People v. Triplett CA2/8

Filed 11/4/15 P. v. Triplett CA2/8 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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, B259575

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. KA104121) v.

ANGEL TRIPLETT,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Douglas Sortino, Judge. Affirmed.

Lori Nakaoka, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Gerald A. Engler, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey and David Zarmi, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

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We affirm defendant Angel Triplett’s convictions for second degree robbery, attempted second degree robbery, and possession of metal knuckles. His challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence and his argument that the trial court abused its discretion in denying him probation lack merit. FACTS AND PROCEDURE We summarize the evidence in accordance with the appropriate standard of review, considering the evidence in the light favorable to the People. (People v. Gonzalez (2005) 126 Cal.App.4th 1539, 1543.) We further “presume the existence of every fact the trier could reasonably deduce from the evidence that supports the judgment.” (Ibid.) Defendant and three friends (Eugene Nierras, Christian Pinales, and Mario Sanchez) watched victims Sarah Hays and Jaime Corado at a public park. As Hays and Corado were leaving the park, the four men surrounded Hays and Corado. Along with his confederates, defendant ordered Hays and Corado to empty their pockets.1 Hays was terrified. When Corado refused to empty his pockets, Nierras asked for brass knuckles, which were handed to him by one of the four men, not defendant. One of defendant’s confederates took Hays’s cell phone and wallet, which were in her back pocket. The four men then ran away together. Defendant first hid under a trailer. Defendant and Nierras then walked to Nierras’s car. Defendant was found in the passenger seat of Nierras’s car, and the brass knuckles were found in the car between the passenger seat and the console. Police officers eventually returned Hays’s property to her. Defendant did not testify, and no witness testified for the defense.