People v. Pickens
| Decision Date | 09 January 2020 |
| Docket Number | B290905 |
| Court | California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
| Parties | THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. ALFONZO PICKENS, Defendant and Appellant. |
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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. BA465102)
APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Laura F. Priver, Judge. Judgment of conviction affirmed; sentence vacated and matter remanded for further proceedings.
Elizabeth Richardson-Royer, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.
Xavier Becerra, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey and Nikhil Cooper, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
____________________ A jury convicted defendant and appellant Alfonzo Pickens of making criminal threats, with a deadly and dangerous weapon enhancement. He contends the trial court committed evidentiary errors, which were individually and cumulatively prejudicial; the matter must be remanded for resentencing in light of passage of Senate Bill No. 1393 (2017-2018 Reg. Sess.) (Senate Bill 1393); and the imposition of fines and assessments, without a determination of his ability to pay, violated his due process rights. We vacate Pickens's sentence and remand for resentencing in light of Senate Bill 1393. In all other respects, we affirm the judgment.
Kecia Sanders worked as a uniformed, unarmed security guard at a Los Angeles mall, "The Bloc." In approximately November 2017, she and a colleague encountered Pickens, asleep on the stairs at an entrance to the mall. The colleague told Pickens he was trespassing and had to leave. Pickens became "very hostile, cussing" Sanders and her colleague out and telling them to "leave [him] the fuck alone."
Sanders typically rode the Metro train to work, and had seen Pickens on the train five to 10 times. On one of those occasions, Sanders observed Pickens threatening a young woman, who appeared to be 16 or 17 years old, and who was wearing a uniform and a backpack. Sanders explained, Pickens "got into it with a young Latin[a] female." Sanders "cuss[ed]" the girl out and told her he would "beat her ass and everything else."Sanders told Pickens to "chill out." He ignored Sanders and continued arguing with the girl.
On January 27, 2018, at approximately 3:00 a.m., while patrolling the shopping center, Sanders again saw Pickens sleeping on a mall stairway. She asked him three times to get up and leave. The third time, he jumped up, cussed her out, and "got in [her] face." Frightened, Sanders backed up. Pickens said, "bitch, I'll kill you." He pulled a black knife out of his pocket, briefly waved it in her face, and replaced it in his pocket. He said, Sanders was "terrified." Hoping to de-escalate the situation, Sanders remained calm. She radioed for help and let Pickens "do all the talking." She informed the operator that Pickens had a knife. Sanders did not run because she was afraid Pickens would stab her if she "made a wrong move."
Pickens walked alongside Sanders, repeating his threats. Sanders walked with Pickens to the corner of 7th and Hope Streets to ensure he left the property. At the same time, Sanders's supervisor, Paul Voyt, and another security guard approached to assist her. Shortly thereafter, Pickens returned and screamed at Sanders, Voyt and the other guard. Pickens angrily screamed at Sanders, "Bitch, you better leave me alone before I kill you" and "Yeah, bitch, I'll catch you on the train," which she understood to be a threat. According to Voyt, Pickens threatened Sanders at least a dozen times.
Officers arrived on the scene and, after Sanders related what had happened, arrested Pickens. Sanders described the knife as a black knife with a long tip. Officers found a knife matching that description in Pickens's pants pocket.
A video depicting portions of the incident, taken from the mall's surveillance system, was played for the jury.
The prosecutor also introduced into evidence portions of Pickens's preliminary hearing testimony regarding the incident.
At approximately 9:30 a.m. on July 13, 2016, Jose Rodriguez was working as a technician for the Metro Transit Authority at the 7th Street station. A woman approached him and stated she was afraid to go to the subway platform because Pickens was following her and "saying a lot of bad things to me and he scares me." Rodriguez offered to walk her to the station platform.
As Rodriguez and the woman walked, Pickens attempted to grab Rodriguez's arm. Rodriguez told Pickens to get away from him. Pickens responded that the woman was a racist. When Rodriguez told Pickens he should leave or he would call the authorities, Pickens said, "Motherfucker, I'm not afraid of you or the sheriffs." Pickens continued to curse at Rodriguez. Rodriguez radioed for assistance from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, and again told Pickens to get away.
Pickens, who appeared agitated, moved close to Rodriguez and opened his hand in an aggressive manner. Afraid, Rodriguez shoved Pickens hard several times, while Pickens cursed at and threatened him, stating, Pickens reached into his backpack and pulled out a knife-like weapon. Rodriguez backed up and again radioed for help. With an "evil smile," Pickens said, "Oh, now you're afraid, motherfucker?" and swung the knife at Rodriguez's side. Rodriguez jumped back, held up his radio, and told Pickens that if he came closer, Rodriguez would break his head open.Pickens said, "You're a lucky motherfucker but I'm going to come back and kill you." He then walked across the street.
Officers arrived and detained Pickens. He had a knife-like saw in his pocket.
When cross-examined about the incident, Pickens stated that he never approached Rodriguez; however, Rodriguez pushed him three times. He admitted pulling a saw out of his backpack, but denied approaching Rodriguez with it, threatening to kill him, or trying to stab him with the saw.
Pickens testified in his own defense. He was sleeping on the corner of 7th and Flower Streets, because medication he was taking sometimes "knock[ed him] out." When Sanders asked him to leave, he got up, put his backpack on, and walked down the sidewalk without saying anything. She followed and suggested that if he "can't make it where [he could] go," he should cross the street and sit at the Metro station. He denied threatening Sanders or pulling a knife. He was in "too much pain," due to a medical condition, to make such threats.
Sanders could not have seen him on the Metro after her graveyard shift because on six days of each week, he spent all morning, between 5:00 and 9:00 a.m., at the Slauson subway station, ensuring that no one bothered the female tamale vendors who worked there. Then, he usually distributed food to four or five persons at 7th and San Julian Streets. After that, each day he returned to the Slauson station to distribute hygiene items to homeless people. He explained, "That's my character."
Pickens insisted that he would never threaten or harm a woman. He testified:
As discussed more fully where relevant post, the prosecutor cross-examined Pickens about two incidents in which he behaved aggressively toward female strangers.
Pickens admitted suffering prior felony convictions for first degree burglary, vehicle theft, attempted extortion by threat or force, and making criminal threats.
Pickens represented himself at trial. A jury convicted him of making criminal threats against Sanders (Pen. Code, § 422),1 and also found true the allegation that he personally used a deadly and dangerous weapon, a knife, in commission of the offense (§ 12022, subd. (b)(1)). The trial court denied Pickens's motion for a new trial.
Prior to sentencing, the court revoked Pickens's in propria persona status because of his disruptive behavior, and appointed standby counsel to represent him. In a bifurcated proceeding, the court found Pickens had suffered two prior serious felony, "strike" convictions (§§ 667, subds. (a), (b)-(i), 1170.12, subds. (a)-(d)) and had served nine prior prison terms within the meaning of section 667.5, subdivision (b). It struck each of the section 667.5, subdivision (b) enhancements (§ 1385), as well as one of the prior strike convictions (People v. Superior Court (Romero) (1996) 13 Cal.4th 497), and stayed sentence on the deadly weaponenhancement. It sentenced Pickens to 14 years in prison, comprised of the midterm of two years, doubled, plus two five-year serious felony enhancements. It imposed a $300 restitution fine, a suspended parole revocation restitution fine in the same amount, a $40 court operations assessment, and a $30 criminal conviction assessment. Pickens timely appealed.
Pickens contends the trial court erred by admitting evidence of the July 2016 incident and by allowing Sanders to testify about his alleged behavior...
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