People v. Sanchez
| Decision Date | 24 November 2021 |
| Docket Number | F078259 |
| Parties | THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. RIGOBERTO SANCHEZ, Defendant and Appellant. |
| Court | California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
RIGOBERTO SANCHEZ, Defendant and Appellant.
F078259
California Court of Appeals, Fifth District
November 24, 2021
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED
APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Kern County No. BF168876A. Gary T. Friedman, Judge.
Kyle Gee, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.
Xavier Becerra, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Michael P. Farrell, Assistant Attorney General, Julie A. Hokans and Dina Petrushenko, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
OPINION
SMITH, J.
INTRODUCTION
Rigoberto Gomez Sanchez was convicted by jury of premeditated murder (Pen. Code, [1] § 187, subd. (a), count 1); attempted murder (§§ 664/187, subd. (a), count 2); shooting at an inhabited dwelling (§ 246, count 3); assault with a firearm (§ 245, subd. (a)(2), count 4); and residential burglary (§ 460, subd. (a), count 5). The jury also found true enhancements alleging Sanchez personally used a firearm (§ 12022.5, subd. (a)), he personally discharged a firearm (§ 12022.53, subd. (c)), and that he personally discharged a firearm causing death (§ 12022.53, subd. (d)). Sanchez was sentenced to an indeterminate prison term of 50 years to life, plus a determinate term of 30 years four months.
Sanchez raises the following claims on appeal: (1) the prosecutor committed error in closing argument by stating the defense attorney had repeatedly lied; (2) the trial court erred in taking judicial notice of the date and time of Sanchez's arrest and booking; (3) the trial court violated Sanchez's right to due process when it permitted testimony to be readback to the jury in his absence; (4) the trial court erred by denying defense counsel's request for a continuance to file a Pitchess[2] motion during trial; and (5) the cumulative effect of these errors necessitates reversal of Sanchez's conviction. We affirm.
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
On September 19, 2017, the Kern County District Attorney's Office filed an information charging Sanchez with premeditated murder (§ 187, subd. (a), count 1); attempted murder (§§ 664/187, subd. (a), count 2); shooting at an inhabited dwelling (§ 246, count 3); assault with a firearm (§ 245, subd. (a)(2), count 4); and residential burglary (§ 460, subd. (a), count 5). The information further alleged Sanchez personally
used a firearm (§ 12022.5, subd. (a)) in the commission of count 4, he personally discharged a firearm (§ 12022.53, subd. (c)) in the commission of count 2, the attempted murder alleged in count 2 was premeditated (§ 664, subd. (a)), and Sanchez personally discharged a firearm causing death (§ 12022.53, subd. (d)) in relation to counts 1 and 3.
On July 25, 2018, Sanchez's jury trial commenced.
On September 14, 2018, the jury reached a verdict, two days after they had begun deliberations. Sanchez was found guilty as charged with the exception of the allegation that the attempted murder was premeditated.
On September 17, 2018, Sanchez filed a motion for new trial.
On October 17, 2018, Sanchez's motion was denied. He was sentenced to a prison term of 50 years to life plus a determinate term of 30 years four months.
On October 17, 2018, Sanchez filed a timely notice of appeal.
STATEMENT OF FACTS
Prosecution's Case
Rigoberto Sanchez and Sandra Sanchez were married in 2003.[3] Sandra had two children from previous relationships, Johnny and Marissa. Rigoberto raised Johnny and Marissa as if they were his own children. Rigoberto and Sandra also had one child together, a daughter, who died from a birth defect. After their child died, the marriage became strained.
Rigoberto blamed Sandra for their daughter's death. Sandra was upset by Rigoberto's gratuitous dishonesty. The couple separated briefly in 2012 but later reconciled. In October 2016, Rigoberto moved out of the couple's home at Sandra's request. Sandra moved into an apartment with her son Johnny, while Marissa and Rigoberto moved back into the family home.
Rigoberto was having difficulty coping with the end of the marriage. In December of 2016, he called Sandra hoping to reconcile. Around this time, Sandra began dating Edwin Lima, a married correctional officer who worked at Tehachapi State Prison. Rigoberto and Sandra were also both employed as correctional officers at Tehachapi State Prison. Rigoberto told Sandra," '[she] better not be dating anybody from work and make [him] look bad, '" and he was" 'not going to see [her] happy with any other [man], especially someone from work.' "
On March 9, 2017, Sandra was at work when she received a notification on her phone that someone was near her front door. She had installed a Ring doorbell camera a few days prior because she suspected Rigoberto had entered her apartment while she was not home. When Sandra checked her phone, she saw video of Rigoberto approaching her apartment.
Rigoberto used a key to access the apartment. Using the Ring application, Sandra asked Rigoberto," 'What are you doing? You're breaking into my apartment. I'm going to call the cops.'" Rigoberto replied," 'I'm looking for proof.'" He did not elaborate.
Sandra reported the incident to Rigoberto's immediate supervisor at the prison, Lieutenant Madden. She wanted the incident handled informally so that Rigoberto's job would not be jeopardized. Upon her request, Rigoberto filed a petition for separation. Sandra changed the locks on her door and ceased all communication with Rigoberto.
On May 25, 2017, Sandra and Lima left for a four-day cruise. During the trip, Sandra checked her Ring doorbell video application and saw a man walking toward her doorbell with a hammer. The man, later identified as Ross Stovall, appeared to be a transient. Stovall removed the Ring doorbell with the hammer, but the doorbell kept recording. Rigoberto was also depicted in the recording. When Johnny returned home, he called Sandra to tell her that someone had broken into their apartment.
On May 28, 2017, when Sandra returned from her cruise, she noticed items missing from her apartment, including her gun. She called the police to report the burglary.
A police officer with the Bakersfield Police Department called Rigoberto's home phone and cell phone over a dozen times and surveilled Rigoberto's pickup truck, which remained parked outside of Rigoberto's home. Johnny told Rigoberto that" 'They had [him] on camera breaking into the apartment.' "
Sometime after the police left her apartment, Rigoberto called Sandra from an unknown telephone number. He began yelling at Sandra and questioned her about the cruise that she had taken with Lima. Sandra hung up the phone.
At approximately 7:00 p.m., Rigoberto called again. This time, Lima took the phone from Sandra and a 40-minute argument ensued between Lima and Rigoberto. Sandra and Johnny both heard Rigoberto yelling at Lima over the phone. Lima responded calmly.
At approximately 8:00 p.m. that evening, Rigoberto told his son Johnny that he was leaving town. Rigoberto was crying. He told Johnny the police were looking for him, he was afraid of losing his job, and that he had to flee. Rigoberto was driving Marissa's car, which was uncharacteristic for him to do. He gave Johnny money and his ATM card and personal identification number.
Between 9:00 and 9:30 p.m., Marissa called Rigoberto and told him she had seen Lima at Sandra's apartment. Around this same time, Rigoberto called Johnny and told him to spend the night at Marissa's house.
At 10:00 p.m., Rigoberto visited his sister and gave her a framed photograph of his dog. Rigoberto was acting strange and his sister thought he was going to commit suicide. A handwritten will was inscribed on the back of the photograph.
At 10:13 p.m., Rigoberto called Sandra a third time. After a brief conversation, Sandra hung up the phone.
At approximately 10:15 p.m., Rigoberto called Johnny and asked him if Sandra and Lima were home. He told Johnny he recognized Lima's vehicle in the parking lot of Sandra's apartment complex. Johnny lied and told Rigoberto that Lima and Sandra were not home.
At approximately 10:40 p.m. that evening, Lima sat on Sandra's bed attempting to setup a second Ring doorbell camera that he had purchased. Suddenly, gunshots erupted.
Sandra rolled off the bed and began crawling toward her son's room, telling him to" 'Get down, get down.'" Sandra yelled," 'Get the gun.'" A second volley of shots erupted. Sandra managed to call 911. Immediately after the shooting stopped, she heard knocking at her front door. Believing that the shooter was at her front door, Sandra crawled back into her bedroom to retrieve Lima's gun from his holster. She found Lima unresponsive.
Lima had been shot more than 20 times, including in the head and in the back. A pathologist subsequently determined that at least 15 to 20 shots occurred while Lima was laying on the ground. According to Sandra, Lima did not pull out his gun prior to the shooting.
Sandra racked a round from the gun, ejecting the bullet from the chamber so that it could not be fired. Neighbors standing outside her window assured her that the shooter had fled and that help was at the front door. Sandra put Lima's gun down.
None of Sandra's neighbors reported hearing arguing or yelling prior to the shooting.
The Arrest
Detective Littlefield from the Bakersfield Police Department used a license plate reader system to locate Marissa's car. He determined that on May 28, 2017, the vehicle was observed on the freeway headed towards Mexico.
Several weeks after the shooting, Mexican authorities located Rigoberto in Mexico and deported him to Arizona. Rigoberto had grown out his facial hair and wore "tattoo sleeves" to disguise himself.
Police Interrogation
Detective Littlefield and his partner, Detective Davis, interrogated Rigoberto in Arizona....
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