People v. Hall CA2/6

Filed 5/12/15 P. v. Hall CA2/6 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION SIX

THE PEOPLE, 2d Crim. No. B252260 (Super. Ct. Nos. 2012031834, 2012024033) Plaintiff and Respondent, (Ventura County)

v.

ERIC MONTIEL HALL,

Defendant and Appellant.

Eric Montiel Hall appeals a judgment following his conviction after jury trial of possession for sale of a controlled substance, methamphetamine (Health & Saf. Code, § 11378), and transportation of a controlled substance (id., § 11379, subd. (a)). He had five prior felony convictions and was subject to the sentencing enhancements of Penal Code section 667.5, subdivision (b). The trial court sentenced him to an aggregate sentence of nine years, with six of those years in the county jail followed by three years of mandatory supervision. We conclude, among other things, that the trial court did not err by: 1) admitting a 1992 prior conviction for possession of marijuana for sale, 2) excluding evidence about a remark Hall made to a probation officer, or 3) allowing the prosecutor to impeach Hall's testimony with a prior statement he made while he was in jail. But a $2,000 fine imposed under Health and Safety Code section 11350, subdivision (d) was unauthorized. We strike the fine. In all other respects, we affirm.

FACTS On September 2, 2012, Police Officer Brandon Ordelheide saw a car with a broken tail light. He "initiated a traffic enforcement stop." Hall was in the front passenger seat of the vehicle. Hall told Ordelheide that he was on "probation with search terms" and that he had a methamphetamine pipe. Ordelheide arrested him "for being in possession of narcotics paraphernalia." When they arrived at the police station, Ordelheide opened the door of the police car. Hall "stuck his right leg out of the vehicle [and] shook his leg." Ordelheide saw "a black plastic bag fall from the bottom of [Hall's] blue jean pant leg." Inside the black bag were "13 clear plastic bags" containing "a white crystalline substance." Testing showed these bags contained methamphetamine. The "total gross weight" of the bags was "9.01 grams." Nine of the bags weighed 0.5 grams, two weighed 0.6 grams, one weighed 1.2 grams, and one weighed 1.9 grams. The bags weighing 0.5 and 0.6 grams are called "40's" because they are packaged to be sold for "$40 on the street." The bag weighing 1.2 grams would sell for $60 to $80. The bag weighing 1.9 grams is called a "teener" and would sell for "[$]100 to $120 street value." Police Officer Enrique Alvarez testified "most users" buy 0.5 gram bags. "It's very common." He said, "Based on the weight and the amount of baggies, it is my opinion the subject who possessed it was [in] possession for sales." He said it is "common" for drug dealers to hide drugs in their "pants." Hall testified he did not sell methamphetamine. He used methamphetamine from June to September 2012 and was "smoking daily." He used two to "three grams a day." On September 2, he bought $20 worth of methamphetamine at an apartment complex. He got in the car "to take a hit off [his] pipe." Hall testified that he saw Jose, a person he knew to be a "dope dealer," put "something down" between two cars in the carport of the apartment complex. Hall believed this was a "stash spot," a place where people stash "dope."