People v. Lewis
| Decision Date | 18 May 2021 |
| Docket Number | C085621 |
| Court | California Court of Appeals |
| Parties | THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. JOEL LADON LEWIS, 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NOT TO BE PUBLISHED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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.
A jury convicted defendant Joel Ladon Lewis and Gerell Whatley of crimes in connection with a series of armed robberies that occurred in October 2008. Finding that errors were committed during defendant's competency trial, this Court reversed defendant's conviction in 2015 and remanded for a second competency hearing. In 2016, a jury found defendant competent to stand trial and defendant was convicted of first degree murder, two counts of second degree robbery, delaying or obstructing a public officer, and unlawful firearm activity. The jury found true the special circumstance allegation that the murder of Michael Rutledge was committed during the commission of a robbery, within the meaning of Penal Code section 190.2, subdivision (a)(17)(a).1
Defendant now contends (1) the trial court abused its discretion in denying his request to continue the competency trial; (2) the trial court erred in denying his request for a pinpoint instruction to clarify the meaning of "ability to rationally assist counsel;" (3) the evidence supporting the felony-murder special-circumstance finding was insufficient; and (4) the probation report must be corrected to reflect certain changes the trial court agreed to make.
We conclude (1) the trial court did not abuse its discretion in finding no good cause to continue the competency trial; (2) the trial court did not err in refusing to give defendant's special jury instruction; (3) defendant's sufficiency of the evidence challenge has no merit; and (4) the probation report must be corrected. We will affirm the judgment and direct the trial court to correct the probation report.
The People charged defendant with a series of crimes committed in July and October 2008. All dates below refer to 2008. We discuss facts relevant to the competency trial claims in the Discussion section.
On July 1, Adrienne W. reported that someone in a green Jeep Cherokee pointed a rifle at her as the vehicle drove slowly by her home. Adrienne told police the driver's name was Gerell Whatley. She described Whatley as a black male in his 20's with short hair. She described the passenger of the Jeep Cherokee as a black male in his 20's with braids in his hair. Police stopped a Jeep Cherokee within about an hour later. Defendant and Whatley were in the vehicle. Adrienne identified Whatley as the driver and defendant as the passenger of the Jeep Cherokee that drove by her home. A loaded riflewas concealed under the back passenger seat of the vehicle. Police found two expended .9 millimeter shell casings for a handgun in the passenger's side area of the vehicle.
At 9:20 p.m. on October 16, two African American men, about 20 to 25 years in age, robbed Jose M. after he parked his car outside his home in Stockton. One robber pointed a black semiautomatic gun at Jose. A second robber searched Jose's pockets and removed his wallet. The robbers ran to a light-colored, four-door car.
Later the same evening, a masked gunman confronted Margarito L. outside his home in Stockton, about five miles from Jose M.'s house. Margarito ran toward his garage but encountered a second masked man with a gun. Margarito hit the second man with his hand, causing the man's mask to come off. Both men hit Margarito and took his wallet from his pocket. Margarito described one robber as a young black male with a shorter Afro and the second robber as a young black male with shoulder-length braids. Margarito described the suspect vehicle as a brown four-door sedan.
Margarito L.'s wife and son came out of the house during the robbery and saw a man pointing a gun at Margarito. That man did not have anything covering his face and wore braids in his hair. He pointed a semiautomatic gun at Margarito's wife and son. Margarito's son rushed back inside the house and called 911. He heard two gunshots from the direction of a nearby alley during the call.
Margarito's son identified defendant as the gunman from a photographic lineup on October 23. Margarito's wife also identified defendant as the gunman. Margarito identified defendant as the robber whose mask came off.
Cynthia B. heard the sound of running as she was about to enter the alley near Margarito L.'s street at about 10:30 p.m. on October 16. She saw a car in the alley with both doors open. She heard a male voice say, Then she heard a gunshot coming from the direction of the male voice. A .9 millimeter shell casing was subsequently found in the alley, and a black ski mask was found in Margarito's yard.
Two dark-skinned men rushed into Peter C.'s garage when he returned to his home in Stockton at about 10:30 p.m. on October 17. One man pointed a black semiautomatic handgun at Peter and ordered Peter to surrender his money. The other man did not have a gun. The unarmed robber took Peter's cell phone from his pocket. The robbers took Peter's wallet and phone and ran away. Peter ran after the robbers, yelling, "robbery, robbery." He saw the robbers run to a light-colored car. A robber pointed a gun at Peter and fired three shots at him. Police recovered three .9 millimeter shell casings in the street and sidewalk area.
Video surveillance showed a man in a gold Dodge Stratus using Peter C.'s credit card at a Shell gas station at about 11:32 p.m. The man in the video resembled Whatley. The Dodge Stratus was later found at 406 South Orange Street; in it, officers found a receipt for a gas purchase made at 11:32 p.m. on October 17, at a Shell Gas Station in Stockton using Peter's credit card.
During the evening of October 18, Armando C. was drinking beer in the driveway of his home in Stockton with Baltazar A., Jose G. and Javier A., when the group was attacked by two to four black men. A black man approached Javier with a gun and said something about money in English that Javier did not fully understand. The gunman shot Javier. A .9 millimeter shell casing was later found in the sidewalk area.
The casings collected from the Jeep Cherokee on July 1 and from the Margarito L., Peter C. and Javier A. robberies were of the same caliber. The casings were fired from the same firearm.
Armando C. heard a gunshot at the same time he heard one of the robbers yell for the victims to get on the ground. One of the robbers grabbed Armando's neck, threw him on the ground and took his cell phone and money from his pants pocket. Jose G. ran to the backyard, pursued by one of the robbers who pointed a gun at him, took his wallet and hit him with a gun. Another robber was also in the backyard beating Baltazar A.The robber threw Baltazar to the ground, hit him with a gun and searched his pants pockets. Jose G. saw one gun. Baltazar said both robbers had small caliber handguns.
Around 7 or 8 p.m. on October 20, two 18-to-22-year-old black men robbed Francis S. on his driveway. Francis saw a third person standing closer to the street. One robber had a silver revolver. The robber had his finger on the trigger and pointed the gun at Francis. Both men searched Francis's pockets. The robbers wore bandanas partially covering their faces, but Francis could see the gunman's eyebrows, nose and eyes. The unarmed robber took a watch, car keys and wallet from Francis's pants pockets. He gave the wallet to the gunman. The gunman repeatedly demanded Francis's PIN number but Francis could not remember it. The unarmed robber convinced the gunman to leave.
Francis followed the robbers. He saw an older model white or cream four-door Dodge with three occupants. The car took off and Francis followed it in his vehicle. Three gunshots were fired in Francis's direction from the front passenger seat of the Dodge. Francis saw movement by the front passenger and then the driver's rear passenger door opened and three more shots were fired in Francis's direction. One of the shots hit Francis's windshield, prompting Francis to end his pursuit. A few days after the robbery, Francis saw photographs of three robbery suspects in the newspaper and recognized defendant and Whatley as the men who robbed him. Francis identified defendant as the gunman.
Between midnight and 1 a.m. on October 22, William Y. was robbed in the driveway of his home in Stockton. Two men wearing ski masks came up to him after he parked his car. The men told William to give them his money. Yee felt the barrel of a gun against his head. The men searched Williams's pockets and took Williams's money, cell phone and Palm Pilot. William was hit on the head and rendered unconscious.
David W. was working in an empty house in Stockton at about 1:30 a.m. on October 22 when a young black man with a gun entered the house. The gunman wore a ski mask but David could see part of his face. The gunman pointed an old revolver atDavid and demanded money. Another young black man wearing a mask came from the back of the house. The second robber did not have a gun. The gunman was in control and told the unarmed robber what to do. David gave the robbers his wallet. The unarmed robber searched David's pockets and took his cell phone. David later recognized the robbers from a newspaper article with their photographs. David identified defendant as the gunman.
Michael Rutledge worked for the Federal Bureau of Prisons. He left his house for work at about 4:30 a.m. on October 22. Neighbors heard a gunshot between 4:17 and 4:30 a.m. Waste management employees saw Rutledge lying face down in the grass and the door of his pickup...
To continue reading
Request your trial