People v. Celis CA2/2

Filed 4/1/16 P. v. Celis CA2/2 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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, B260622

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. KA098528) v.

IZAEL C. CELIS,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Daniel B. Feldstern, Judge. Affirmed.

Paul R. Kraus, 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, Scott A. Taryle, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, and Rene Judkiewicz, Deputy Attorney General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

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Izael Celis (defendant) appeals his convictions for the transportation of cocaine base for sale and possession of cocaine base for sale, and the resulting six year sentence. Defendant contends that there was insufficient evidence to support his convictions, and that the trial court erroneously admitted two pieces of evidence: (1) evidence that he possessed cocaine two months before; and (2) gang expert testimony bearing on his guilt of the charged crimes. We conclude that none of defendant’s arguments has merit, and accordingly affirm. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND On July 24, 2013, Los Angeles Police Department officers saw defendant sitting in the front passenger seat of a blue Nissan Maxima that was stopped in front of a known drug user’s house. The drug user approached the car, leaned into the driver’s side window, and returned to his house moments later. The car made two more stops; at each stop, someone was waiting to meet the car, that person got into the back seat, and within a minute, exited the car and walked away. Because this behavior looked like a “textbook” case of “call and delivery” drug sales, police detained defendant and the driver after they got out of the car in the parking lot of defendant’s apartment complex. Police also searched the car and found a hidden compartment in the center console easily within the reach of the driver and passenger; inside the compartment was a loaded .38- caliber revolver, ammunition, individual baggies containing small amounts of cocaine powder and rock cocaine, and $10,000 in cash. The People charged defendant with aiding and abetting the transportation and possession of cocaine base for sale. (Health & Saf. Code, §§ 11352, subds. (a), (c) & (d), 11351.5; Pen. Code, § 31). The People further alleged that the crimes were committed for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal street gang (Pen. Code, § 186.22, subd. (b)(1)(A)) and that defendant was personally armed with a firearm (Pen. Code, § 12022, subd. (c)). At trial, over defendant’s objection, the People introduced two other pieces of evidence: (1) evidence that defendant had, a few months before the July 2013 sales, tossed to the ground a bundle of baggies containing small amounts of cocaine and rock