People v. Jovel CA2/8

Filed 1/30/14 P. v. Jovel CA2/8 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 EIGHT

THE PEOPLE, B248670

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BA402622) v.

OSCAR JOVEL,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Robert Perry, Judge. Affirmed.

Ann Krausz, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

No appearance for Plaintiff and Respondent.

**********

Defendant Oscar Jovel was charged by information with second degree robbery (Pen. Code, § 211), as well as deadly weapon allegations (§ 12022, subd. (b)(1)). Defendant timely appeals his judgment of conviction and sentence. We appointed appellate counsel to represent him. Appointed counsel filed a brief pursuant to People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436 (Wende) in which no issues were raised. The brief included a declaration from counsel that she reviewed the record and sent a letter to defendant explaining her evaluation of the record. Counsel further declared that she advised defendant of his right, under Wende, to submit a supplemental brief. Defendant did not file any supplemental brief with this court. The jury trial took place over three days, and the testimony revealed the following facts: On September 13, 2012, at approximately 1:00 a.m., Jose Beltran was walking in the Koreatown neighborhood of Los Angeles, on his way home from work. He was approached by two men and a woman, on the corner of 8th Street and Berendo Street. Beltran identified defendant as one of the men who approached him. The woman asked Beltran if he had any cigarettes. Beltran said that he did not have any, but defendant asked him, again, whether he had any cigarettes. Defendant then tried to grab Beltran’s cell phone, but Beltran held onto it, and the two struggled over the phone. Eventually, defendant was able to take the phone’s headphones from Beltran. Defendant handed the headphones to the other man, who tried to return the headphones to Beltran. However, defendant then stabbed Beltran in the side, and the headphones were not returned to him. The three people walked over to a nearby apartment building, and Beltran called police. Beltran testified that his attacker did not have any tattoos. Los Angeles Police Officers Anthony Kong and Dustin Contreras responded to the scene, and were directed to an apartment complex by Beltran. Officer Kong saw the suspects through the glass door to the apartment’s lobby, however, the suspects were unable to see officers from the lobby. While the responding officers were waiting for backup, the suspects walked out of the lobby. Officers Kong and Contreras were able to arrest defendant and another man, but the woman got away. Officer Maurice Brunel