People v. Luna CA3

Filed 9/3/21 P. v. Luna CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 (Lassen) ----

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent, C091590

v. (Super. Ct. No. CR036935)

DONALD BRUCE LUNA,

Defendant and Appellant.

A jury convicted defendant Donald Bruce Luna for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and the trial court sentenced him to two years in prison. Defendant now contends (1) insufficient evidence supports his conviction because there is no evidence he knowingly possessed the firearm, (2) his trial counsel was ineffective in failing to make a

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Penal Code section 1118.11 motion for acquittal at the close of the People’s case-in-chief, and (3) the trial court should not have asked the jury to continue deliberating after the jury indicated it was deadlocked. Finding no merit in defendant’s contentions, we will affirm the judgment. BACKGROUND An information charged defendant with felony possession of a firearm by a convicted felon (§ 29800, subd. (a)(1)) and alleged that he had multiple prior felony convictions. The following evidence was adduced at trial. On April 22, 2019, deputies responded to a call about a gold Ford Explorer leaving the scene of a location where shots had been fired. Former Sergeant Wes Gray, who was an investigator for the district attorney’s office at the time of trial, saw such a vehicle stopped outside a business. Defendant sat in the right-rear passenger seat, a female sat next to him behind the driver’s seat, and another female stood outside the vehicle. The driver had left the scene. Sergeant Gray asked defendant and the female passenger to exit the vehicle, and they complied. Sergeant Gray then searched the vehicle, including the back passenger compartment. Sergeant Gray saw four inches of a rifle barrel sticking out from underneath the right-rear passenger seat where defendant had been sitting. Deputy Caleb Scanlan met Sergeant Gray at the stopped Ford Explorer. He also saw four inches of a rifle barrel protruding from underneath the right-rear passenger seat, and identified the gun as a Ruger 10-22 long rifle. The gun was unregistered. Deputy Scanlan saw two live rounds of .22-caliber ammunition and one expended round on the floorboard in front of the right-rear passenger seat. As part of his defense, defendant called Deputy Hedilberto Acuna, who had investigated the shooting incident. Deputy Acuna opined that, based on a conversation