California Court of Appeal Aug 7, 2015 No. E061387Unpublished
Filed 8/7/15 P. v. Campos CA4/2
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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
FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION TWO
THE PEOPLE,
Plaintiff and Respondent, E061387
v. (Super.Ct.No. SWF1102822)
MANUEL GILBERT CAMPOS, OPINION
Defendant and Appellant.
APPEAL from the Superior Court of Riverside County. Christian F. Thierbach,
Judge. Affirmed.
Lizabeth Weis, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and
Appellant.
Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Gerald A. Engler, Chief Assistant Attorney
General, Julie L. Garland, Assistant Attorney General, Eric A. Swenson and Allison V.
Hawley, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
1
A jury convicted defendant and appellant, Manuel Gilbert Campos, of assault with 1 a deadly weapon or instrument other than a firearm (Pen. Code, § 245, subd. (a)(1),
count 1), and the trial court sentenced him, after enhancements, to 35 years to life in state 2 prison.
Defendant appeals his conviction on the grounds that the prosecution failed to
present substantial evidence that: (i) anyone used a deadly weapon in the assault; (ii) it
was defendant, rather than a second attacker, who used such a weapon; and (iii)
defendant knew of the weapon’s existence and had the requisite intent for purposes of
finding he aided or abetted the second attacker.
In addition, defendant contends his conviction should be overturned on the ground
that his attorney denied him effective assistance by informing the jury that the other
attacker had pled guilty to assault with a deadly weapon.
For the reasons post, we affirm the judgment.
I
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
On August 26, 2011, defendant and a second inmate engaged in an altercation
with a third inmate in a common area of the Southwest Detention Center in Riverside. A
deputy sheriff who witnessed the altercation described the events to the jury. The deputy
1 All further unlabeled statutory references are to the Penal Code. 2 The clerk of the Riverside County Superior Court erroneously indicated in the abstract that defendant was convicted by the court rather than a jury.
2
also described the events as captured by two surveillance cameras while the prosecution
showed the video recordings to the jury.
The altercation began when deputies remotely unlocked the doors to a tier of cells,
allowing the inmates to enter a common area. Defendant emerged from cell No. 24 and a
second inmate emerged from the adjacent cell No. 22. Both moved immediately to the
left and entered cell No. 10, where the victim was housed. Within seconds, all three
inmates burst out of cell No. 10. Defendant and the second inmate pursued the victim,
striking him repeatedly. The victim withdrew into the center of the common room and
the two other inmates briefly stopped attacking him.
According to the testifying deputy, he did not observe the initial skirmish, but
began watching the three inmates after they were in the common room. Most of the
subsequent fighting occurred in a blind spot of the surveillance cameras. However, the
deputy witnessed the fighting from an unobstructed position in a raised observation
station about 15 to 20 feet away. The deputy testified that the second attacker faced the
victim and was “fighting like you would normally expect someone to fight in a boxing
stance,” throwing “overhead punches” at the victim’s face and upper torso. The deputy
saw defendant striking at the victim too, but testified he “wasn’t in a normal boxing
stance.” Instead, “he was picking his spots,” “kind of hitting like in a stabbing or
slashing-type motion” by swinging his right fist “from the side from [his] hip” and “up
towards the shoulder.” On redirect examination, the deputy recognized on viewing the
video that when defendant came out of the victim’s cell after the first skirmish, he threw
an “overhead punch,” but insisted that thereafter defendant’s punches “were different
3
because he was pulling his hand . . . in a sideways motion from his hip.” The deputy
testified that he did not observe any weapons, but that it appeared from “the way he was
holding his hand that [defendant] was holding something.”
The deputy testified that he used the intercom to tell the inmates to stop fighting
and “lock it down.” Defendant and the second attacker broke off the fight, walked
through the common room, and reconvened in front of the door to cell No. 6. The deputy
testified initially that “it looks like they grab something out of cell 6.” Later, he testified
while viewing the surveillance video that only the second attacker was near cell No. 6 at
the time. He later testified that it did not appear to him that either inmate had taken
anything from the cell.
After a momentary pause, defendant and the second attacker approached the
victim again, backed him up to a position in front of the same sliding door, and resumed
fighting. The second attacker resumed “punching [the victim] again in that boxing
stance” using “overhead punches . . . with both hands.” Defendant also resumed fighting,
according to the deputy, by “continu[ing] to make that jabbing motion.” Though he
testified defendant held his hand in a fist and appeared to be holding something, the
deputy admitted he did not see anything in defendant’s hand. In describing defendant’s
motion on cross-examination, the deputy testified, “I have seen many, many fights,
ma’am. And I have never seen anything like that. The only time I have seen it was
consistent in the shankings and different things like that that I have seen.”
4
3 All together, the fighting lasted just over one minute. The deputy testified that the
victim defended himself throughout. The video shows vigorous fighting on the part of all
three inmates. The deputy described the victim as having been hit “a lot.”
When additional deputies arrived, defendant and the second attacker left the victim
again. They first walked toward the left side of the common room, where a group of
other inmates had congregated, and then took up positions outside the doors to their cells
on the right side of the common room. The surveillance video shows that defendant’s
cellmate opened the door to cell No. 24, defendant reached toward the door, and the
cellmate closed the door again. The deputy testified that the inmates complied with an
order to lie on their stomachs. The deputy testified, and the surveillance video confirms,
that defendant then took off his orange overshirt and stuffed it under the door of his cell.
It appeared that defendant’s cellmate pulled the shirt inside.
Once the deputies had secured the room and inmates, they examined the victim.
He had suffered several injuries, the worst of which were cuts on his right cheek and his
left shoulder blade. The deputy described “very clean . . . smooth cut[s]” whose “edges
were smooth” and “not jagged.” The deputy testified that the cut to the victim’s cheek
was not “very deep . . . just enough to make it bleed.” He described the cut to the
victim’s back as being “like a deep paper cut.” Photographs taken at the time and shown
to the jury are consistent with his description. The deputy testified that, in his experience,
3 The video recordings of the altercation include a timer, which shows the three skirmishes occurred between 7:04:08 p.m. and 7:04:19 p.m., 7:04:53 p.m. and 7:05:11 p.m., and 7:05:47 p.m. and 7:06:16 p.m.
5
the victim’s cuts were consistent with cuts suffered by slashing victims and cuts caused
by sharp instruments in prison fights. A second deputy testified that injuries suffered in
the approximately one dozen prison shanking incidents he has seen are “[u]sually . . . a
slice wound or a real sharp cut. Occasionally it’s a—a stab or like a puncture.”
At trial, the parties stipulated that the victim spoke to the deputy on August 26,
2011, after the attack, and stipulated to the content of his statement. The victim said he
did not know why the attack happened and could not think of a reason the two inmates
would attack him. The victim also told the deputy that he did not see what the two
inmates “attacked him with.” At trial, the victim appeared under duress and testified he
did not know defendant, did not remember an altercation with defendant and the second
attacker, and that he had suffered the injuries shown in the photographs in two separate
falls in a prison shower in 2005.
The deputies also examined and searched defendant, the second attacker, and the
common room area. They did not find anything that could have been used as a weapon
on the inmates’ persons. There was blood on the second attacker’s shirt and hands and he
had cuts on his hand. There were abrasions but no cuts on defendant’s hands, and there
was no blood on his undershirt, pants, or hands.
An investigating deputy found an altered toothbrush, a handle broken off a plastic
spoon, and some droplets of blood on the floor of the common room near where the
fighting took place. The prosecution introduced photographs of these instruments
through the testimony of the investigating deputy, but did not introduce the instruments
themselves. The toothbrush appears to have been burned on the brush end and broken
6
and burned on the grip end. The piece of plastic spoon is about one-inch long (the length
of three lines of ruled paper as depicted in the photograph) and has no black marks that
would indicate burning. The investigating deputy testified that the instruments did not
have blood on them.
The deputy testified that both instruments could be made into shanks and inmates
commonly use them for that purpose. He testified that “normally you have something
sharp on the edges of . . . both of these.” The toothbrush the deputy found does not
appear to have sharp edges, and the deputy testified it is not a working shank in the state
in which it was found. He testified that to make a toothbrush into a weapon inmates “will
melt [the toothbrush] and they will melt a razor blade into the . . . end.” He testified that
a spoon handle can be made into a shank by “melt[ing] or sharpen[ing] [it] into a point
. . . or they can insert the razor blade into the end to hold the razor blade.” The deputy
testified that he searched the whole common area, but did not find a razor blade or any
other sharp or metal object that could have been used to turn the instruments into
functioning shanks. He also testified that he conducted a search of the other inmates in
their cells, but did not find any razor blades or sharp objects.
Both defendant and the second attacker were charged with using a deadly weapon
to assault the victim. The second attacker pled guilty, but defendant went to trial to
contest the charge. Defendant contended at trial that (i) no deadly weapon was used in
the fight, (ii) the second attacker, not defendant, used a deadly weapon, and (iii)
defendant did not know the second attacker used or planned to use a deadly weapon.
7
At a hearing the day before trial began, defendant’s counsel requested that the trial
court take judicial notice and inform the jury that the second attacker had pled guilty to
the charge of assault with a deadly weapon. His counsel explained: “It is our position
that it’s the codefendant who assaulted with a deadly weapon, and my client didn’t have
knowledge that he intended to do that, or in fact knowledge that he was using a weapon.”
The trial court raised the objection that doing so was contrary to the standard jury
instruction against jurors considering whether anyone else involved in a crime had been
or would be prosecuted. Defendant’s attorney responded that “the relevance is that the
codefendant has already pled guilty to the assault with a deadly weapon. He didn’t plead
guilty to assault with force likely. He didn’t plead guilty to simple assault. And I think it
is entirely relevant as to whether or not my client used a weapon or not.”
The court again questioned the relevance of the plea, and asked whether the
second attacker would be testifying. Defendant’s attorney said she did not plan to call
him as a witness. The court then asked for the prosecution’s position. The prosecution
responded that it agreed with the court, understood the defense counsel’s position, but
had mixed feelings. When the court expressed its inclination to disallow the request,
defendant’s attorney objected stating, “When I discussed this matter with [the
prosecutor], I asked her if she was going to object. It was one of the reasons that I—and
she said no. It was one of the reasons I answered ready for trial and opted not to bring
the codefendant down, otherwise I would certainly put him on the stand.” The prosecutor
indicated that she had “mixed feelings,” but did not object, and the court indicated it
would take notice of the guilty plea and inform the jury.
8
Later at the hearing, the prosecution moved to dismiss a second count against
defendant alleging assault to commit mayhem under section 220. The prosecution
explained that “I will actually state for the record that I have made a tactical decision not
to bring the codefendant down. The filing of the 220 would have changed that
decision . . . .”
After the final witness had been called, defense counsel “ask[ed] the Court to take
judicial notice of the conviction of [the second attacker].” The trial court instructed the
jury as follows: “Ladies and gentlemen, the Court is going to take judicial notice of the
following: [The second attacker] was accused of and charged with a violation of Penal
Code Section 245, Subdivision (a), Subsection (1), the same charge that’s pending here
against [defendant], in that on or about August 26th, 2011, in the County of Riverside,
State of California, he did willfully and unlawfully commit an assault upon [the victim]
with a deadly weapon other than a firearm. [¶] This accusation and charge arose from
the same incident the defendant . . . is currently accused and charged with. [¶] And on
January 4, 2012, [the second attacker] entered a plea of guilty to this charge. [¶] Now,
when a Court takes judicial notice of something, what basically I am saying is I reviewed
my own records here, and by my own records, I mean the Court records, the official
records. And these records show that indeed what I just read to you occurred. So you
can—the same thing, you are to accept that as a proven fact without any additional
testimony.”
At closing, both the defense and the prosecution relied on the plea to argue that a
deadly weapon was used in the assault. Defendant’s attorney argued: “What you have,
9
in fact, though, is [the second attacker’s] admission. He pled guilty to the charges, not
guilty to a simple assault. There is no evidence that he pled guilty as an aider and abettor.
He pled guilty to the assault of [the victim] with a deadly weapon.” She also argued that
“[t]here is no evidence that my client knew, in fact, that [the second attacker] had a
weapon” though “we know that he did . . . because he has already pled guilty to it.” The
prosecution agreed, arguing that “[t]his is assault with a deadly weapon. And we know
that based on [the second attacker’s] plea.”
However, defendant’s attorney also contended that there was no shank. She
argued that the victim “wasn’t shanked” and there was no evidence anyone had a shank
or sharp object that could have been used to make a shank out of the instruments found at
the scene. She also contended “no one came in and told you that those specific weapons
were such of nature [sic] that they have the capability of causing great bodily injury or
death” and no one testified that if one of the inmates “had slit [the victim’s] throat with a
blunt toothbrush, or piece of spoon, that in fact that’s going to cause any sort of injury,
other than the scratches [that] you saw.” She did not attempt to explain how the
conclusion that there was no shank fit with her concession that the second attacker had
used one. Nor did she attempt to harmonize those positions by explicitly arguing them in
the alternative.
The prosecution urged the jury to use its common sense and discount the defense
counsel’s arguments as inconsistent. She argued “they move from that to, ‘Okay,
[defendant] is guilty, but he is guilty of a simple misdemeanor assault. But nobody had a
shank’ . . . ‘It wasn’t a shank.’ Then they go with, ‘Okay. There was a shank, but [the
10
second attacker], he is the one who had it. See, he pled guilty to assault with a deadly
weapon.”’ She argued that “[t]he fact that [the second attacker] pled guilty to assault
with a deadly weapon only proves that [the victim] was, in fact, assaulted with a deadly
weapon.” Finally, she contended that the second attacker could have pled guilty as an
aider and abettor if defendant was the perpetrator and that defendant should be found
guilty as an aider and abettor even if the jury concluded the second attacker was the
perpetrator.
During deliberations, the jury asked the court, “Have the items found on the floor
. . . been ID’d as deadly weapons or is that up for question?” The trial court responded,
“[t]hat is a question only you folks can answer” and referred the jury to the definition of a
deadly or dangerous weapon in the jury instructions. The relevant instruction explains,
“A deadly weapon other than a firearm is any object, instrument, or weapon that is
inherently deadly or one that is used in such a way that it is capable of causing and likely
to cause death or great bodily injury.”
The jury returned a verdict finding defendant guilty of assault with a deadly
weapon.
II
ANALYSIS
1. Sufficiency of the Evidence of Assault With a Deadly Weapon
Defendant argues his conviction should be reversed because the prosecution
presented insufficient evidence to sustain a finding that he committed an assault with a
11
4 deadly weapon and the trial court erred in denying his section 1118.1 motion. He
contends there was insufficient evidence that a deadly weapon was used in the assault as
well as that he was culpable for the use of any such weapon.
On a challenge to the sufficiency of evidence supporting a conviction or to support
the denial of a section 1118.1 motion, we ‘“examine the whole record in the light most
favorable to the judgment to determine whether it discloses substantial evidence—
evidence that is reasonable, credible and of solid value—such that a reasonable trier of
fact could find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.’ [Citations.] We
presume in support of the judgment the existence of every fact the trier could reasonably
deduce from the evidence. [Citation.] [¶] The same standard of review applies to cases
in which the prosecution relies primarily on circumstantial evidence . . . .” (People v.
Houston (2012) 54 Cal.4th 1186, 1215; accord, People v. Hajek and Vo (2014) 58 Cal.4th
1144, 1182-1183 (Hajek and Vo).) “‘If the circumstances reasonably justify the trier of
fact’s findings, the opinion of the reviewing court that the circumstances might also be
reasonably reconciled with a contrary finding does not warrant a reversal of the
judgment.’ [Citations.]” (People v. Holt (1997) 15 Cal.4th 619, 668 (Holt).) This
standard is high, requiring an appellate court to “accept logical inferences that the jury
4 The People point out defendant brought his section 1118.1 motion for judgment of acquittal after the trial court had submitted the case to the jury, which makes it untimely. (§ 1118.1, subd. (a)(1).) This irregularity does not change our analysis because the error was harmless.
12
might have drawn from the evidence even if the court would have concluded otherwise.”
(People v. Combs (2004) 34 Cal.4th 821, 849.)
a. Use of a deadly weapon
Defendant argues there was no substantial evidence that either defendant or the
second attacker used a deadly weapon in the assault. He points out the deputy who
observed the altercation admitted he did not see a weapon during the attack, deputies did
not find a weapon on defendant or the second attacker after the attack, and the only items
located near the scene were portions of a plastic toothbrush and a plastic spoon.
Defendant argues the evidence shows these items could not be used as shanks without
alteration and that deputies did not find a razor blade or other sharp object that could have
turned them into shanks. He concludes “the record does not contain sufficient, solid,
credible evidence that [the victim] was assaulted with a deadly weapon.” We disagree.
For purposes of the section 245, subdivision (a)(1) proscription against
“commit[ing] an assault upon the person of another with a deadly weapon or instrument,”
a deadly weapon is any “object, instrument, or weapon which is used in such a manner as 5 to be capable of producing and likely to produce, death or great bodily injury.” (People
5 The People point out section 245, subdivision (a)(1) proscribed assaults carried out by “any means of force likely to produce great bodily injury” in addition to those carried out “with a deadly weapon.” That provision is not in issue here, however, because the complaint, the information, and the jury instructions focused exclusively on whether the assault was committed with a deadly weapon. We note that effective January 1, 2012, the proscription against assaults carried out “by any means of force likely to produce great bodily injury” has been moved from subdivision (a)(1) to its own subdivision, (a)(4). (Stats. 2011, ch. 183, § 1.)
13
v. Aguilar (1997) 16 Cal.4th 1023, 1028-1029 (Aguilar).) Objects such as the altered
toothbrush and spoon handle found at the scene of this assault are “not deadly per se,” but
“may be used, under certain circumstances, in a manner likely to produce death or great
bodily injury.” (Id. at p. 1029.) The jury was charged with deciding, among other things,
whether defendant or the second attacker used these instruments in a sufficiently
dangerous manner. (See, e.g., People v. Cook (1940) 15 Cal.2d 507, 516 [holding a piece
of a two-by-four was a deadly weapon when used to strike the victim over the head];
People v. Helms (1966) 242 Cal.App.2d 476, 486-487 [holding a pillow was a deadly
weapon when used in an attempt to smother the victim]; People v. Russell (1943) 59
Cal.App.2d 660, 664-665 [holding a fingernail file was a deadly weapon when used to
strike the victim in the face].) In making that determination, the jury was free to
“consider the nature of the object, the manner in which it is used, and all other facts
relevant to the issue.” (Aguilar, supra, at pp. 1028-1029.)
The prosecution presented sufficient evidence for the jury to conclude that the
altered toothbrush and spoon handle could be used to make deadly weapons. The jury
heard the testimony of the deputy who investigated the scene of the assault after the
inmates had been removed. The deputy described finding blood on the floor near “a
piece of toothbrush that [he] believed to be a weapon.” He also found a spoon handle in
the same area. The deputy explained that it is common for inmates to make weapons out
of prison-provided plastic spoons and toothbrushes by melting the plastic and then
melting a blade or other sharp object into the plastic. The toothbrush had been altered by
melting.
14
Neither instrument was attached to a blade or other sharp object when the deputy
found the instruments, and he did not find any sharp objects in his subsequent search.
However, the jury had sufficient evidence to infer that defendant was using a weapon
during the fight and acted to conceal a blade afterward. The deputy who observed the
altercation witnessed most of the fight through a window in an observation post about 15
to 20 feet away. He testified that defendant “was picking his spots,” striking at the victim
with a “stabbing or slashing-type motion.” The deputy also testified that it appeared from
“the way he was holding his hand that [defendant] was holding something.” He also
testified, “I have seen many, many fights,” but had “never seen anything like”
defendant’s motion except “in the shankings and different things like that that I have
seen.” The surveillance video of the fight is inconclusive because the recordings have
poor resolution and most of the fighting took place in a blind spot of the surveillance
cameras. Those portions of the video recordings that do show the fight appear to be
consistent with the testimony of the deputy who observed the altercation. The jury could
reasonably credit that testimony and conclude defendant used some object to strike at the
victim.
In addition, the nature of the victim’s injuries are consistent with his being cut by a
blade or other sharp object attached to either the toothbrush or spoon handle found at the
scene. The deputy who observed the altercation testified, and photographs presented to
the jury confirm, that the victim suffered two long, smooth cuts. That deputy testified
that, in his experience, the victim’s cuts were consistent with cuts suffered by slashing
victims in prison fights. The deputy who investigated the scene after the fight testified
15
that injuries suffered in the prison shank incidents that he has seen are “[u]sually . . . a
slice wound or a real sharp cut.” The jury could reasonably conclude from the injuries
that one of the inmates had some object with a sharp edge to strike at the victim.
Finally, the jury had sufficient evidence that one of the inmates disposed of a razor
blade or other sharp object. The surveillance video shows that after the fighting, both
inmates moved into a crowd of other inmates before proceeding to their own cells. Once
defendant reached his cell, his cellmate opened the cell door, and defendant reached
toward the door with one hand. The deputy testified and the video recording clearly
shows that defendant then removed his outer shirt and stuffed it under the door to his cell.
The deputy testified, and the video recording corroborates, that defendant’s cellmate
pulled the shirt under the crack of the door and into the cell. It was reasonable for the
jury to conclude that the inmates sought to conceal evidence. Taken together with the
evidence of defendant’s manner in the attack, the nature of the injuries, and the fact that
the toothbrush found on the scene had been melted in a way indicating to experienced
deputies that it had been altered to be used as a shank, the jury could reasonably conclude
that one of the two inmates took one of those opportunities to conceal a razor blade or
other sharp object. Thus, this evidence provides a substantial basis for the jury to find
that a deadly weapon was used in the assault.
Defendant objects that the victim’s injuries were “not commensurate with being
attacked and struck repeatedly with a shank or deadly weapon.” It is true that the
testimony and photographic evidence reveal that the victim suffered shallow cuts rather
than puncture wounds or deep gashes. As defense counsel argued in her closing
16
argument to the jury, those injuries could have been caused by the sharp edge of an
instrument such as the broken plastic spoon the deputies found at the scene. But they
could also have been caused by a sharper instrument like a razor blade. One deputy
testified that injuries suffered by shank victims were, in his experience, “[u]sually . . . a
slice wound or a real sharp cut” and only “[o]ccasionally . . . a stab or like a puncture.”
The jury may reasonably have concluded that one of the attackers possessed and used a
fully functional shank. Though we might reach a different conclusion, we are not
permitted to substitute our own judgment for the judgment of the jury. (People v. Banks
(2014) 59 Cal.4th 1113, 1156.)
b. Defendant’s culpability
Defendant contends there was no substantial evidence that he “was the one with
the deadly weapon.” We disagree.
The evidence recounted ante provides an adequate basis for the jury to conclude
that defendant himself used a deadly weapon in the assault. Much of the evidence points
directly to defendant as the perpetrator. The witnessing deputy testified that the
defendant attacked the victim by employing “slashing” and “jabbing motions” and that he
appeared to be holding something in his hand. According to the deputy, the other
attacker did not fight in the same fashion. Instead, he punched the victim from a boxer’s
stance. Moreover, it was defendant, not the second attacker who appeared to hand
something to his cellmate and then remove his shirt and stuff it under his cell door.
Those actions gave the jury reason to infer that defendant was trying to avoid being
caught with the missing blade.
17
Defendant argues the victim’s “injuries to his shoulder and cheek are not
consistent with the upward and sideways swinging punches” which, according to the
deputy, characterized defendant’s fighting. He argues that, if he had possessed a weapon,
the victim would have “substantial penetrating injuries in his lower torso . . . not
superficial cuts to his face or his upper shoulder,” and concludes that “no reasonable juror
could find that [defendant] inflicted the cuts to [the victim] with a shank.” We disagree.
As the deputy testified and the video evidence shows, the three men fought vigorously,
the fight was fluid, and the victim actively defended himself. We must interpret the
evidence in the light most favorable to the judgment, which includes presuming “the
existence of every fact the trier could reasonably deduce from the evidence.” (Hajek and
Vo, supra, 58 Cal.4th at p.1183.) A reasonable jury could conclude that the victim’s
injuries were consistent with the free-wheeling fight described by the deputy and depicted
in the surveillance video.
In view of the fact that the jury’s verdict is supported by substantial evidence that
defendant used a shank to attack the victim, we need not consider whether there was also
substantial evidence that he aided and abetted the second attacker in doing so.
2. Effective assistance of counsel
Defendant contends his attorney provided inadequate representation by convincing
the court to take judicial notice and inform the jury that the person with whom he
committed the attack had already pled guilty to assault with a deadly weapon. He argues
that this decision was constitutionally defective because it effectively withdrew his
18
strongest factual defense—that the attack was a simple assault because there was no
deadly weapon—without providing any conceivable benefit. We disagree.
The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution and article 1, section 15
of the California Constitution entitle criminal defendants to competent representation.
(Strickland v. Washington (1984) 466 U.S. 668, 690 (Strickland); People v. Lucas (1995)
12 Cal.4th 415, 436.) The right to effective assistance of counsel “is meant to assure
fairness in the adversary criminal process.” (United States v. Morrison (1981) 449 U.S.
361, 364.) A defendant can expect his counsel to make rational and informed decisions
on strategy and tactics that are grounded on adequate investigation and preparation. (In
re Hall (1981) 30 Cal.3d 408, 426; People v. Frierson (1979) 25 Cal.3d 142, 166.) For
defendant to prevail on his claim that he has been denied effective assistance, he must
establish: “(1) that counsel’s representation fell below an objective standard of
reasonableness; and (2) that there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s
unprofessional errors, a determination more favorable to defendant would have resulted.
In evaluating a claim of deficient performance, we give great deference to
counsel’s tactical decisions. (People v. Frye (1998) 18 Cal.4th 894, 979.) We evaluate
trial counsel’s decisionmaking in the context of the available facts, and generally do not
find tactical errors at trial to be cause for reversing a judgment. (People v. Farnam
(2002) 28 Cal.4th 107, 148.)
19
We hesitate to find ineffective assistance on direct appeal because often the record
is not developed enough to evaluate the attorney’s conduct. (People v. Pope (1979) 23
Cal.3d 412, 426 [“Where the record does not illuminate the basis for the challenged acts
or omissions, a claim of ineffective assistance is more appropriately made in a petition
for habeas corpus”].) Resources would be wasted if appellate courts reversed judgments
for ineffective assistance, only to have “new defense counsel on retrial . . . do exactly
what the original counsel did” based on some “informed tactical choice” not apparent in
the appellate record. (Id. at pp. 425-426.) On direct appeal, we will “reverse convictions
on the ground of inadequate counsel only if the record on appeal affirmatively discloses
that counsel had no rational tactical purpose for his act or omission.” (People v. Zapien
(1993) 4 Cal.4th 929, 980 (Zapien) [quoting People v. Fosselman (1983) 33 Cal.3d 572,
581].)
The precedents are clear that attorneys may reasonably adopt trial tactics even if
they entail making damaging admissions. In Farnam, the California Supreme Court held
it was not ineffective assistance for defense counsel to admit at the guilt phase of a capital
murder trial that defendant had a prior murder conviction. (Farnam, supra, 28 Cal.4th at
pp. 148-150.) Trial counsel made that choice, despite the substantial risk of prejudice,
because he reasonably feared jurors would react negatively toward defendant if they
learned about the prior conviction for the first time during a later phase of the trial. (Id.)
Similarly, in People v. Welch, the high court held it was not ineffective assistance for
counsel to abjure an actual innocence defense in favor of the defense that the murder was
not premeditated where the evidence of guilt was overwhelming. (People v. Welch
20
(1999) 20 Cal.4th 701, 728 (Welch).) Thus, trial counsel does not perform deficiently if
there is a rational purpose that supports the challenged trial tactic, even if that choice
involves making a damaging admission.
In this case, the defense counsel introduced the second attacker’s guilty plea to
support the conclusion that defendant did not wield the shank if the jury decided, despite
counsel’s arguments to the contrary, that someone did use a shank in the attack.
Introducing the second attacker’s guilty plea supported that conclusion by providing a
basis for the jury to find the second attacker was the perpetrator. Before the jury learned
of the guilty plea, there was no direct evidence the second attacker had wielded a weapon
and the deputy who witnessed the attack testified that defendant, not the second attacker,
fought as if he was using a weapon.6 Introducing the guilty plea to the jury at least made
plausible what otherwise would have been speculative. This change in the state of the
evidence was important because defendant’s contention that he did not know there was a
weapon was consistent with other evidence about the fight. The deputy who observed the
fight testified that he did not see a weapon, and the victim told deputies immediately after
the fight that he did not see what the other inmates had used to attack him. The second
6 Defendant contends there was evidence the second attacker had picked up a weapon from someone in cell No. 6 before the final skirmish. The witnessing deputy testified that “it looks like they grab something out of cell 6” and on cross-examination admits only the second attacker was near cell No. 6. But the deputy later testified while viewing the surveillance video that it did not appear either inmate had picked anything up from cell No. 6. Even if that testimony and the video recording provided some support for finding the second attacker had a weapon, introducing the guilty plea lent support to a conclusion that otherwise had little support in the evidence elicited at trial.
21
attacker’s guilty plea therefore gave the jury a way to conclude that defendant was guilty
of nothing more than simple assault.
In addition, defense counsel did not make much of a concession by introducing the
guilty plea. Though circumstantial, the evidence that someone had used a shank in the
attack was strong. The jury saw pictures of the victim’s long, smooth cuts and heard
testimony from experienced deputies that such injuries were consistent with injuries
suffered by victims of shank attacks. Defense counsel could reasonably have feared that
evidence was so powerful the jury would react negatively to defendant if he simply
denied its import. On that basis, she may have concluded the jury would be more likely
to credit defendant’s denial that he used or knew about a shank if he acknowledged the
evidence tended to show someone had used one. We conclude defense counsel could
reasonably have concluded that introducing the guilty plea of the second attacker offered
her client the best chance of a conviction for the lesser included misdemeanor offense of
simple assault. Though defense counsel’s tactic evidently did not succeed, it is exactly
the kind of tactical trial decision we are hesitant to label deficient, especially on direct
appeal. (Zapien, supra, 4 Cal.4th at p. 980.)
Defendant argues his trial attorney’s decision was deficient because it did not
show the second attacker wielded the weapon and introducing the guilty plea therefore
“served no effective purpose other than to inform the jury that [the second attacker]
pleaded guilty to assaulting [the victim] with a deadly weapon.” We acknowledge that
trial counsel said she believed the guilty plea tended to show it was the second attacker
and not her client who used a shank. And we agree, strictly speaking, that view is
22
mistaken. Both men could be guilty of assault with a deadly weapon if one used a deadly
weapon and the other aided him, as the trial court explained to the jury. The jury heard
no evidence to indicate that the second attacker pled guilty specifically as the perpetrator
and not as an accomplice. Thus, the guilty plea did not tend to show that the second
attacker was the perpetrator. However, as we held above, we do not agree there was no
conceivable benefit to making the concession. Defense counsel may have introduced the
guilty plea because, in her judgment, the evidence that someone used a shank in the fight
was significant and the jury was more likely to believe defendant did not know of the
weapon if he acknowledged the import of that evidence. We cannot say the trial tactic
could not serve the defendant’s interests.
Defendant also argues his trial attorney’s decision to admit the second attacker’s
guilty plea was deficient because it “provid[ed] support for a contested element of the
prosecution’s case.” As discussed above, the acknowledgement of the existence of a
deadly weapon was not much of a concession because of the strength of the
circumstantial evidence that someone had used a deadly weapon. Furthermore, the
California Supreme Court decision in Welch establishes that an attorney may decide for
tactical reasons to forgo a defense entirely. (Welch, supra, 20 Cal.4th at p. 728.) We
believe it follows that an attorney may, as happened in this case, decide to pursue one
defense theory in a way that does damage to another defense theory. Defendant relies on
People v. Moreno (1987) 188 Cal.App.3d 1179, 1190-1191 for the contrary position, but
the lesson of that case is far narrower. In Moreno, the defendant was charged with
driving while intoxicated, but disputed that he was the driver of the vehicle. (Id.)
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Defense counsel failed to object when the prosecution introduced hearsay testimony that
defendant was the driver, evidence that was a prerequisite for the prosecution introducing
defendant’s extrajudicial confession. (Id.) The Moreno court held that allowing the
evidence to enter the trial was deficient because it was inadmissible, it enabled the
prosecution to introduce defendant’s confession, and the court could “conceive of no
tactical reason whatsoever which might have dictated trial counsel’s decision not to
object.” (Id. at p. 1191.) Thus Moreno stands for the narrower proposition that defense
counsel performs deficiently by allowing improper evidence that tends to prove an
element of the charge where the admission of the evidence does not provide any benefit
to the defendant. For reasons we have explained above, defense counsel’s decision in
this case does not violate that principle.
b. Prejudice
We have already held that, without considering the guilty plea, a jury could
reasonably have found beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant used a deadly weapon
to commit the assault. We must now decide whether there is a reasonable probability that
without that evidence the jury would have had a reasonable doubt that defendant was
guilty. (See Strickland, supra, 446 U.S. at p. 695.)
“Given this court’s limited role on appeal, defendant [bore] an enormous burden in
claiming there was insufficient evidence to sustain his conviction . . . .” (People v.
in challenging a conviction based on ineffective assistance of counsel is not so heavy.
Defendant “need not show that counsel’s deficient conduct more likely than not altered
24
the outcome in the case.” (Strickland, supra, 466 U.S. at p. 693.) “Rather, the defendant
must establish a reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s errors, the result would
have been more favorable to the defendant.” (In re Wilson (1992) 3 Cal.4th 945, 956; see
Ledesma, supra, 43 Cal.3d at pp. 217-218.) A reasonable probability is simply a
probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome. (Strickland, supra, at p.
693.) We find no reason to disturb the jury’s verdict.
Though the evidence that defendant used a functional shank in the assault is
circumstantial, it is strong. First, deputies found pieces of a toothbrush and plastic spoon
handle at the scene of the fight near droplets of blood. One deputy testified inmates often
use such implements to fashion shanks by melting them and embedding a razor blade or
other sharp object in the plastic. The deputy testified that his first reaction was that the
toothbrush, which was melted on both ends, “was fashioned into a weapon.” Second, the
deputy who observed the fight testified defendant appeared to be holding something in
his hand during the attack and struck at the victim by jabbing and slashing. He also
testified he had seen fighting methods like those defendant used only in other shank
attacks. Third, though deputies were not able to locate a razor blade or other sharp object
of a sort that would have been embedded in the toothbrush, other circumstantial evidence
suggests defendant concealed that evidence. When deputies broke up the fight, both
defendant and the second attacker withdrew into a crowd of other inmates before taking
up positions in front of their own cells. Once defendant was at his cell, his cellmate
opened the door, and defendant reached one hand back toward the door. After the
cellmate closed the door, defendant removed his outer shirt and stuffed it under his cell
25
door. All of these actions imply that defendant was attempting to conceal evidence.
Finally, a deputy testified that the victim’s injuries were consistent with injuries he had
witnessed in other inmate fights involving sharp instruments. Nearly everything about
the incident implies that defendant used a shank in the attack. Only the razor blade or
other sharp object is missing. We do not believe that there is a reasonable probability
that the jury would have failed to convict defendant of assault with a deadly weapon if it
had entered deliberations with this evidence alone and without knowledge of the second
attacker’s guilty plea.
Defendant points out that “the jury asked whether the toothbrush and spoon handle
had been identified as deadly weapons,” and argues that we know from its query that it
was “the most significant issue raised by the evidence.” Defendant also argues that the
jury’s question indicates the jury “understood the significance of [the second attacker’s]
guilty plea” and “that at least one juror was not convinced that the prosecution had met its
burden regarding the deadly weapon element, and that at least one other juror believed
the guilty plea answered that issue.” We disagree. We know only that the jury
considered whether the implements found at the scene were used as deadly weapons and
was unsure whether it was a factual question for them to resolve. Anything more is
speculation. It may be that the jury considered whether the guilty plea established that
the instruments found at the scene were deadly weapons. Even if they did, the trial
court’s response more likely led the jurors away from relying on the guilty plea and
toward relying on the other record evidence. It was defendant’s burden to undermine
confidence in the verdict. (Ledesma, supra, 43 Cal.3d at p. 218.) Pointing to an isolated
26
question from the jury does not meet that burden when other record evidence amply
supports it.
III
DISPOSITION
We affirm the judgment.
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS
RAMIREZ P. J.
We concur:
MILLER J.
CODRINGTON J.
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AI Brief
AI-generated · verify before citing
Holding. The court affirmed the defendant's conviction for assault with a deadly weapon, holding that sufficient evidence supported the jury's finding that a deadly weapon was used and that the defendant was culpable. The court also rejected the defendant's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel regarding the introduction of a codefendant's guilty plea.
Issues
Whether there was sufficient evidence to support a conviction for assault with a deadly weapon.
Whether the trial court erred in denying the defendant's section 1118.1 motion for acquittal.
Whether the defendant received ineffective assistance of counsel regarding the admission of a codefendant's guilty plea.
Disposition. Affirmed.
Quotations verified verbatim against the opinion
“The prosecution presented sufficient evidence for the jury to conclude that the altered toothbrush and spoon handle could be used to make deadly weapons.”
“The jury could reasonably conclude from the injuries that one of the inmates had some object with a sharp edge to strike at the victim.”
“The jury could reasonably conclude that one of the two inmates took one of those opportunities to conceal a razor blade or other sharp object.”