People v. Weaver
| Decision Date | 01 July 2019 |
| Docket Number | H045301 |
| Citation | 249 Cal.Rptr.3d 223,36 Cal.App.5th 1103 |
| Court | California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
| Parties | The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Christopher WEAVER, Defendant and Appellant. |
Certified for Partial Publication.*
Counsel for Plaintiff/Respondent The People: Xavier Becerra, Attorney General, Gerald A. Engler, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Jeffrey M. Laurence, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Donna M. Provenzano, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, Amit Kurlekar, Deputy Attorney General
Counsel for Defendant/Appellant Christopher Weaver: Under appointment by the Court of Appeal, Rudolph J. Alejo, Berkeley
A jury convicted appellant Christopher Weaver of making criminal threats and exhibiting a deadly weapon. The trial court sentenced Weaver to four years in prison. On appeal, Weaver claims that the trial court erred by failing to hold a hearing on a Marsden1 motion and by admitting evidence of a prior uncharged battery under Evidence Code section 1101, subdivision (b). In supplemental briefing, Weaver contends that recently enacted Penal Code section 1001.36, allowing for pretrial mental health diversion, retroactively applies to him, and that his case should be remanded to the trial court for a hearing on his diversion eligibility.
For the reasons explained below, we conditionally reverse the judgment and remand the matter to the trial court for a hearing under Penal Code section 1001.36 to determine whether to grant Weaver mental health diversion. We reject Weaver's remaining claims.
In April 2017, the Santa Cruz County District Attorney filed an information charging Weaver with two counts of making criminal threats ( Pen. Code, § 422 ; counts 1 & 2),2 and misdemeanor exhibition of a deadly weapon (§ 417, subd. (a)(1); count 3). The information further alleged as to count 2 that Weaver personally used a deadly or dangerous weapon while committing the charged offense (§ 12022, subd. (b)(1)), and as to counts 1 and 2 that Weaver had suffered one prior serious felony conviction for violating section 459 (§ 667, subd. (a)(1)), one prior strike conviction (§ 667, subds. (b)-(i)), and six prior convictions resulting in prison terms (§ 667.5, subd. (b)).
Weaver's prosecution began with the filing of a felony complaint in June 2016. An attorney from the public defender's office, Jon Minsloff, represented Weaver at his arraignment on the complaint. At the next court appearance on July 15, 2016, Nicola Whitehead, an attorney from a law firm that had been representing Weaver on other pending cases, appeared and requested that her firm also be appointed on this case. The trial court granted the request, relieved the public defender, and appointed the "Page firm" to represent Weaver. At the July 15 court appearance, Whitehead declared a doubt about Weaver's mental competence. The trial court suspended the proceedings pursuant to section 1368 and ordered an evaluation of Weaver by Dr. Thomas Reidy. Dr. Reidy evaluated Weaver, diagnosed him as suffering from schizophrenia
, and concluded that he was not competent to stand trial. Dr. Reidy explained that Weaver "demonstrates impairment to such a degree that he cannot rationally participate in the court proceedings, and in particular, cannot rationally and consistently communicate with his attorney due to prominent and acute mental health symptoms."
At the next court appearance on August 2, 2016, the trial court found Weaver incompetent to stand trial based on Dr. Reidy's evaluation and ordered that the proceedings remain suspended. On August 16, 2016, the trial court ordered Weaver transferred to Atascadero State Hospital (Atascadero) until his restoration to competency.
At a later court appearance, the trial court appointed a second expert, Dr. Gregory Katz, to evaluate Weaver's competence. The trial court subsequently considered Dr. Katz's report—which concurred with Dr. Reidy's opinion concerning Weaver's incompetence—and continued to hold the proceedings suspended, pending Weaver's transportation to Atascadero for restoration of competency. Weaver was transported to Atascadero. While Weaver was at Atascadero, doctors there diagnosed him with schizoaffective disorder
in partial remission.
Approximately two and a half months later, Weaver was transported back from Atascadero to Santa Cruz County. On January 19, 2017, Weaver appeared in court with new defense counsel from the Page law firm, Mitchell Page.3 Based on a certification of mental competency and a doctor's report from Atascadero, the trial court found Weaver competent and resumed the proceedings. At defense counsel's request, the court directed the county's mental health department to explore possible programs to which Weaver could be released pending trial.
On January 24, 2017, the trial court ordered that Weaver be released to a residential mental health treatment facility pending trial. As a condition of his release, Weaver agreed to such placement and to continue taking medications as prescribed.
On March 10, 2017, the trial court revoked Weaver's release after Weaver was discharged from a mental health program because he failed to follow the directions of the program's staff. Nevertheless, the trial court ordered the county's mental health department to find a new placement for Weaver. Thereafter, Weaver was released to another mental health program. On April 10, 2017, the trial court conducted a preliminary hearing, held Weaver to answer, revoked Weaver's release to the mental health program, and remanded Weaver into custody. The trial court noted that Weaver had been "released at least twice to programs and they're not working."
On June 6, 2017, the trial court granted the district attorney's motion to dismiss the prior strike and prior serious felony conviction allegations. The parties subsequently explained that the information charged only three prior prison terms.
In October 2017, a jury heard evidence and found Weaver guilty of counts 1, 2, and 3. The jury further found true the deadly weapon allegation in count 2. Weaver subsequently waived his right to trial on the remaining allegations and admitted the three prison prior allegations.
On November 28, 2017, the trial court sentenced Weaver to a total term of four years and eight months in prison and imposed various fines and fees. The trial court later corrected a sentencing error and reduced the total prison term to four years.
In June 2016, Weaver was homeless. Paige C.4 volunteered at a soup kitchen for the homeless in Santa Cruz. On June 6, Weaver visited the soup kitchen and "started yelling and screaming" in the soup kitchen's courtyard. Paige approached Weaver and asked him what was wrong. Weaver demanded to use the soup kitchen's shower. Paige explained to Weaver the scheduling rules for the shower. Weaver got within inches of Paige's face, called her a racist bitch, and spat in her face. Weaver left the soup kitchen after Paige threatened to call the police. The encounter lasted "about five or six minutes."
On June 13, 2016, Weaver returned to the soup kitchen around 12:55 p.m., "again yelling, screaming, carrying on, and telling everybody he's going to take a shower no matter what [any staff member] said." Paige explained to Weaver that he was too late to sign up for and use the shower. Weaver got within inches of Paige's face and spat on her, insisting that "he was going to take a shower." When Paige reiterated that Weaver could not use the shower, he "raised his fists at [her] and said, ‘When I see you again, I'm going to kill you.’ " Weaver specifically threatened to "slice [her] up" and "slice [her] open." He also called Paige "a racist bitch." He said, " ‘You're a cunt,’ and ‘You're just a racist white woman, and you're just out for a black man....’ " Other homeless persons told Weaver to leave, which he did about 15 minutes after he had arrived. Paige took Weaver's threats to kill her "literally" and "seriously," and she was "[t]errified." The June 13 incident with Paige formed the basis of the criminal threats charge in count 1.
On the evening of June 16, 2016, Paige and her husband, Damon B., went out for ice cream in downtown Santa Cruz. While eating outside the ice cream shop, they heard a person yelling, cussing, and "creating a scene" in the distance. Paige recognized the voice as Weaver's and told Damon that the yelling man was the one who had threatened to kill her. Weaver then walked by Paige and Damon; he appeared "angry, mad at the world." Weaver looked at Paige, continued walking for a short distance, then "thr[ew] his stuff down, turn[ed] around and c[ame] after" her and Damon. Damon got in between Paige and Weaver. As Weaver approached, he "start[ed] screaming about [them] being racist, and he said that he was going to slice [Damon] and he would do the same to [Paige]." Weaver said, " ‘I'll slice you, and I'll slice your white woman.’ " About two or three minutes into the confrontation, Weaver pulled out a folded pocketknife, held it next to Damon's cheek, and said he would cut Damon like he would cut Paige. Weaver's threats caused Damon to fear for his and Paige's safety. The June 16 incident with Damon formed the basis of the criminal threats charge in count 2.
Paige called 911 during the confrontation on June 16. Santa Cruz Police Officer Caitlin McBride responded to the call with a fellow officer. The police found a folding knife with a three-inch blade in Weaver's pocket. Weaver was "yelling and cussing" during the interaction with police. Officer McBride believed that Weaver was likely under the influence of a stimulant.
Richard S. testified about an uncharged encounter he had with Weaver at a 7-Eleven store in Santa Cruz on March 28, 2016.5 As Richard was getting into his car outside the store, he heard a loud commotion inside. When Richard looked into the store, he saw...
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