People v. Lark CA3

Filed 2/22/16 P. v. Lark CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Sacramento) ----

THE PEOPLE, C078770

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. 13F06424)

v.

MICHAEL C. LARK,

Defendant and Appellant.

A jury found defendant Michael C. Lark guilty of one count of driving in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property while fleeing from a pursuing police officer (Veh. Code, § 2800.2, subd. (a)) and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm (Pen. Code, § 29800, subd. (a)(1)).1 In a bifurcated proceeding, the trial court found true the allegations that defendant had a prior serious felony conviction (§ 667, subds. (b)-(i)) and had served four prior prison terms (§ 667.5, subd. (b)). The trial court sentenced defendant to 11 years four months in prison. On appeal,

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.

1

defendant contends that there was insufficient evidence to convict him of being a felon in possession of a firearm. We disagree and affirm the judgment. I. BACKGROUND On October 2, 2013, Officers David Putman and Orlando Morales of the Sacramento Police Department were on patrol in a standard marked patrol vehicle in the area of Fruitridge Road and Mendocino Boulevard. Officer Morales was driving and Officer Putman was in the front passenger seat. About 3:00 p.m., the officers attempted to stop a white Dodge station wagon for speeding. The officers turned on the patrol car’s overhead lights and activated the siren to get the driver’s attention. The driver, later determined to be defendant, initially slowed but then took off and a high-speed chase ensued. A passenger, Isaiah Thompson, was seated next to defendant in the front seat. During the chase, defendant ran several stop signs and drove at speeds far exceeding the speed limit. As defendant merged onto southbound Highway 99, Officers Putman and Morales saw a gun thrown from the passenger side of the car. Sergeant Roman Murrietta of the Sacramento Police Department, who had joined the pursuit, stopped his vehicle and retrieved the gun; a silver and black semiautomatic .40-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun. The chase ended when defendant exited Highway 99, lost control, and struck another vehicle. Shortly after the collision, defendant and Thompson were apprehended by police officers. Following the chase, Sergeant Murrietta examined the gun he had retrieved and observed that it held a magazine with a missing butt plate, i.e., the bottom portion of the gun’s magazine. He returned to the location where he found the gun and located 11 live rounds, the butt plate, and several other pieces of the gun’s magazine. II. DISCUSSION Defendant contends that there was insufficient evidence to support his conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm. He argues that the record does not contain