California Court of Appeal Nov 20, 2015 No. D066260Unpublished
Filed 11/20/15 P. v. Molina CA4/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.
COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION ONE
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
THE PEOPLE, D066260
Plaintiff and Respondent,
v. (Super. Ct. No. SCS265024)
HECTOR PABLO MOLINA,
Defendant and Appellant.
APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of San Diego County, Francis M.
Devaney, Judge. Affirmed as modified.
Christian C. Buckley, 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, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Barry Carlton and James
H. Flaherty III, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
A jury convicted defendant of second degree murder and the trial court sentenced
him to an indeterminate term of 15 years to life. Defendant contends the trial court erred
by limiting his ability to impeach the prosecution's star witness with evidence that the
witness was currently under investigation for stalking an ex-wife. He also contends the
prosecutor violated her Brady1 obligations by failing to disclose the full substance of that
investigation. Defendant further contends the trial court erred by denying his motion to
dismiss, which was premised on his claim that the arresting officers should have
preserved his blood alcohol level by taking a blood sample at the time of arrest. In a
related argument, defendant contends the court erred by excluding his expert witness,
who would have testified that police should have taken a blood sample from defendant.
We reject these claims of error. However, we accept defendant's unopposed claim the
trial court erred in its calculation of defendant's presentence custody credits and will
direct the trial court to amend the abstract of judgment accordingly. In all other respects,
we affirm.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
The Prosecution Case
Jerry Macagno testified that he and defendant had been friends for many years.
Macagno rented a space on his property on Hollister Street to defendant so that defendant
could park his motor home there. Defendant stayed in the motor home most of the time,
but sometimes stayed at his mother's home on Clairton Place.
1 Brady v. Maryland (1963) 373 U.S. 83 (Brady). 2
On June 3, 2013, Macagno and defendant spent the day together. They went to a
bank so defendant could withdraw money to pay rent to Macagno, and had lunch at a
fast-food restaurant. While running these errands, a prostitute propositioned them.
Defendant offered to procure her services for Macagno, but Macagno declined. When
they returned to Macagno's home, they watched pornography and drank shots of bourbon.
Altogether, they consumed up to one and one-half flask-sized bottles of bourbon.2
Macagno said defendant began making phone calls to arrange for prostitutes to
come to Macagno's house. Defendant became increasingly agitated as he was unable to
reach the parties he was calling. Defendant said "he wanted to kill the guy" and made a
striking or stabbing gesture. Sometime that day or the day before, Macagno had given
defendant a hunting knife, which Macagno saw defendant put in the glove box of
defendant's truck. Defendant then got in his red Dodge truck and drove off.
Melvin Breaux testified that on June 3 he was homeless and lived in a tent near the
Strawberry Fields area of Chula Vista. About two months earlier, he befriended another
homeless man, David Craig, who had been living in an inoperable van in Strawberry
Fields for about three years. On June 3, Breaux and Craig were sorting bottles for
recycling. About 3:00 p.m., defendant drove up in his truck. Breaux had never seen
defendant before, but Craig appeared to know him. Craig casually walked toward
defendant and said, "What's up, Big John?" Defendant had his hands in his jacket.
Breaux returned to sorting bottles, but later looked up and saw that Craig was bent over
2 Police photographed, but did not collect, two empty flask-sized bottles of bourbon in Macagno's trashcan. 3
and defendant had him in a headlock. When defendant released Craig, Craig fell to the
ground saying, "I don't know why you did that to me. I never done nothing to hurt you,"
or "[W]hy did you do that to me Big John? I never done nothing to hurt you." Defendant
was holding a bloody hunting knife. He walked back to his truck and drove away.
As defendant drove off, Breaux wrote the license plate number in the dirt. Breaux
walked to the area behind a nearby apartment complex and borrowed someone's phone to
call 911.3 Chula Vista police officers arrived within minutes, but Craig was declared
dead at the scene. Breaux flagged down one of the arriving officers, recounted what had
happened, and drew a picture of defendant's knife.
Using the license plate information Breaux had captured, police identified a
nearby address and broadcast a be-on-the-lookout for defendant's truck. Two San Diego
police officers responded to the broadcast that afternoon and saw defendant's unoccupied
truck parked near his mother's house. They saw defendant get in his truck and drive off;
they tailed him until he parked in Macagno's driveway. After a while, defendant backed
the truck out of the driveway and struck a vehicle that was stopped at a red light. The
officers intervened and noticed blood on defendant's pants and shoes. One of the officers
also saw a hunting knife between the driver's and passenger's seat of defendant's truck.
The officers detained defendant for the Chula Vista police. When defendant was
3 Apartment resident Rosie Valenzuela testified she loaned her phone to Breaux to call 911. She also testified she saw a truck at the crime scene, but when shown pictures of defendant's truck, she said she did not think they were the same. 4
arrested, he had blood on his hands, shoes, pants, socks, and leg. There was also blood
on the truck's steering wheel and ignition switch.
Chula Vista police drove Breaux to where defendant was detained. Breaux
identified defendant with 100 percent certainty as the person who stabbed Craig. Breaux
also saw defendant's truck and said, " 'I think that's the truck that the guy was driving.' "
While defendant was being booked into jail, he was crying and loudly said, "I can't
believe I'm here for hitting that lady's car. Is she okay?" and "God, please forgive me" or
"God, please help me."
Chula Vista police detectives Michael Varga and Ricardo Cruz interviewed
defendant at the police station about 10:30 p.m. on June 3. Defendant initially provided a
detailed accounting of his day, which had him running a variety of errands, none of
which involved the victim or Strawberry Fields. When asked to explain why witnesses
had seen him and his truck in Chula Vista when he claimed to be at Macagno's house,
defendant changed his story and acknowledged he "might have been in . . . the wrong
place at the . . . wrong time" and "saw somebody else . . . do something that . . . was a
tragedy . . . ." Defendant claimed he stopped at Strawberry Fields to urinate while
picking up dinner for his mother. While there, defendant heard Craig moaning and saw
him on the ground. Defendant had never seen Craig before and did not know who he
was. Defendant lifted Craig's body to see if he was alive, but "he didn't seem to be."
Defendant said he locked eyes with a Mexican man wearing a gray cap, blue jeans, and a
striped shirt. The man ran away and defendant got back in his truck and left. Defendant
acknowledged Macagno had recently given him the hunting knife and that he (defendant)
5
had shown it to his mother June 2. Defendant had no explanation for how, if the knife
had been used in Craig's murder, it ended up in his truck.
When asked about a possible motive for Craig's killing, defendant told the
detectives he thought the suspect was "a junkie" he might have done drugs with once in
the past. Defendant claimed he had been clean for six months.
A pathologist testified that Craig died from a six-inch-deep stab wound that
penetrated his ribs, lungs, and heart. The stab wound was consistent with being caused
by the knife that was recovered from defendant's truck. DNA evidence confirmed that
the blood found on the steering wheel, defendant's shoes, and the knife belonged to Craig.
Law enforcement witnesses testified that tire and shoe tread imprints at the crime scene
matched the tires on defendant's truck and tread on defendant's shoes.
The Defense Case
Defendant testified in his defense. He said he got drunk on eight to 10 shots of
bourbon at Macagno's house while watching pornography. Defendant made several
phone calls in an unsuccessful attempt to summon prostitutes. Defendant then went to
Strawberry Fields, where he had previously bought drugs and used prostitutes.
Defendant claimed he knew both Craig and Breaux from their involvement in the
drug trade at Strawberry Fields: Craig sold clean syringes and Breaux was a "doorman"
who kept guard for a drug dealer named Paul. Two days before Craig's murder,
defendant purchased a syringe from Craig, purchased drugs from Paul, and had sex with a
prostitute Breaux provided.
6
On June 3, defendant went to Strawberry Fields to buy drugs and obtain
prostitutes. He purchased a syringe from Craig and then, with Breaux's help, purchased
drugs from Paul. Defendant got high with a prostitute and used her services. As he was
leaving, he gave Craig some drugs as a tip and returned to his truck. Defendant
remembered he had a used syringe in his pocket and started to walk back into the fields to
put it in a tree where people leave used needles.
Defendant heard a "commotion" around Craig's van. Defendant saw a man
leaving and Craig lying in a pool of blood. Defendant lifted Craig's body, but heard his
"last gasp." Defendant said he saw a man leaving Strawberry Fields. The man looked at
defendant, so defendant "got the hell out of there as fast as [he] could." Still drunk and
high, defendant returned to Macagno's house to stash some of his leftover drugs.
Defendant testified he did not see the knife in his truck and did not know how it
ended up there. He acknowledged Macagno had given him a hunting knife earlier, but
claimed he gave it to Breaux two weeks earlier in exchange for drugs.
Defendant testified he lied during his interview with detectives to protect his drug
connections. He claimed he was still drunk and high during the interview and did not
remember what he said or why he answered the way he did.
Defendant called two additional defense witnesses. Rosa Valenzuela (the mother
of the woman who loaned her phone to Breaux) testified she saw a red Ford truck near
Strawberry Fields around the time of the murder that did not resemble photographs of
defendant's truck. Defendant's cousin, Bertha Luna, testified she smoked drugs with
7
Breaux on several occasions,4 and heard Breaux's associates state that Breaux told the
police that defendant had killed someone "they had killed."
Jury Verdict and Sentence
The People charged defendant with the first degree murder of Craig and further
alleged defendant's personal use of a knife. (Pen. Code, §§ 187, subd. (a), 12022, subd.
(b)(1).)5 The jury found defendant guilty of second degree murder and made a true
finding on the knife-use enhancement. The trial court sentenced defendant to an
indeterminate term of 15 years to life and credited him with 382 days of presentence
custody.
DISCUSSION
I. Investigation of Breaux
Defendant contends the trial court committed a variety of errors in its handling of
the defense's requests to impeach Breaux on the basis that he was being investigated for
stalking his ex-wife. He contends the court erred by (1) failing to disclose what it learned
during an in camera examination of the detective leading the stalking investigation and
refusing to allow discovery of his investigative file; and (2) refusing to allow defendant to
impeach Breaux with the stalking investigation. Defendant also contends the prosecutor
committed a Brady violation by failing to disclose the substance of the stalking
investigation to the defense. We reject these contentions.
4 Breaux testified he smoked drugs with Luna "[m]aybe once."
5 Further unspecified statutory references are to the Penal Code. 8
A. Proceedings Below
The primary defense theory at trial was that Breaux was framing defendant for
Craig's murder or was somehow otherwise involved. Defense counsel vigorously cross-
examined Breaux and impeached him on several points. For example, defense counsel
elicited that Breaux (1) initially described the suspect as having a pony tail and wearing
denim shorts and work boots, when none of that was true of defendant; (2) said Craig
addressed the perpetrator as "Big John," when defendant has never gone by that name; (3)
initially denied using drugs, but later admitted smoking drugs with Luna on one occasion
(which Luna further impeached by testifying they had used drugs together six times); (4)
was receiving room and board from the district attorney's office under a witness
protection program;6 and (5) was uncooperative with defendant's investigator.
In support of his defense, defendant points out his testimony put the murder
weapon in Breaux's hands two weeks before the murder and revealed Breaux as a
doorman for drug dealing and prostitution activities. Both Valenzuelas' testimony
impeached Breaux's description of defendant's truck, and Rosa's testimony challenged
Breaux's ability to see what he claimed to have seen from his claimed location. And
Luna testified she heard Breaux's associates claim that Breaux told the police that
defendant had killed someone "they had killed."
In closing argument, defense counsel (1) reminded the jury defendant testified he
traded the murder weapon for drugs or prostitution "with none other than the People's star
6 Breaux testified that someone punched him in the face and told him he needed to learn to keep his mouth shut. 9
witness Melvin Breaux"; (2) argued "something was going [on] out there" and "Mr.
Breaux was involved in it"; (3) insinuated Breaux was falsely accusing defendant "to get
a roof over his head"; and (4) noted the prosecutor elicited that Breaux suffered a felony
conviction for burglary in 2000.
During defense counsel's cross-examination of Breaux, counsel requested a
sidebar conference regarding an additional impeachment topic related to the prosecutor's
disclosure at the preliminary hearing that Breaux was being investigated for domestic
violence.7 Defense counsel wanted "to inquire of [Breaux] whether or not he has
received a direct or implied immunity from the prosecution . . . from that criminal act
because of his role here in this case." The prosecutor responded she had been "constantly
checking" on the stalking matter and nothing had been submitted by police to the district
attorney's office for prosecution. The prosecutor "unequivocally" represented that
Breaux had received "[a]bsolutely nothing" in the stalking matter in exchange for his
testimony in defendant's case. The court tentatively ruled defense counsel could not
7 Immediately after counsel stated their appearances at the preliminary hearing, the prosecutor made the following disclosure regarding the investigation of Breaux: "[H]e has a domestic violence case. I believe it is felony level. I don't know. It is being submitted to our office. Nothing has been issued or rejected. So I have spoken with him, not about the case specifically, but I wanted to make sure that [defense counsel] was aware there may be a potential DV case. I know nothing about the facts. I don't have a police report. I don't know whether or not the potential crime could be moral turpitude or not. I just want to make sure that it is on the record. But I have advised him that should he be asked about it in any way, he probably should assert the Fifth. We may need to appoint counsel. I just wanted to make that very clear, that there is potentially a pending case, may not be—" 10
cross-examine Breaux on the pending investigation, but directed the prosecutor to make
an affirmative inquiry of the police to determine the status of the investigation.
Defense counsel later informed the court the prosecutor had put him in touch with
the detective investigating the stalking claim (San Diego police detective Kevin
McNamara), but the detective would not answer his questions due to confidentiality
concerns. The court directed the prosecutor to produce McNamara for examination in
court.
Detective McNamara testified in an evidentiary hearing outside the jury's
presence. He testified he was investigating allegations by Breaux's ex-wife that Breaux
had stalked her, but Breaux had not been arrested yet. When the judge asked a series of
questions about whether any law enforcement agents or prosecutors had interfered in any
way with McNamara's investigation or sought to provide Breaux with immunity on the
stalking claim, McNamara responded "[a]bsolutely not." McNamara testified the current
case against defendant would in no way impact his decisions as to the handling of the
stalking case.
McNamara explained his investigation had been delayed by several factors. First,
when he learned Breaux was under the "control" of the detectives handling defendant's
case, McNamara purposefully refrained from contacting Breaux to avoid "mix[ing] the
two cases." Second, McNamara's assignment in the police department changed and he
was handling higher-priority matters. Third, McNamara had recently learned of some
additional information that he thought would be "extremely probative to the [stalking]
case," but he preferred not to divulge it in open court. Despite the delay in his
11
investigation, McNamara emphasized, "It's not only my intent [to ultimately forward the
case to the district attorney's office for prosecution], but under oath it will be done."
On cross-examination, McNamara explained he had never talked to Breaux nor
told him about the investigation, but he "would not be surprised if Breaux knows about
the allegations" because Breaux's daughter knows generally of them and is in contact
with both of her parents.
The court briefly examined McNamara in camera and sealed the transcript. On the
record, the court stated, "I have interviewed Detective McNamara regarding what he
called a recent piece of information that has affected his processing of this case. And he's
revealed that to me and that I find is no way relevant to any matters that are pending
before this court on this case."
Defense counsel argued that because Breaux was being investigated for stalking
his ex-wife, defendant has "a right to see whether or not the information gathered by
[McNamara] on Mr. Breaux has any probative or relevant information that will support
our defense" theory that "Breaux is framing [defendant] for this murder . . . ." Defense
counsel also wanted to further explore whether Breaux had received any immunity deal
or was shading his testimony in this case in hopes of getting one.
The court denied both defense requests, noting the "purpose of this hearing was
limited" to the issue of "whether there is a deal offered to Breaux; immunity, leniency,
potential plea bargains in the future on the case Detective McNamara is working on."
The court found "McNamara was very, very plain he's had no interference, no prompts,
no requests from anybody in the D.A'.s office on how to deal with his DV case . . . . So
12
I'm not going to allow Breaux or Detective McNamara to testify. I'm convinced there are
no deals."
The court also denied defense counsel's request for discovery of McNamara's
investigative findings. The court refused to allow the case to "spin off in that direction"
when trial was "almost finished" and the stalking allegations were not "relevant to what
we're dealing with in this case . . . ."
B. No Error in Not Disclosing the Information McNamara Revealed In Camera
Having since read the sealed transcript, defendant now contends the trial court
erred by not disclosing the following information that Detective McNamara revealed
during the court's in camera examination:
"I know that Mr. Breaux used to be a New Orleans police officer and he was involved in an on-duty accident. He got addicted — this is coming from the victim — he got addicted to the pain meds. They moved out of New Orleans, actually came to California. He tried to become a CHP officer, but he was turned out during the psychological for some anger issues. [¶] In my opinion, Mr. Breaux's got a great amount of street sense."
Defendant asserts the trial court's receipt of McNamara's testimony in camera is
analogous to a trial court's in camera review of law enforcement personnel files under a
Pitchess motion.8 We review these determinations for an abuse of discretion. (People v.
8 "[T]he Legislature has enacted procedures to implement the decision of Pitchess v. Superior Court (1974) 11 Cal.3d 531 . . . , that allow criminal defendants to seek discovery from the court of potentially exculpatory information located in otherwise confidential peace officer personnel records. If a party bringing what is commonly called a Pitchess motion makes a threshold showing, the court must review the records in camera and disclose to that party any information they contain that is material to the underlying case." (People v. Superior Court (Johnson) (2015) 61 Cal.4th 696, 705 (Johnson).) 13
Hughes (2002) 27 Cal.4th 287, 330; see In re Elijah S. (2005) 125 Cal.App.4th 1532,
1541 [abuse of discretion standard applies to review of trial court's decision to allow
access to confidential juvenile records under Welf. & Inst. Code, § 827, subd. (a)(1)(P)].)
Assuming without deciding that analogizing to the Pitchess framework is
appropriate, we conclude the trial court did not abuse its discretion by finding Breaux's
status as a former police officer, his workplace injury and resulting addiction to pain
medications, and his alleged anger management issues immaterial to this case. To the
extent Breaux's employment experience and workplace injury contributed to his "street
sense" or potential problems with his powers of observation or recall, the trial court did
not preclude defendant from cross-examining Breaux on these grounds generally.
Indeed, as noted above, defense counsel extensively cross-examined and impeached
Breaux. Additional detail about Breaux's background would not have materially aided
that effort.
We also reject defendant's contention that Breaux's alleged history of anger
management issues "would directly have impacted the defense theory that Breaux could
have been the killer and was framing [defendant]." As propensity evidence, the trial
court could properly have concluded Breaux's history of anger was inadmissible character
evidence. (See Evid. Code, § 1101, subd. (a) [subject to certain exceptions, "evidence of
a person's character or a trait of his or her character (whether in the form of an opinion,
evidence of reputation, or evidence of specific instances of his or her conduct) is
inadmissible when offered to prove his or her conduct on a specified occasion"]; People
v. Elliott (2012) 53 Cal.4th 535, 580 (Elliott) ["Evidence of a third party's prior crimes is
14
inadmissible to establish the third party's criminal propensity."].) As third party
culpability evidence, the trial court could properly have concluded Breaux's alleged
history of anger issues is not sufficiently related to the manner in which Craig was
murdered so as to identify Breaux as the real perpetrator. (Elliott, at pp. 580-581 ["For
evidence of an uncharged offense to be admissible to establish the third party's identity as
the perpetrator of the charged crimes, ' "[t]he pattern and characteristics of the crimes
must be so unusual and distinctive as to be like a signature." ' "].) Either of these bases
supports the trial court's exercise of discretion.
Because we find no abuse of discretion in the trial court's determination that
defendant was not entitled to disclosure of the information that Detective McNamara
revealed during his in camera examination—because it was in "no way relevant to any
matters that are pending before this court on this case"—we likewise find no abuse of
discretion in the trial court's denial of defendant's request to obtain the same information
by way of discovery of McNamara's investigative file.
C. No Error in Precluding Impeachment of Breaux with the Investigation
In a similar challenge, defendant contends the trial court "erred by refusing to
allow [defendant] to impeach Breaux with evidence of the pending investigation [of] his
acts of stalking his ex-wife." Defendant asserts he was entitled to use the information to
(1) show that because Breaux was allegedly stalking his wife, he "had a proclivity to at
least some form of violent or aggressive behavior," and (2) explore Breaux's motive in
"garner[ing] better treatment" from the prosecution. We conclude the trial court validly
15
exercised its discretion to prevent the case from "spin[ning] off" into a mini-trial on
McNamara's investigation of Breaux.
First, defendant's "proclivity" theory is simply a repackaging of the propensity and
third party culpability theories we rejected above. Second, since "evidence of mere
arrests is inadmissible because it is more prejudicial than probative" (People v. Lopez
(2005) 129 Cal.App.4th 1508, 1523, italics added), evidence of Breaux's mere
investigation is likewise inadmissible. Third, the trial court thoroughly explored whether
Breaux had received direct or implied immunity: McNamara and the prosecutor assured
the court Breaux received "[a]bsolutely nothing" in the stalking matter in exchange for
his testimony in defendant's case, and McNamara testified he purposefully avoided
"mix[ing] the two cases" and vowed to eventually refer the matter for prosecution. The
court was not required to take further evidence on this collateral credibility issue. (See
People v. Wheeler (1992) 4 Cal.4th 284, 296 [Evid. Code, § 352 "empowers courts to
prevent criminal trials from degenerating into nitpicking wars of attrition over collateral
credibility issues"].)
D. The Prosecutor Did Not Violate Her Brady Disclosure Obligations
Defendant contends the prosecutor violated her Brady obligations by failing to
disclose the substance of McNamara's investigation of Breaux. We disagree.
"Under Brady, supra, 373 U.S. 83, and its progeny, the prosecution has a
constitutional duty to disclose to the defense material exculpatory evidence, including
potential impeaching evidence." (Johnson, supra, 61 Cal.4th at p. 709.) "The duty to
disclose 'exists even though there has been no request by the accused.' " (Ibid.) "For
16
Brady purposes, evidence is material if it is reasonably probable its disclosure would alter
the outcome of trial." (Id. at pp. 709-710.) This "requires more than a showing that the
suppressed evidence would have been admissible [citation], that the absence of the
suppressed evidence made conviction 'more likely' [citation], or that using the suppressed
evidence to discredit a witness's testimony 'might have changed the outcome of the trial'
[citation]." (People v. Salazar (2005) 35 Cal.4th 1031, 1043 (Salazar).)
The scope of a prosecutor's Brady disclosure obligation " 'extends beyond the
contents of the prosecutor's case file and encompasses the duty to ascertain as well as
divulge "any favorable evidence known to the others acting on the government's
behalf." ' " (In re Steele (2004) 32 Cal.4th 682, 696-697 (Steele).) "Thus, the prosecution
is responsible not only for evidence in its own files but also for information possessed by
others acting on the government's behalf that [was] gathered in connection with the
investigation. But the prosecution cannot reasonably be held responsible for evidence in
the possession of all governmental agencies, including those not involved in the
investigation or prosecution of the case." (Id. at p. 697.) " 'Conversely, a prosecutor does
not have a duty to disclose exculpatory evidence or information to a defendant unless the
prosecution team actually or constructively possesses that evidence or information. Thus,
information possessed by an agency that has no connection to the investigation or
prosecution of the criminal charge against the defendant is not possessed by the
prosecution team, and the prosecutor does not have the duty to search for or to disclose
such material.' " (Ibid.)
17
"There are three components of a true Brady violation: The evidence at issue must
be favorable to the accused, either because it is exculpatory, or because it is impeaching;
that evidence must have been suppressed by the State, either willfully or inadvertently;
and prejudice must have ensued." (Strickler v. Greene (1999) 527 U.S. 263, 281-282.)
We review de novo whether a defendant has established a Brady violation. (Salazar,
supra, 35 Cal.4th at p. 1042.)
Our independent review of the record reveals the prosecutor did not violate her
disclosure obligations under Brady. First, she was not obligated to disclose the substance
of McNamara's investigation because he was not part of the prosecutorial team. (See
Steele, supra, 32 Cal.4th at p. 697.) McNamara is a detective with the San Diego Police
Department; Craig's murder was investigated by the Chula Vista Police Department. The
San Diego Police Department's only apparent involvement in defendant's case was the
initial traffic stop by the two patrol officers who detained defendant until Chula Vista
police officers arrived.
Second, the prosecutor was not obligated to disclose the substance of the
investigation because, as discussed in part I.B., ante, we agree with the trial court's
conclusion that the information defendant sought is not material. (See Johnson, supra, 61
Cal.4th at pp. 709-710.)
Finally, and in any event, even if the prosecutor were obligated to disclose
Breaux's investigation, she satisfied that obligation. She disclosed the investigation at the
very outset of the preliminary hearing; "constantly check[ed] its status"; put defendant's
counsel in touch with Detective McNamara; and produced McNamara for examination by
18
the court and defense counsel. By doing so, the prosecutor satisfied any Brady obligation
she had with respect to the substance of the investigation. (See, e.g., Pennsylvania v.
Ritchie (1987) 480 U.S. 39, 59 [defendant's interest "in ensuring a fair trial can be
protected fully by requiring that the [child protective services'] files be submitted only to
the trial court for in camera review"]; Johnson, supra, 61 Cal.4th at pp. 706, 715, 722 [no
Brady violation where prosecutor disclosed that police witness had " 'material in his . . .
personnel file that may be subject to disclosure,' " where defense counsel has the same
ability as the prosecutor to subject the personnel file to in camera review with a Pitchess
motion].)
II. Preservation of Defendant's Blood Alcohol Level
Defendant moved under California v. Trombetta (1984) 467 U.S. 479 and Arizona
v. Youngblood (1988) 488 U.S. 51 to dismiss the case (or, alternatively, for an
ameliorative instruction and an evidentiary hearing) because "the police violated
[defendant's] due process rights by failing to obtain samples of his blood to determine his
level of intoxication at the time of arrest." He asserts a blood sample may have supported
an affirmative defense of intoxication. We find no error.
The two San Diego police officers who followed defendant from Clairton Place to
Hollister Street and initially detained him that afternoon testified defendant did not
swerve while driving. When standing within a foot of defendant, they smelled no odor of
alcohol and observed no other signs of intoxication. The Chula Vista police officer who
took defendant into custody and transported him to the police station testified he was in
19
defendant's presence for over one hour and smelled no odor of alcohol and observed no
other signs of intoxication.
When Detectives Varga and Cruz interviewed Macagno on the afternoon of June
3, Macagno told them he and defendant had been drinking bourbon that day and
defendant appeared "plastered." Macagno said there were two empty bottles in the trash
can at his house. Detective Cruz testified that, because of this, he closely observed
Macagno for signs of intoxication and observed none. This caused Cruz to doubt
Macagno's statement about the quantity of liquor the men had consumed.
Nevertheless, Cruz and Varga paid particular attention to defendant's demeanor
when they interviewed him later that night. Cruz testified defendant responded promptly
to commands; walked normally down a 30- or 40-foot-long hallway while handcuffed;
and gave off no odor of alcohol and displayed no other signs of intoxication. Based on
his observations, Cruz testified, "If this contact had occurred out in the field and he was
driving under the same circumstances . . . , I would have handed him his keys back. That
is how confident I was that he was not under the influence." Cruz concluded he would
not have had probable cause to obtain a warrant to draw defendant's blood. Detective
Varga similarly testified he did not detect the odor of alcohol emanating from defendant
or observe any other signs of intoxication.
During his interview, defendant told Detectives Varga and Cruz he had only "a
couple shots" of bourbon and boasted of being sober for six months. At trial, however,
defendant testified he was drunk on bourbon and high on heroin and methamphetamine
on June 3, including during his interview with detectives.
20
The trial court denied defendant's motion to dismiss, but allowed defendant to
argue the police were "incompetent" in their treatment of the issue and instructed the jury
on voluntary intoxication.
Defendant acknowledges his challenge "in part has been addressed" by the
California Supreme Court's recent decision in People v. Montes (2014) 58 Cal.4th 809
(Montes), but requests "the extension of existing precedent." No extension is warranted
here.
Montes acknowledged that although "due process does not require the police to
collect particular items of evidence," Trombetta recognized that due process does impose
"a duty on the state to preserve 'evidence that might be expected to play a significant role
in the suspect's defense.' " (Montes, supra, 58 Cal.4th at p. 837, italics added, quoting
Trombetta, supra, 467 U.S. at p. 488.) However, for the obligation to preserve evidence
to arise, the "evidence 'must both possess an exculpatory value that was apparent before
the evidence was destroyed, and be of such a nature that the defendant would be unable
to obtain comparable evidence by other reasonably available means.' " (Montes, at p.
837, quoting Trombetta, at p. 489.) "A trial court's ruling on a Trombetta motion is
upheld on appeal if a reviewing court finds substantial evidence supporting the ruling."
(Montes, at p. 837.)
The defendant in Montes moved to dismiss under Trombetta on the ground the
police should have taken a blood sample when they arrested him, which may have
supported an intoxication defense. (Montes, supra, 58 Cal.4th at p. 837.) The Supreme
Court concluded the trial court properly denied the motion because, even assuming
21
Trombetta imposed a duty to collect apparently exculpatory evidence, there was none
because (1) the arresting officers testified they did not believe the defendant was under
the influence of drugs when they arrested him 24 hours after the murder, and (2) the
record "failed to establish an apparent exculpatory connection between the possible
presence of a narcotic in a defendant's blood when he was arrested and his level of
intoxication, if any, when the murder was committed nearly 24 hours earlier." (Id. at pp.
837-838.)
Montes is controlling here. Five law enforcement witnesses testified uniformly
that there was nothing apparently exculpatory about defendant's condition at the time of
his arrest or interrogation. This alone is dispositive. Further, defendant offered no
evidence of the exculpatory value of his intoxication level hours after Craig's murder.
Because the officers who detained and transported defendant observed no signs he was
intoxicated, the first suggestion defendant had been drinking arose during Macagno's
interview sometime after 6:00 p.m. (about three hours after the murder). Defendant did
not tell anyone he had been drinking until after 10:30 p.m. (about seven hours after the
murder), and even then he downplayed his consumption. This substantial evidence
supports the trial court's ruling.
Montes and Trombetta aside, the trial court instructed the jury on intoxication and
defense counsel vigorously cross-examined the law enforcement witnesses regarding
their conclusions defendant was not intoxicated. The trial court did not err in denying
defendant's motion to dismiss.
22
III. Exclusion of Defendant's Expert Witness
Defendant contends the trial court erred by excluding an expert on homicide
investigations who would have testified that police should have taken a blood sample
from defendant. We disagree.
Near the close of the prosecution's case, the trial court confirmed its understanding
that the defense would be calling only two impeachment witnesses (Bertha Luna and
Rosa Valenzuela). Defense counsel responded, "[Y]eah, I think I should add a third;
[defense investigator] Tira" as an expert on homicide investigations. Defense counsel
made an offer of proof that Tira worked as a homicide investigator for the Indio Police
Department before becoming a defense investigator.
The prosecutor objected on the ground of untimeliness. She explained she had
confirmed several times—via discovery requests, a confirming letter, and a motion in
limine—that defense counsel would not be calling any witnesses, other than possibly
calling defendant. The court stated that it recalled from motion proceedings that defense
counsel stated he did not intend to call any witnesses. The prosecutor acknowledged that
defendant was not required to disclose impeachment witnesses, but said she felt
"sandbagged" by defendant's belated attempt to designate an expert witness.
The trial court denied defendant's attempt to designate Tira as an expert witness.
The court found there was no reason defendant could not have designated his expert
sooner, and that the delay in doing so prejudiced the prosecution. Nevertheless, the court
allowed defendant to argue the investigation had been conducted incompetently with
regard to collecting a blood sample from defendant.
23
Defendant properly acknowledges we generally review a trial court's discovery
ruling for an abuse of discretion (People v. Ayala (2000) 23 Cal.4th 225, 299), but he
argues that because "the scope of that discretion is circumscribed by [his] due process
rights and his right to a fair trial," "any perceived timing error in disclosing the witness
had to bow to [his] right to present a full defense." We are not persuaded.
The trial court's ruling did not preclude defendant from presenting a full defense.
First, defendant's primary theory at trial was that someone else killed Craig. Excluding
an expert who would have testified the police should have taken a blood sample had no
bearing on this defense. Second, to the extent defendant had an alternate defense theory
of intoxication, defendant vigorously pursued the defense at trial even without an expert,
and the trial court instructed the jury on the defense. There was no abuse of discretion.
IV. Presentence Custody Credits
Defendant contends the trial court miscalculated his presentence custody credits.
He was arrested on June 3, 2013, and sentenced 383 days later on June 20, 2014.
However, the trial court credited him with only 382 days of presentence custody credits.
Defendant asks that the abstract of judgment be amended to reflect one additional day of
presentence custody credits. At oral argument, the People agreed defendant is entitled to
one additional day of presentence credit.
Although such a request should ordinarily be addressed to the trial court in the first
instance (§ 1237.1), because we are already addressing other appellate issues we will
address this request in the interests of economy (see People v. Jones (2000) 82
24
Cal.App.4th 485, 493). We will direct the trial court to amend the abstract of judgment to
reflect one additional day of presentence custody credits.
V. Cumulative Error
Because we have found only one instance of error (miscalculation of defendant's
presentence custody credits), we reject defendant's claim that cumulative error requires
reversal of his conviction. (People v. Bennett (2009) 45 Cal.4th 577, 618 ["With the
exception of a single erroneous evidentiary ruling, which was harmless beyond a
reasonable doubt, we have rejected all other claims of error, thus there is no cumulative
error."].)
DISPOSITION
The superior court is directed to amend the abstract of judgment to reflect one
additional day of presentence custody credits (for a total of 383 days) and to forward the
amended abstract of judgment to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. In all
other respects, the judgment is affirmed.
HALLER, J.
WE CONCUR:
BENKE, J., Acting P.J.
MCINTYRE, J.
25
AI Brief
AI-generated · verify before citing
Holding. The court affirmed the defendant's second-degree murder conviction, holding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in limiting impeachment of a prosecution witness regarding a pending investigation or in denying discovery of that investigation, and that the prosecution did not violate its Brady obligations. The court also ordered a correction to the defendant's presentence custody credits.
Issues
Did the trial court err by limiting impeachment of a prosecution witness regarding a pending stalking investigation?
Did the prosecutor violate Brady obligations by failing to disclose the substance of the stalking investigation?
Did the trial court err by denying a motion to dismiss based on the failure to preserve blood alcohol evidence?
Did the trial court err by excluding expert testimony regarding the failure to collect a blood sample?
Disposition. Affirmed as modified.
Quotations verified verbatim against the opinion
“We reject these claims of error.”
“The court was not required to take further evidence on this collateral credibility issue.”
“We conclude the trial court did not abuse its discretion by finding Breaux's status as a former police officer, his workplace injury and resulting addiction to pain medications, and his alleged anger management issues immaterial to this case.”