People v. Garcia CA2/8

Filed 9/3/15 P. v. Garcia CA2/8 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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, B261125

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. NA099753) v.

STEVEN GARCIA,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Tomson T. Ong, Judge. Affirmed.

Christopher Love, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

No appearance for Plaintiff and Respondent.

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A jury convicted Steven Garcia of unlawfully driving a vehicle, with findings that he had a prior conviction for unlawfully driving a vehicle and a prior strike conviction. (Veh. Code, § 10851; Pen. Code, §§ 666.5; 667, subds. (b)-(j); 1170.12, subds. (a)-(d).) The trial court sentenced Garcia to a total aggregate term of eight years in state prison consisting of the upper term of four years for the vehicle offense, doubled for the prior strike. Appointed counsel on appeal filed an opening brief pursuant to People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436 (Wende). Garcia has filed a letter brief asserting various claims of error. We affirm the judgment. FACTS The Crime At about 6:00 a.m. one morning, Jose Olivo went outside to start his Toyota truck. While the truck was warming up, Olivo walked about 50 feet away to fill up a bottle of water. Olivo then “heard the noise of the truck and . . . turned around and [it] was gone.” Olivo did not see who was driving his truck; he had not given anyone permission to drive it. Olivo’s daughter, Joanna, promptly called police and reported that the truck had been stolen. Later that morning, one of Olivo’s neighbors, Maria Martinez, saw Garcia driving Olivo’s truck. At about 11:30 a.m., Olivo received a telephone call from another neighbor who said that he had seen Olivo’s truck. Based on the information from his neighbors, Olivo used another car to go look for his truck. He found his truck parked near 256th Street and Marigold Avenue, and parked his car directly behind the truck. At that point, Olivo saw Garcia “getting off” the truck, and looking inside the “back of the truck.” Olivo approached Garcia and asked, “Is that your truck?” Garcia responded, “No. It has been parked here for hours.” Olivo said that he was going to call the police, and Garcia said, “Sure, call them.” At about noon, Olivo called his daughter, Joanna, and told her that he had found his truck. Joanna drove to 256th Street where she saw the truck, Olivo, and Garcia. Maria Martinez also drove to 256th Street where she too saw the truck and saw Olivo and