People v. Moses

• Decision Date: 28 December 2020
• Docket Number: S258143
• Citation: 10 Cal.5th 893,477 P.3d 579,272 Cal.Rptr.3d 862
• Court: California Supreme Court
• Parties: The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Antonio Chavez MOSES III, Defendant and Appellant.

10 Cal.5th 893

477 P.3d 579

272 Cal.Rptr.3d 862

The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.Antonio Chavez MOSES III, Defendant and Appellant.

S258143

Supreme Court of California.

December 28, 2020

Mark Alan Hart, Northridge, under appointment by the Supreme Court, for Defendant and Appellant.

Xavier Becerra, Attorney General, Gerald A. Engler and Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorneys General, Julie L. Garland, Assistant Attorney General, Steve T. Oetting and Michael Pulos, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

Opinion of the Court by Corrigan, J.

Penal Code section 236.1, subdivision (c)¹ prohibits the human trafficking of a minor. It includes an attempt to commit trafficking as part of the definition of the substantive offense. Here we consider the attempt aspect of the definition. Defendant Antonio Chavez Moses III was convicted of attempting to recruit "Bella" as a prostitute. Bella had identified herself to Moses as a 17-year-old girl, but was, in fact, an undercover detective. The question here is whether, in light of the statutory language, he can be convicted of an attempt under the trafficking statute. We conclude that he can, based on this state's long-standing application of attempt law.

I. BACKGROUND

As part of an undercover investigation to identify potential pimps, Detective Luis Barragan of the Santa Ana Police Department created a fictitious user profile for "Bella B." on a social network site used by pimps to recruit women and children for prostitution. He identified Bella as a 21-year-old female from Santa Ana and attached a photo he took from the Internet.

On April 16, 2016, Bella received a message from "FM Da Prince," saying "Good morning, Gorgeous." "Prince's" profile contained a picture of Moses and a meme composed of a photo of one hundred dollar bills with the words, "Everybody wants love. I just want money and someone to get it with."

Moses asked Bella where she was posting from. Barragan responded as Bella, saying she was in Vallejo "chasing the paper," a phrase used by prostitutes to mean she was engaging in sex for money. Moses replied, "You need to find your way to Daddy, your prince. I will make your life a whole lot easier, bet that." In Barragan's experience, the word "daddy" referred to a pimp. After Bella complained that business was slow, Moses responded, "Just get here, Boo. We can take it from there. Come as is. I'm a real one, not hard up for cash. I need loyalty, trust, and understanding [followed by a dollar sign emoji]. Going to come. I got enough game in this brain to make us all rich." Barragan considered this text to mark the beginning of a relationship between pimp and prostitute. Moses also wrote, "I'm not a gorilla [a pimp who is violent toward his prostitutes], nor am I what they call a pimp nowadays. I'm a true gentlemen [sic ], baby, best believe and known all over the universe, real international."

Moses gave his phone number and urged Bella to call. He also sent her a text inviting her to "fuck with me," meaning to work for him, and to "come today." Bella responded that she would be in Southern California the following Monday and was "looking for a new start with someone who's smart." Moses replied that she should "get to Daddy," and he would "step [her] game up" to "at least $1,000 a night."

The next day Moses messaged Bella promising to show her how to increase her income by soliciting customers at bars and casinos. He explained, "See, it's not all on a bitch. It's on me to guide you, show you, and protect you, but also lead you to the money in a manner that we get the most for our labor." The following day Bella responded that she could not work in bars and casinos because she was only 17 years old. She said: "I want to keep it 100 with you. I feel a strong connection, good vibe from you. I'm struggling bad at this game maybe because I'm a youngster, too. Daddy, just know that I'm 17. Don't want to lie to you because you have been 100 with me from the get." Moses commented, "Damn, Boo, Damn," and asked when Bella's birthday was. Bella responded that her birthday was in November. Moses replied, "I never fucked around like that. You not the police[?] This Internet shit got niggas knocked off. I'm not trying to go out like a sucka. When's your birthday?" When Bella said her birthday was November 27, 1998, Moses replied, "Oh, you about to be 18. Cool, SMH [shake my head]." Bella said, "I don't expect you to stick around. I get it, but just had to be true." Moses replied, "I got you as long as you keep it 100 always." Bella said she was on a train to Anaheim, but Moses invited her to get off in Los Angeles. She did not respond to this message. Over the course of the next several days, both Bella and Moses confirmed they were not giving up on each other. Moses repeated his urging that Bella call and talk to him.

On April 27, Moses called Detective Sonia Rojo, who was posing as Bella. He again asked when her birthday was, and Rojo responded, "in November." Moses suggested that Bella come work for him after she turned 18, and said he was "scared as shit" because he knew a "homie in jail right now fighting life for that shit." Rojo responded that she needed someone to be there for her. Moses replied, "Yeah but I'm saying Bella, you got 7 months before you grown. Why don't we just wait like that?" Moses asked Bella to send him some pictures and commented that he might come to get her.

Moses and Rojo exchanged 13 text messages over the next week, and Moses again asked her to come to Los Angeles.

Moses and Rojo spoke on May 5th. Moses mentioned coming to get Bella, but complained that the traffic was bad and suggested she come to Los Angeles by train. He asked again when Bella's birthday was, and Rojo responded that it was in November. Moses commented, "Yup. I'm just making sure you ain't telling me no lies, bitch. This is a risk." He mused that Bella might be working with the "po-po." Moses urged Bella to stay with her pimp until her birthday, but Rojo responded she was "done" with him. Moses said, "Yeah but baby I don't wanna [sic ] do the minor thing. That shit scares the fuck out of me," referencing his "homeboy" who had been "knocked at for the same shit." He commented, "I want to come get you bad as a mother fucker, but if I do, I'm going to have to take you to my momma[’]s house until your birthday." Moses offered to drive over to get Bella, but Rojo said that she had to go and would call him later. In all, Bella and Moses communicated by text and telephone for just over three weeks, often several times a day.

On May 10, Moses and Rojo spoke on the phone. Rojo told him that she was in Orange County and asked if Moses would pick her up. They agreed to meet at a McDonald's restaurant in Anaheim. When he drove into the parking lot, vice officers were waiting, and Moses spotted them. He texted Bella, "I see you not real. That's fucked up," and "You're the police, LMAO [laughing my ass off]." Moses drove away but was detained nearby with a cell phone in his car. When Rojo sent a text to the number she had been using for Moses, the phone vibrated. Detective Barragan then called the phone number Moses had given Bella during their text exchanges and the seized phone displayed Barragan's phone number.

At trial, the prosecution introduced evidence of text messages Moses had sent to other users on the networking site. In these messages, Moses identified himself as a pimp and advertised his services, claiming an ability to increase earnings. He sought to recruit others to his "team," which he claimed numbered five women.

The defense presented an expert on human trafficking. He reviewed the exchanges between Moses and Bella and saw no evidence that Moses was trying to target a minor. He opined that Moses's interactions with Bella did not rise to the level of human trafficking. Moses did not ask Bella for sex or money, and did not attempt to manipulate, isolate, or control her. He acknowledged, however, that Moses was in the very early recruitment phase of the relationship.

A jury convicted Moses of human trafficking of a minor, attempted pimping of a minor, and pandering.² The court separately found that Moses had suffered a prior strike conviction for manslaughter with the personal use of a firearm, and imposed a sentence of 24 years in prison.³

The Court of Appeal reversed Moses's human trafficking conviction. The majority held that he could not be convicted under that provision, but only under the general law of attempt. ( People v. Moses (2019) 38 Cal.App.5th 757, 764, 766–767, 251 Cal.Rptr.3d 462 ( Moses ).) We ordered review on our own motion following an invitation from the Orange County District Attorney's Office to do so. Subsequently, another panel of the same Court of Appeal upheld a human trafficking conviction based on that defendant's conduct toward a fictitious minor, creating a conflict in the appellate courts on this issue. ( People v. Clark (2019) 43 Cal.App.5th 270, 274, 256 Cal.Rptr.3d 459, review granted Mar. 11, 2020, S260202 ( Clark ).)

II. DISCUSSION

The general law governing attempt is found in section 21a, which states, "An attempt to commit a crime consists of two elements: a specific intent to commit the crime, and a direct but ineffectual act done toward its commission." Section 664, which sets out the punishment for an attempt, was enacted in 1872 as part of California's original Penal Code. The substantive law of attempt was found in the common law. (See People v. Miller (1935) 2 Cal.2d 527, 530, 42 P.2d 308, and cases cited therein, including People v. Mize (1889) 80 Cal. 41, 43, 22 P. 80 and People v. Murray (1859) 14 Cal. 159 ; see generally 2 LaFave, Substantive Criminal Law (3d ed. 2018) § 11.2(a), pp. 285–288.) In 1986, Section 21a was added to codify the well-established definition of attempt. (Stats. 1986, ch. 519, § 1, p. 1859; People v. Williams (2001) 26 Cal.4th 779, 789, 111 Cal.Rptr.2d 114, 29 P.3d 197 ( Williams )).

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