People v. Tozier CA2/8

Filed 7/30/14 P. v. Tozier CA2/8 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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, B250830

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. GA078621) v.

ERIC LEROY TOZIER,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from the judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Suzette Clover, Judge. Affirmed.

Vanessa Place, 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 and Marc A. Kohm, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

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Defendant and appellant Eric Leroy Tozier appeals from a conviction by jury of multiple sex offenses. Defendant contends his conviction on count 1 pursuant to Penal Code section 209, subdivision (b)(1)1 for kidnapping to commit a sex offense, as well as the special kidnapping findings on counts 3, 4, 5, 7 and 10, must be reversed because of insufficient evidence of asportation. We conclude the record contains substantial evidence of asportation, and therefore affirm. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Because defendant has raised just one narrow issue for review, we summarize only those facts material to our discussion. In December 2009, V.F. was living with her three-year old daughter in the family home of her best friend, Lisa. Lisa’s parents and defendant (Lisa’s older brother) also lived in the home. On December 8, around 4:00 p.m., V.F. came home from dropping off her daughter at the home of the child’s father and started to get ready for work. She went to take a shower in the communal bathroom of the family home. She locked the bathroom door before getting into the shower, as she always did. She could hear defendant playing music in his room. Defendant was the only other person home at the time. At some point during her shower, she heard defendant turn off the music in his room. Defendant was “heavyset” and V.F. could hear the sound of his footsteps as he walked back and forth several times down the hallway and past the bathroom. At one point, she heard him go to the kitchen. V.F. then heard the sound of the bathroom doorknob being “jiggle[d].” V.F. was “stunned” when defendant pulled the shower curtain open. Defendant ordered V.F. out of the shower, telling her to get out on her own or he would “make [her] get out.” She saw he was holding a kitchen knife about six to eight inches long.