving to Khamvongsa's house, Khamvongsa pulled down his own shorts and placed his hand inside...