People v. Rodriguez
| Decision Date | 22 February 2019 |
| Docket Number | B288312 |
| Parties | THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. JORGE LUIS RODRIGUEZ, Defendant and Appellant. |
| Court | California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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. NA102101)
APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Jesse I. Rodriguez, Judge. Affirmed with directions.
Alex Coolman, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.
Xavier Becerra, Attorney General, Gerald A. Engler, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Assistant Attorney General, Jonathan J. Kline and David W. Williams, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
____________________ A jury convicted defendant and appellant Jorge Rodriguez (Rodriguez)1 of first degree murder (Pen. Code,2 § 187), and found true the allegation that Rodriguez personally and intentionally discharged a firearm causing death. (§ 12022.53, subd. (d).) The trial court sentenced Rodriguez to a total term of 50 years to life in state prison.
On appeal, Rodriguez contends the trial court erred by: (1) failing to make an adequate inquiry into prospective juror bias or prejudice; (2) admitting statements Rodriguez made to undercover agents while in jail; and (3) failing to instruct the jury on heat of passion voluntary manslaughter. Rodriguez further contends these errors accumulated so as to deprive him of his right to a fair trial.
We conclude that the trial court's inquiry of prospective jurors was adequate under the circumstances, that Rodriguez waived his challenges to the admission of jailhouse statements by failing to litigate the issues in the trial court, and that no prejudicial error resulted from the omission of the heat of passion instruction—thereby leaving no errors to accumulate.
Rodriguez asks us to strike from the abstract of judgment the imposition of 10 percent interest on the stipulated amount of victim restitution because the trial court did not mention interest in orally pronouncing sentence. We decline to do so because interest on victim restitution is mandatory, and a sentence excluding interest on victim restitution would be unauthorized. We thus modify thejudgment to include 10 percent interest on the amount of victim restitution. We further exercise our corrective authority to strike 140 days of conduct credit prohibited by law.
We affirm the judgment as modified.
On June 22, 2015, around 8:45 a.m., Rodriguez was standing in an alleyway in Long Beach, talking with Dominique Alvarez3 and A.P., who lived nearby. Rodriguez had been out the night before, partying and drinking, and was still somewhat intoxicated.
While Rodriguez and the women were standing in the alley, Douglas Wilson (Wilson) stepped out of his nearby apartment building. As Wilson walked past the entrance to the alley, Rodriguez said, " 'Look at this fool thinking he is all hard,' " in a voice loud enough for Wilson to hear the remark.
Wilson replied, " " He added, " " He gestured as though he wanted to fight Rodriguez, and said, " 'come on.' "
The women tried to diffuse the situation, with Alvarez testifying that she told Wilson, "[j]ust ignore him . . . I'm sorry, just ignore," while A.P. tried to restrain Wilson.
Rodriguez put his hand on his belt, indicating that he had a gun, and smirked. Wilson said, " 'I got one of those, but I don't needone.' "4 Wilson then stepped back and took off his shirt to show Rodriguez he didn't have a firearm and just "wanted to fight him."
Rodriguez pulled out his gun and Wilson stepped back. Rodriguez shot Wilson twice: once in the stomach, and once in the chest. Wilson fell down and yelled out, While Wilson was on the ground, Rodriguez shot him two more times, including one shot in the back.
Rodriguez, A.P., and Alvarez fled. A nurse happened by a few minutes later and found Wilson still breathing. She called 911 and tried to help Wilson until paramedics could arrive, eventually performing CPR before Wilson died.
Several witnesses called 911 to report the shooting.
Jose O. had been walking his dog past the other end of the alley, about 170 feet away, while Maria G. was looking out of her apartment window less than 25 feet away.
Jose O. saw a black man taking off his shirt and gesturing with his hands as if he wanted to fight. One of the women was holding down Rodriguez's hands and Jose O. could see that Rodriguez was holding something. Rodriguez pushed one of the women away so hard that she fell back towards a trash bin, and then fired two shots at Wilson from about four feet away. Wilson grabbed his stomach and said, Rodriguez shot him twice more, with his arm lowered at a 45-degree angle as he fired.
Maria G. heard people arguing and looked out the window to see a black man taking off his shirt, and "gesturing as if he wanted to fight." Three people were speaking in a loud tone to the man, but she could not understand their words because she does not speak English. She then saw Rodriguez take out a gun and shoot the man. The entire altercation took just seconds.
An autopsy performed on Wilson revealed four gunshot wounds: one in the central chest, one in the abdomen, one in the lower left back, and one on the top of the right inner arm. The range of all four shots was indeterminate, as none of the wounds showed the sort of stippling or soot associated a range of under three feet.
About five weeks after the shooting, Long Beach police effectuated a traffic stop of a car in which Rodriguez was a passenger. When the officer approached, Rodriguez jumped out of the car and ran away. After speaking with the driver, the officer learned Rodriguez was a murder suspect and called for backup.
Police established a perimeter around the area and located Rodriguez in an apartment complex. After refusing to surrender, Rodriguez was shot with a rubber bullet and taken into custody. Rodriguez was taken to a hospital, cleared for release, and then transported to a city jail.
The day after his arrest, Rodriguez was placed in a holding cell with two confidential informants. An edited recording of Rodriguez's conversation with informants was played for the jury.
Rodriguez stated that the person who died was black, stated "I shot him" and that "he went flying with the first [shot]." Rodriguez admitted he shot the victim "when he was screaming" and stated that he then "just walked, . . . got out and walked away real smooth." Rodriguez told informants that after the killing, "I didn't feel anything, fuck it," and "I just had no feelings toward it."
In that same conversation, Rodriguez stated he had "problems with that Black dude in the past," that "the other time he caught me empty handed," and "the first time he came up on me he had a gun." Regarding the investigation into the shooting, Rodriguez stated,
Detective Oscar Valenzuela, who helped coordinate the recorded jail cell conversation, testified that he had reviewed two police reports in which Rodriguez had previously reported being victimized. On one occasion, Rodriguez had been shot at, and on another occasion a person had pointed a gun at him.5
Dominique Alvarez testified that her boyfriend, Frank Velasquez, is a member of the Barrio Pobre gang, and thatshe believed Rodriguez was also a member of that gang, who went by the nickname "Rowdy." Police testified that Rodriguez is a member of Barrio Pobre.
In statements made in custody, Rodriguez stated that he was "from BP." Barrio Pobre does not get along with black gangs. Wilson, however, was not a gang member.
A.P. testified Rodriguez seemed drunk before the shooting.7 She agreed Rodriguez called out to Wilson, Wilson confronted Rodriguez, and Rodriguez then shot Wilson. After the shooting Rodriguez "sobered up really fast and was very scared and didn't know what the hell to do and . . . didn't know what just happened." She thought that Wilson was more muscular than Rodriguez. A.P. had never heard Rodriguez make "derogatory statements towards African-Americans."
Martin Flores testified as a defense gang expert. He stated that newly incarcerated individuals sometimes try to boast and make themselves seem more dangerous than they really are.
Dr. Kevin Booker, a clinical psychologist with expertise in trauma, testified that experiences of past trauma can increase vigilance and make a person more susceptible to engage in fight-or-flight reactions.
In a recorded jailhouse conversation between A.P. and Rodriguez, which took place during trial, A.P. told Rodriguez that she was "not saying anything" and
Rodriguez was charged with first degree murder (§ 187), with allegations that the crime was committed for the benefit of a criminal street gang (§ 186.22, subd. (b)(1)(c)), and that Rodriguez personally discharged a firearm causing death (§ 12022.53, subd. (d)).
The jury convicted Rodriguez of first degree murder and found true the firearm-use allegation; the jury found the gang allegation not true.
The trial court sentenced Rodriguez to a total term of 50 years to life in state prison: 25 years to life for the murder, plus 25 years to life for the firearm enhancement.
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