People v. Daniels CA2/1

Filed 1/8/14 P. v. Daniels CA2/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

THE PEOPLE, B246347

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BA386514) v.

MELVIN ROY DANIELS,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, William N. Sterling, Judge. Reversed with directions. Caneel C. Fraser, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Senior Assistant Attorney General, James William Bilderback II, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, and Stephanie C. Santoro, Deputy Attorney General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. ——————————

A jury convicted Melvin Roy Daniels of one count of sale of a controlled substance and one count of possession for sale of a controlled substance. Daniels appeals, contending that the trial court abused its discretion when it denied his motion for discovery pursuant to Pitchess v. Superior Court (1974) 11 Cal.3d 531 (Pitchess), without conducting an in camera review of the requested police personnel records. We conclude that the trial court abused its discretion. BACKGROUND An information charged Daniels with sale of a controlled substance (hydrocodone) in violation of Health and Safety Code section 11352, subdivision (a) (count 1), and possession for sale of controlled substances (clonazepam and hydrocodone) in violation of Health and Safety Code section 11351 (count 2), both on June 3, 2011. The information also alleged that Daniels had suffered three prior convictions, one of which was a prior strike conviction. Daniels pleaded not guilty and denied the allegations. Daniels filed a Pitchess motion on November 30, 2011, requesting discovery of complaints and other police personnel records concerning the County of Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD) Deputy L. Carter, and relating to a wide range of misconduct, including racial and other bias, coercive conduct, fabrication of evidence, false arrest, perjury, writing false police reports, and planting evidence. Attached to the motion was a June 3, 2011 incident report, prepared by Deputy Eric Tscharanyan. The report stated that in response to ongoing illegal street sales of pharmaceuticals on 5th Street between Broadway and Spring, Deputy Tscharanyan and his team conducted an undercover buy/bust operation in the area. Deputy Carter, acting under cover, was given a prerecorded $5 bill and directed to buy prescription pills from street dealers. She saw Daniels on the southeast corner of Spring and Broadway, approached him, and asked if he had any pills. Daniels replied, “‘I got [V]icodins, two for five dollars baby.’” Deputy Carter told him that was what she wanted and gave him the $5 bill. Daniels reached into his right front pants pocket, removed a yellow prescription pill bottle, took out two hydrocodone pills, and handed the pills to Deputy Carter, who put the pills into her right front pants pocket and walked away. She told