People v. Torrez CA4/1

Filed 12/5/25 P. v. Torrez CA4/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

THE PEOPLE, D086921

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v. (Super. Ct. No. INF1800603)

MICHAEL DAVID TORREZ,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Riverside County,

James S. Hawkins, Judge. Affirmed. Marcia R. Clark, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Charles C. Ragland, Assistant Attorney General, Christopher P. Beesley and Kristen Kinnaird Chenelia, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

 Retired Judge of the Riverside Superior Court assigned by the Chief Justice pursuant to article VI, section 6 of the California Constitution.

I INTRODUCTION A jury convicted Michael David Torrez of second degree murder (Pen. Code, § 187, subd. (a)), after he drove his truck while under the influence of alcohol and caused an automobile accident that took the life of another

motorist on the road.1 The trial court sentenced Torrez to prison for an indeterminate term of 15 years to life. On appeal from the judgment of conviction, Torrez contends the trial court erred by failing to instruct the jury, over the objection of the prosecution, on the crime of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated (§ 191.5, subd. (a)). We reject this argument and affirm the judgment. II BACKGROUND One evening, Torrez drove his Ford F-150 truck westbound on Ramon Road in Palm Springs. Torrez drove at a speed of at least 55 miles per hour in a driving zone with a speed limit of 45 miles per hour. On the west side of the intersection of Ramon Road and El Cielo Road, Ramon Road narrows from a three-lane street to a two-lane street. Torrez ran a red light at the intersection while driving in the number three lane, closest to the curb. As Ramon Road narrowed to a two-lane street, Torrez rearended the right passenger-side of a Nissan Versa driving ahead of him in the number two lane. The impact pushed the Nissan Versa off the roadway and onto the sidewalk. Meanwhile, Torrez’s truck veered sharply to the left, entered the opposing lanes of traffic, and spun out. The truck collided with the front end of a Nissan Sentra travelling eastbound on Ramon Road. Mario Garcia, the