People v. Chaparro CA2/3

Filed 4/24/14 P. v. Chaparro CA2/3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 THREE

THE PEOPLE, B251390

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. MA017771) v.

ADRIAN CHAPARRO,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Ronald S. Coen, Judge. Affirmed.

California Appellate Project, Jonathan B. Steiner and Cheryl Lutz, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

No appearance for Plaintiff and Respondent.

On June 13, 2001, a jury found defendant and appellant, Adrian Chaparro, guilty of first degree, special circumstances murder, committed during a kidnapping and during which he personally used a firearm. At sentencing, the trial court imposed a $10,000 restitution fine pursuant to Penal Code section 1202.4, subdivision (b).1 On June 17, 2013, Chaparro, acting in propria persona, filed a motion to have the fine reduced. The trial court denied the motion and Chaparro appealed.2 We affirm the trial court’s order. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND According to the opinion filed on appeal in the matter (People v. Chaparro (May 29, 2003, B151898) [nonpub. opn.]), Chaparro and the victim, 20-year-old Patricia Ayala, had been dating for approximately one year.3 The pair, however, had “a ‘dysfunctional’ relationship marked by mutual and extreme jealousy.” On December 31, 1998, the couple, accompanied by some friends, attended a number of New Year’s Eve parties in Palmdale. They, however, spent much of the evening arguing and, on a number of occasions, Chaparro threatened to kill Ayala. The following morning, Chaparro arrived at a friend’s home between 6:00 and 7:00 carrying a rifle. He had blood on his shirt and shoes and reluctantly admitted he had killed Ayala. Chaparro explained he had shot Ayala in the stomach, then placed her in the trunk of his car and driven her out to an area in the desert approximately 30 minutes away. When Chaparro took Ayala out of the trunk, she begged him to take her to a hospital. Instead, Chaparro shot Ayala in the chest, then twice in the head. On June 13, 2001, a jury found Chaparro guilty of first degree murder (§ 187, subd. (a)), committed during a kidnapping (§§ 207, subd. (a), 190.2, subd. (a)(17)) and during which he personally discharged a firearm (§§ 12022.53, subds. (b), (c) & (d),