People v. Clayton CA2/6

Filed 7/17/14 P. v. Clayton CA2/6 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.111.5.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION SIX

THE PEOPLE, 2d Crim. No. B248951 (Super. Ct. No. TA122981-01) Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County)

v.

CURTIS LEE CLAYTON aka CURTIS GLENN CLAYTON

Defendant and Appellant.

Curtis Clayton appeals from the judgment after a jury convicted him of 1 battery with serious bodily injury (Pen. Code, §§ 242, 243, subd. (d)) . In a bifurcated proceeding, the trial court found that appellant had suffered a prior strike conviction (§§ 667, subds. (b) -(i); 1170.12, subds. (a) - (d)), a prior serious felony conviction (§ 667, subd. (a)(1)), and nine prior prison terms (§ 667.5, subd. (b)). The trial court denied a Romero motion (People v. Superior Court (Romero) (1996) 13 Cal.4th 497) to strike the prior strike conviction and sentenced appellant to 13 years state prison. Appellant claims that he was coerced to withdraw his Faretta request for self-representation (Faretta v. California (1975) 422 U.S. 806 [45 L.Ed.2d 562]) and that the trial court miscalculated his presentence conduct credits. We modify the judgment to reflect that 1 All statutory references are to the Penal Code.

1

appellant was awarded 741 days custody credit (371 actual days and 370 conduct credit days) and affirm the judgment as modified. Facts and Procedural History On the night of April 25, 2012, Sam Ku was dispatched to repair an ATM machine outside a Rite Aid. Francisco Medrano, an armed security guard, provided protection while the repairs were made. Appellant approached and asked for spare change. Medrano told appellant to step away and raised his arm to fend appellant off. Appellant punched Medrano, knocking him out. Medrano hit his head and was hospitalized for a head laceration, three broken ribs, and a cut lip. Before trial, appellant brought a Marsden motion (People v. Marsden (1970) 2 Cal.3d 118) to replace his court appointed attorney which was denied. Appellant argued that if he could not get another attorney, he would represent himself. The trial court noted that appellant had an extensive history of convictions and asked, "Have you represented yourself in the past?" Appellant said that he had. The trial court responded: "It doesn't sound like it's been very successful in terms of beating any cases." The following exchange occurred: "The Court: And so you're going to be able address all of that from a legal point of view in terms of the evidence that would be coming before a jury? "[Appellant]: I don't know if I can do it all or not. "The Court: Well, that's my point, sir. Do you understand the rules of how a trial works in terms of defending yourself [and] the rules of evidence? "[Appellant]: Do I have any choice? "The Court: Well, you're looking at -- your choice is on the right side of you, someone who is experienced as a trial lawyer. That's my point. Do you want to give - - "[Appellant]: Can I have another one?