People v. Carpenter CA1/2

Filed 9/25/14 P. v. Carpenter CA1/2 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION TWO

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, A141175 v. RICHARD AMOS CARPENTER, (Humboldt County Super. Ct. No. CR1400625) Defendant and Appellant.

Defendant Richard Carpenter was required by the conditions of his parole to wear a Global Positioning System (GPS) device and charge it twice a day for one hour each time. The trial court found him in violation of his parole after he traveled away from home without his charger, allowed the battery to die, and failed to contact his parole officer. Defendant contends the trial court’s finding must be reversed because the evidence did not demonstrate a willful violation. We disagree, and we affirm. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND In 2010, defendant was released from state prison on parole, at which time he signed a form identifying “special conditions of parole” with which he was required to comply. The form itself set forth one such condition: “You are ordered to participate in Global Positioning System (GPS) as directed by a parole agent. You are ordered to comply with all zone and curfew restrictions, equipment charging requirement, and equipment care instructions with GPS participation in accordance with the instructions of a parole agent. You may be charged criminally with theft or vandalism and fined for the cost of the equipment’s replacement in the event that it is not returned, lost, stolen and/or

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damaged.” An addendum listed many other conditions of defendant’s parole, including condition number 75—expressly initialed by defendant—which provided, “You shall charge the GPS device at least two times per day (every 12 hours) for at least 1 full hour for each charging time.” On February 7, 2014, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Adult Parole Operations, filed a Penal Code section 3000.08 petition for parole revocation, alleging that defendant violated a condition of his parole by disabling his GPS. The attached parole violation report alleged a violation of Penal Code 3010.10, subdivision (a), which provides that a person required to register as a sex offender pursuant to Penal Code section 290 shall not remove or disable, or permit another to remove or disable, a GPS. A contested parole revocation hearing was held on February 24. The sole witness was Parole Officer Daniel Munoz, who testified as follows: A GPS is a device a parolee wears strapped around his or her ankle that provides a “minute-by-minute, 24-hour tracking of where the parolee is.” It allows the parole officer to determine a parolee’s whereabouts “during the day, during the night, where he’s sleeping.” The GPS device is battery operated, requiring twice daily charging for at least one hour each time, with a full charge lasting 12 to 16 hours. The charger is a small device— “two inches, two and a half inches, maybe about three inches wide and about [an] inch and a half deep”—with a six foot cord that “clips on” the device. The parolee is provided a charger that he or she is to use. When a battery is running low, the device will vibrate to alert the parolee the device requires charging. Munoz will also receive a text from the “Satellite Tracking of People” program (STOP) advising that a parolee’s battery charge is low. This gives him an opportunity to contact the parolee and advise that the device needs to be charged. If a battery dies, Munoz receives a telephone call and text from STOP advising that the parolee’s battery is dead.