People v. Vicente CA2/2

Filed 6/1/21 P. v. Vicente CA2/2 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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, B301725

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. LA089368) v.

WALTER VICENTE,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Alan K. Schneider, Judge. Affirmed.

Heather L. Beugen, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Xavier Becerra, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey, Assistant Attorney General, Scott A. Taryle and Rene Judkiewicz, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. ______________________________

In a bifurcated jury trial, defendant and appellant Walter Vicente was convicted of arson of an inhabited structure. (Pen. Code, § 451, subd. (b).)1 The jury later found that defendant was previously convicted of robbery (§ 211), that the prior conviction qualified as a “strike” (§§ 667, subds. (b)-(j), 1170.12), and that the prior was for a serious felony (§ 667, subd. (a)(1)). He was sentenced to 11 years in state prison, calculated as follows: the low term of three years, doubled for the strike prior, plus a five- year enhancement pursuant to section 667, subdivision (a)(1). Defendant timely filed a notice of appeal, arguing that the trial court committed prejudicial Griffin2 error when it asked defendant in front of the jurors if he wished to testify after defense counsel had informed the trial court that she had no evidence to present. Because the trial court did not commit prejudicial error, we affirm. FACTUAL BACKGROUND I. Prosecution’s case on the charged crime of arson In October 2018, a fire erupted at the apartment complex where defendant’s father lived. At around that time, defendant’s father noticed that his son looked “sort of violent.” A Los Angeles City Fire Department (LAFD) firefighter kicked in the locked door of the apartment where the fire was.