People v. O'KEEFE

California Court of Appeal Jul 25, 1990 No. D008658Published

Before: Nares

AI Brief

AI-generated · verify before citing

Holding. The court held that individual student dormitory rooms constitute separate inhabited dwellings under Penal Code section 459, allowing for multiple burglary convictions for separate entries into such rooms.

Issues

Whether individual student dormitory rooms qualify as separate dwellings under Penal Code section 459.
Whether section 654 bars separate punishment for multiple burglaries of individual dormitory rooms.

Disposition. Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.

Quotations verified verbatim against the opinion

“Unauthorized entry into each dormitory room presents a new and separate danger to each of the occupants.”

“O’Keefe “is not entitled to [four] exempt burglaries merely because his victims chose the same landlord.””

Opinion

NARES, J.

In a 37-count information the People charged Timothy Joseph O’Keefe with assault to commit rape, 6 counts of burglary, methamphetamine possession, 3 counts of prowling, and 26 counts of making obscene telephone calls. The jury returned guilty verdicts on battery as a lesser

[519]

included assault offense, five residential burglary counts, methamphetamine possession, two prowling counts, burglary of a building, and twenty-five obscene telephone call counts. The court sentenced O’Keefe to prison for 12 years, 8 months.

O’Keefe raises numerous contentions on appeal. In the published portion of this opinion (part IV) we address whether individual student dormitory rooms are separate dwellings supporting multiple convictions under Penal Code

section 459. In the unpublished portion of this opinion, we consider whether (1) section 654 bars separate punishment for both burglary and the assault; (2) substantial evidence supports the conviction on count 5 (residential burglary); (3) the court properly instructed the jury on count 2 (residential burglary with the intent to commit rape); (4) substantial evidence supports the conviction on count 2; and (5) section 653m is unconstitutionally overbroad.

As explained below, we stay the sentence on count 1; we reverse O’Keefe’s convictions on counts 11, 12, 14, 15, 17, 18, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 32, 36, and 37. O’Keefe’s conviction on count 5 is reduced to second degree burglary. In all other respects, we affirm.

Facts

In separate instances during January, May, and September 1987, security guards of Point Loma Nazarene College observed O’Keefe prowling near the Nease Hall women’s dormitory and looking in windows. O’Keefe successfully avoided apprehension. However, in January 1987, a security guard saw O’Keefe leave the campus in a yellow Chevrolet Monza and noted four characters from the license plate, 1SED. A yellow Monza, license plate No. 1SED 868, was later identified as registered to O’Keefe.

On December 11, 1987, Nease Hall was closed and the students left campus for Christmas break. Upon their return in January 1988, several students noticed photographs of themselves and friends which had been attached on the walls and doors of their rooms or in the hallways were now missing.

People v. O'KEEFE

AI Brief

NARES, J.

More from California Court of Appeal

Related research

I-III

AI Brief