People v. Nyquist CA2/8

Filed 5/13/14 P. v. Nyquist CA2/8 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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, B248875

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. GA086479) v.

JAMES LEONARD NYQUIST,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Teri Schwartz, Judge. Affirmed.

Maria Leftwich, 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, Assistant Attorney General, Margaret E. Maxwell and Corey J. Robins, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

******

Defendant James Leonard Nyquist was charged with one count of making a criminal threat (Pen. Code. § 422, subd. (a)). It was alleged the threat occurred on May 26, 2012, and was directed at defendant’s neighbor Russell Reed. Defendant challenges his conviction for the lesser included offense of making an attempted criminal threat. His sole contention is that the court erred in allowing the prosecutor to ask about facts underlying his prior misdemeanor conviction for making a criminal threat. We affirm. FACTS AND PROCEDURE Defendant lived in Altadena and according to him, he was a nuisance to his neighbors. By his own admission, he made constant noise and disturbed his neighbors. Defendant admitted to being an alcoholic and frankly testified that “I wouldn’t want to live next to me.” Deputy sheriffs regularly were dispatched to defendant’s home. On May 26, 2012, beginning about 4:00 a.m., defendant was yelling and screaming and making noise. His neighbor Russell Reed asked him to be quiet. While on his patio, defendant responded: “I’m tired of you calling the sheriffs. And the next time the sheriffs come out, I [am] going to take the gun from them and I’m going to shoot you.” According to Reed, defendant said he was going to shoot and kill Reed. Reed could not see defendant when he made the statement but heard the threat and testified he was frightened by it. Reed told defendant to stop threatening him, and defendant then left his patio area and “charged towards” Reed. Reed prepared to defend himself when another neighbor John Burton interrupted and said he already called the sheriffs. Defendant previously told Reed if Reed shot at defendant, defendant would return fire. But, this was the first time defendant threatened to kill Reed. During cross-examination by defendant’s counsel, Reed testified that he previously saw defendant playing war games with knives. Burton saw the May 26 altercation between defendant and Reed, and as noted Burton called the sheriff’s department. Defendant told Burton that he threatened to use a deputy’s gun to shoot Reed. About six months after the charged incident, defendant’s dog bit Burton. Defendant did not try to restrain the dog and was arrested after the incident.