People v. Franco CA5

Filed 9/16/14 P. v. Franco CA5

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

THE PEOPLE, F066932 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. Nos. VCF225749, v. VCF246480, VCF270098)

PAULINO FRANCO, JR., OPINION Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Tulare County. Edward M. Lacy and H. N. Papadakis, Judges. Sylvia Whatley Beckham, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Michael P. Farrell, Assistant Attorney General, Catherine Chatman and Henry J. Valle, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff Respondent. -ooOoo- Paulino Franco, Jr., was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He also was found to be in violation of the terms of his probation in two prior cases and was sentenced for all three. He now argues that the prosecution failed to establish the corpus

delicti of the felon in possession of a firearm offense independently of his confession. We reject this contention. The parties agree that the abstract of judgment contains an error of $10 on one of the fees imposed by the trial court. We will order this error corrected and otherwise affirm the judgment. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY Visalia Police Officer Dirk Alfano was on patrol with his partner, Officer Adam Collins, on May 25, 2012. As they drove south on Burke Street, Alfano spotted Franco, whom he recognized, driving north. He made eye contact with Franco. Alfano believed Franco’s license was suspended and knew he was on probation, so he asked Collins (who was driving) to turn around and follow Franco. Collins made a U-turn and turned on the police car’s flashing lights. According to Alfano’s trial testimony, Franco “began to speed up” as the police car turned. Franco then “made a hurried turn” onto Laurel Avenue. By the time the officers followed onto Laurel, Franco’s car was parked in front of the home of Franco’s passenger, Antonio Velasquez. Franco and Velasquez were getting out of the car. As Alfano got out of the police car, Franco headed for the front door of the house “in a hurried manner.” Alfano ordered Franco to stop. Franco complied. Velasquez, however, disobeyed an order to stop, according to Collins’s testimony, and started to jog into the back yard. As Collins followed, he heard a thud that sounded like something hitting the roof. Velasquez submitted to arrest after Collins drew his gun. A subsequent search revealed a loaded handgun on the roof by the backyard where Velasquez surrendered. Alfano interviewed Franco at the police station. At first, Franco denied that there had been a gun in the car. Toward the end of the interview, he admitted that the gun was his. He said he had the gun in his pants pocket when he spotted the police car. Then he sped up, headed for Velasquez’s nearby house, took the gun out of his pocket and held it