People v. Dolan CA2/2

Filed 12/3/15 P. v. Dolan CA2/2 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 TWO

THE PEOPLE, B258257

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BA419836) v.

MARSHALL DOLAN,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Dennis J. Landin, Judge. Affirmed. Erik Harper, 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, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Paul M. Roadarmel, Jr., and Daniel C. Chang, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

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Marshall Dolan (defendant) raises two challenges to his convictions of four counts of robbery, and the resulting 24-year prison sentence. Specifically, he argues that the trial court erred in admitting (1) evidence of a further robbery to show intent and identity, and (2) a letter defendant wrote to a codefendant’s lawyer disavowing the codefendant’s involvement in the robberies. We conclude there was no error, and affirm. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND In the early morning hours of June 2, 2013, Robert Banfitch (Banfitch) and Steven Tauv (Tauv) walked out of The Eagle Bar. Two African-American men approached them. One was tall; the other, short. Both wore hoodies. The shorter man pulled out a revolver; the taller man, a taser. Banfitch and Tauv handed over their belongings, which included a cigarette case with an image of Woody Allen and an iPhone. The shorter man struck Tauv in the head with the revolver when Tauv tried to keep his I.D. card. That same morning, Shannon Lloyd (Lloyd) and Mohammad Hammad (Hammad) also left The Eagle Bar. They, too, were approached by two African-American men wearing hoodies. One of them asked for a “light” for a cigarette before the two men drew a revolver and a taser. This time, the two men switched weapons: The shorter man held the taser and the taller man held the gun. They demanded the victims’ belongings. The man with the taser deployed it twice on Hammad. Both robbers left in a dark-colored vehicle. One of the victims from the first robbery activated the “Find My iPhone” application on his stolen phone, and the application led police straight to defendant. Defendant was found at a gas station, standing beside a dark-colored vehicle with the iPhone pinging in his pocket. Defendant was wearing a hoodie, and was in possession of the Woody Allen cigarette case as well as 11 credit cards and 8 California identification cards belonging to various people, including Tauv and Banfitch. Tauv and Lloyd identified defendant as one of the two robbers in an in-field “show up.” Tauv said he was “a hundred percent sure” defendant was the shorter robber with the gun based on his clothing and his face; Lloyd recognized defendant’s face and clothing, and said he was the robber who tased Hammad.