People v. Jimenez Alejandre CA1/5

Filed 1/14/25 P. v. Jimenez Alejandre CA1/5

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FIVE

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, A168602 v. MIGUEL JIMENEZ ALEJANDRE, (Marin County Super. Ct. No. Defendant and Appellant. SC216309A)

Miguel Jimenez Alejandre (Jimenez) appeals from his first- degree murder conviction, asserting that the trial court erred in failing to satisfy the jury’s request to rehear the testimony of the prosecution’s forensic pathologist before the verdict was reached. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

A.

Jimenez admitted that he killed the victim, David Nunez Sanchez, in a fight, so a main issue at trial concerned whether the killing was willful, deliberate, and premeditated as required for a first-degree murder conviction (Pen. Code, § 189, subd. (a)).1 The two men worked as gardeners, and Sanchez was Jimenez’s supervisor. Before the killing, Sanchez had raised concerns about Jimenez’s work performance and told him he had to put in more

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.

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effort. Jimenez testified that, on the day of the murder, while the two were working outdoors at an apartment complex, Sanchez attacked him with large gardening shears. Jimenez got his pocketknife out of his pocket and cut Sanchez with the knife. Jimenez testified that “[e]verything went very fast.”

Police later discovered Sanchez’s body at the apartment complex, under a pile of branches. In addition, police recovered (from Jimenez’s home) the shirt Jimenez had worn that day, which had blood on the sleeves.