People v. Huffman, E041407 (Cal. App. 12/26/2007)
| Decision Date | 26 December 2007 |
| Docket Number | E041407 |
| Court | California Court of Appeals |
| Parties | THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. GEORGE DAVID HUFFMAN, JR., Defendant and Appellant. |
Appeal from the Superior Court of Riverside County, Nos. INF047166, INF049868, INF050209, John J. Ryan and John H. Major, Judges.* Affirmed as modified.
Charlotte E. Costan, 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, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Jeffrey J. Koch, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, and William M. Wood, Deputy Attorney General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
Defendant George David Huffman engaged in a crime spree that spanned over one year. Defendant committed petty theft, stole vehicles, possessed methamphetamine, obtained a fraudulent automated teller machine (ATM) card for another person's account and used the card to take money from the account, and committed trespass. Defendant would be released on one crime and then commit another. Defendant was eventually convicted of 13 counts related to this crime spree.
Defendant now contends on appeal:
1. His rights to a speedy trial under the state and federal Constitutions and pursuant to Penal Code sections 859b and 13821 were violated.
2. The trial court erred by refusing to grant his motion to recuse the entire Riverside County District Attorney's office or, in the alternative, the Indio branch.
3. The trial court improperly denied his Marsden2 motion on the ground it was untimely.
4. Defendant's federal constitutional rights were violated by the trial court's denial of his Faretta3 motion.
5. The trial court abused its discretion and deprived defendant of his right to a fair trial by admitting a 19-year-old prior conviction.
6. Defendant was improperly sentenced on the section 12022.1 on-bail enhancements.
7. By imposing the upper term on count 1, the trial court violated the principles stated in Cunningham v. California (2007) ___ U.S. ___ [127 S.Ct. 856, 166 L.Ed.2d 856] (Cunningham).
We find no prejudicial error. However, we agree one of the on-bail enhancements should be stayed and another stricken. We affirm the judgment in all other respects.
On April 17, 2004, loss prevention officer Richard Morales was working at the Stater Bros. store located in Desert Hot Springs. That morning, Morales observed defendant through a one-way security mirror in the delicatessen meat section of the store. Defendant took two packages of delicatessen meat out of the child seat portion of his shopping cart and placed them in his waistband.
Defendant met up with an unidentified male at the cashier. Defendant and the other man purchased some items (but not the delicatessen meat) and attempted to leave the store. Morales and two other security officers detained defendant outside the store. Defendant was handcuffed and brought back into the store.
When Morales asked defendant if he knew why he had been brought back into the store, he responded that it was because of cheese he had in his pocket. A block of cheese that belonged to the store was found in defendant's pocket. Defendant had not paid for it. Defendant told Morales he took the lunch meat secreted in his waistband because he had bad lunch meat at home that he wanted to replace. Defendant was arrested.
George Douglas Sanders was a professional golfer who owned a vacation home located at 2700 Golf Club Drive in Palm Springs. Sanders owned a Mercury Cougar. In July 2004, Sanders parked the Cougar at his home and left town for a golf tour. While Sanders was gone, his friend, Neal Dubin, started the vehicle on occasion so that the battery would not die.5 In July 2004, Dubin called Sanders and told him that the Cougar was missing.
On July 8, 2004, Cathedral City Police Officer Daniel Mackie was driving an unmarked vehicle in the Thousand Palms area. About 8:00 p.m., he observed a Cougar being driven erratically and noticed that it had expired registration tags. Officer Mackie directed a marked patrol car to stop the Cougar. Defendant was in the driver's seat. Defendant told Officer Mackie that his father had just purchased the vehicle and had not had time to register it. Defendant claimed the Cougar was in the process of being registered.
During a patdown search of defendant, a black film canister containing a white crystalline substance fell from what appeared to be defendant's waistband. Officer Mackie tested the substance with a portable kit at the scene, and it tested positive for methamphetamine. Based on the weight of the methamphetamine, it was the equivalent of two uses and was valued at about $ 40. Officer Mackie opined this was a usable quantity. The substance was also later tested in a laboratory and determined to be 0.59 grams of methamphetamine.
Defendant was arrested. At this point, the Cougar had not been reported stolen and was impounded due to defendant's arrest.
Palm Springs Police Sergeant Donald Crager investigated the theft of Sanders's Cougar and discovered that the Cougar was being stored in a tow yard in Cathedral City. He contacted Officer Mackie and determined that defendant had been driving the Cougar the night it was impounded.
Sergeant Crager talked to defendant. Defendant told Sergeant Crager that a person named Sean Nicholson let him use the car; however, Nicholson had told Sergeant Crager that he did not own the vehicle. Sergeant Crager searched the car at the tow yard. Casino cards bearing defendant's father's and mother's names were found.
Sergeant Crager indicated that a release of liability was filed with the Department of Motor Vehicles that showed the Cougar was transferred from Nicholson to Daniel Allen and Susan Cellier. Sergeant Crager attempted to get a handwriting sample from defendant, but he refused to provide one. Defendant stated that he turned in the paperwork for the change of ownership on the Cougar to the Department of Motor Vehicles on Nicholson's behalf. Both Allen and Cellier told Sergeant Crager that they did not own the Cougar.
John Rogers owned Desert Crane Service located at 68365 Perez Road in Cathedral City. John's son, Erik Rogers, worked at his father's business. In early July 2004, a Ford Ranger owned by the company was stolen sometime overnight. John reported it stolen.
About one week later, Erik saw someone driving the truck in Cathedral City. Erik called the police. Erik followed the truck to Palm Desert. The police arrived and pulled the truck over.
Riverside County Deputy Sheriff Kevin Cole was working patrol in Palm Desert on July 19, 2004, when he received a call about a possible stolen vehicle. Deputy Cole located the Ford Ranger truck being followed by Erik and initiated a traffic stop. Defendant was driving the truck. Deputy Cole interviewed defendant at the police station. Defendant denied that he had stolen the truck. He claimed that his friend "Gordo" had been too intoxicated to drive, so he let defendant use the truck. He never provided an address or phone number for Gordo. Defendant then spontaneously stated, Deputy Cole had not told defendant where the vehicle had been stolen prior to this statement.
In the front seat of the truck, Deputy Cole found a fanny pack. Inside the fanny pack, Deputy Cole found a glass pipe used to smoke controlled substances. Defendant told Deputy Cole that the fanny pack belonged to him. A hidden key that John kept behind the bumper of the car was missing when he got back the truck. John was the only one who knew about it.
On August 28, 2004, William Manders, who lived in Toledo, Ohio, rented a Hyundai Sonata from Dollar Rent A Car. Manders was the sole driver listed on the rental contract. Manders drove the Hyundai to Palm Springs and stayed at the Exile resort.
On September 10, 2004, Manders parked the Hyundai in the resort parking lot. He went to his motel room for approximately two hours. During that time, he took a shower. After he was dressed, he looked for the keys to the car but could not find them. He noticed that the front door to his room was not locked. Manders's car was gone. He called the police.
Riverside County Sheriff's Deputy Spencer Dierks was assigned to the Palm Desert station and was on duty on October 14, 2004. About 6:00 p.m. that day, Deputy Dierks was called to the Oasis Country Club in Palm Desert to investigate a suspicious vehicle described as a silver Hyundai. Deputy Dierks observed the car in a driveway of a home at the location (which was later determined to be a home belonging to defendant's girlfriend, Susan Cellier). Defendant exited the home and got into the Hyundai.
Defendant backed the car out of the driveway. Deputy Dierks followed him but did not activate his lights. Defendant drove around the corner, parked the car, and walked briskly away. Deputy Dierks called out to defendant, and defendant ran. Deputy Dierks was unable to find defendant during a subsequent search.
The license plates on the front and back of the Hyundai did not match. When Deputy Dierks ran the vehicle identification number on the car, he discovered it had been reported stolen and was owned by Dollar Rent A Car. During a search of the Hyundai, Deputy Dierks found casino cards in defendant's name.
Robert Feldman lived in Palm Desert. In September 2004, he left town. While ...
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