People v. Escobar

Opinion

GILBERT, J.

Defendant holds a gun, but it is concealed because his hand is in a briefcase. The victim, who is standing in front of defendant, hears the sound of the gun being cocked. Here we hold this is sufficient evidence to sustain a conviction of assault with a firearm.

Defendant Angel Daniel Escobar appeals from the judgment entered upon his plea of guilty to receiving stolen property and his conviction by the court of felonious assault, with personal use of a firearm, and possession of a concealed firearm in a vehicle, with the finding he used a firearm in the commission of receiving stolen property. (Pen. Code, §§ 245, subd. (a)(2), 496, subd. 1, 12022.5, 12025, subd. (a).)

Scott Esparza, a bail bondsman, posted a $10,000 bail bond for Escobar in an unrelated matter. Escobar’s friend, Cynthia Durkin, gave Esparza a check for the $1,000 premium. Escobar asked Esparza not to cash the check but stated he would pay the $1,000 in cash when he was released from jail.

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Escobar was released from custody, and although the premium had been earned by Esparza when he secured Escobar’s release, Escobar made no arrangement to pay Esparza. Escobar finally promised to meet Esparza at an Ojai restaurant at 4 p.m., a week after he had been released.

Escobar telephoned Esparza at 2:30 p.m. on the day of the meeting and told him his car had broken down on Creek Road outside Ojai. Esparza asked Escobar to call him back in a half hour. When Escobar did so, he told Esparza he was waiting for a tow truck and told Esparza if he wanted his money he should “come and get it” before the tow truck arrived. Esparza went to the location and found Escobar standing near a car on an isolated stretch of Creek Road. After speaking with Escobar, Esparza offered to prepare a receipt for $1,000 and walked back to his vehicle, where he wrote out a receipt on the back of a business card.

When Esparza returned to Escobar’s car, Escobar was sitting on the passenger side with his legs outside the vehicle, holding a leather “briefcase purse” with his left hand. His right hand was inside the purse. As Escobar stood up, Esparza heard a clicking noise which sounded like a gun being cocked. Esparza testified that because he was a bail bondsman, and had been in the military, he had “great knowledge of weapons.”