People v. Lord

Filed 5/14/21 CERTIFIED FOR PARTIAL PUBLICATION*

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Lassen) ----

THE PEOPLE, C091939

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. CR036578)

v.

JEFFREY LORD, SR.,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Lassen County, Tony R. Mallery, Judge. Affirmed in part and reversed in part.

C. Athena Roussos, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Xavier Becerra, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Michael P. Farrell, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Catherine Chatman, R. Todd Marshall and Harry Joseph Colombo, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

* Pursuant to California Rules of Court, rules 8.1105 and 8.1110, this opinion is certified for publication with the exception of part I of the Discussion.

1

A jury found defendant Jeffrey Thomas Lord, Sr., guilty of making criminal threats and obstructing an executive officer by threat or violence. The trial court placed him on probation for five years. He appeals, arguing there is insufficient evidence to support his conviction for making criminal threats because the threat did not cause the victim sustained fear. He further seeks to have his case remanded for resentencing in light of the new two-year limit on terms of probation for certain felonies. We affirm the conviction and remand for resentencing. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND On April 25, 2018, at approximately 10:00 p.m., Susanville Police Officer Michael Hoover was on patrol when he received notice of a passenger fleeing on foot from a traffic stop. The passenger was known to be defendant’s son. Officer Hoover drove toward the site of the traffic stop and, knowing defendant lived close by, parked in a parking lot near defendant’s house. Officer Hoover then walked to an alley next to defendant’s house, looking for defendant’s son. Officer Hoover heard defendant shout from his backyard, “Get out of here or I’ll fucking shoot you.” Officer Hoover identified himself, saying he was with the Susanville Police Department. Defendant responded, “I don’t care, I’ll shoot you.” The conversation continued for a few more seconds, along the same lines. Officer Hoover testified he was “concern[ed]”1 by the threat because he knew defendant owned guns. Around this same time, Lassen County Sheriff’s Deputy Michelle Lingenfelter was on patrol nearby and noticed Officer Hoover. She stopped to ask if he needed