People v. Medina CA3

Filed 4/26/16 P. v. Medina CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 (Butte) ----

THE PEOPLE, C074573

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. CM033310)

v.

JUAN CARLOS MEDINA,

Defendant and Appellant.

After a prior jury deadlocked and a mistrial was declared, a second jury acquitted defendant Juan Carlos Medina of first degree murder, convicted him of second degree murder, and found not true an allegation he used a knife during the commission of the murder. (Pen. Code, §§ 187, 12022, subd. (b)(1).)1 The trial court sentenced defendant to 15 years to life in prison, and he timely filed this appeal. On appeal, defendant

1 Further undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.

1

contends the trial court erred in permitting the People to introduce evidence of a purported adoptive admission, and in failing to instruct on an aiding and abetting theory. Disagreeing, we shall affirm. BACKGROUND An abbreviated statement of facts, largely agreed by the parties in their briefing, is all that is necessary for us to set forth given the two narrow issues raised on appeal. In June 2006, about two weeks before the killing, defendant began a vehicle chase, chasing driver Kristin Garcia and her boyfriend and passenger Trenton Grey Stopplemore (“Trent,” or the victim), who told Garcia he was terrified of defendant. Eventually, they stopped at a fire station, defendant and Trent got out and had a discussion, then defendant displayed a screwdriver and followed Trent out of Garcia’s view. On June 22, 2006, Trent called Garcia around 10:30 p.m., and told her he was picking up defendant and a man known as “Speedy” at a labor camp; then Trent made a three-way call in which Garcia heard Trent say he was going to get Speedy at the camp. At 10:44 p.m., a 911 call reported a stabbing. That night Trent knocked on the door of a house near the camp, was bleeding, and said he felt like he was dying. He said he had been stabbed by “Mexicans” at the camp. He had been at least stabbed three times, once in the neck and twice in the back. He subsequently bled to death. A blood trail led 1,200 feet towards the camp parking lot. Defendant lived about 200-300 yards from the camp parking lot. Six weeks after the killing his house was searched; officers found a paper with four names, including “Trent” after which was written “$100.” The other names also had numbers after them. An experienced narcotics officer opined this paper was a narcotics “pay-owe” sheet. About two to four weeks after the killing, Kellie Weil, Trent’s former girlfriend, accused defendant of killing Trent. Defendant responded, “Yeah, I did it” mockingly, but proudly. On a later occasion, when Weil was again accusing him, defendant pulled a knife, which Weil interpreted as a threat. Weil had told an officer that defendant put a