People v. Kanas CA4/3

Filed 10/26/21 P. v. Kanas CA4/3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent, G058847

v. (Super. Ct. No. 16WF1821)

ADAM JOHN KANAS, OPINION

Defendant and Appellant.

Appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court of Orange County, Steven D. Bromberg, Judge. Affirmed. Jill Marlene Kent, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Julie L. Garland, Assistant Attorney General, Daniel Rogers, Lise Jacobson and Christopher P. Beesley, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

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Defendant Adam John Kanas was convicted of murder and two counts of driving under the influence of drugs. The only truly contested issue at trial was whether he was under the influence at the time he drove. Based on several misstatements in a search warrant affidavit, defendant moved to review certain categories of personnel records relating to the responding officer pursuant to Pitchess v. Superior Court (1974) 11 Cal.3d 531 (Pitchess). The court granted the request but found no discoverable documents. We agree with defendant that he is entitled to review of the trial court’s ruling under Pitchess. Having undertaken this review, we find no error and therefore affirm the judgment.

I FACTS As relevant to this appeal, on the morning of August 15, 2016, defendant’s Chevy Tahoe, driving at freeway speeds, crashed into another car on the freeway. That car was stopped in traffic, and the collision killed a 10-year-old girl and injured the driver, her father, and his other child. California Highway Patrol (CHP) Officer Todd Steaffens was dispatched to the scene of the collision and arrived at about 9:26 a.m. He observed that defendant “seemed confused about the whole thing” and “out of it.” Defendant made several comments, including “‘accidents happen all the time’” and “‘I guess two cups of coffee weren’t enough.’” He did not seem to understand the gravity of the collision. Steaffens did not observe any injuries to defendant, but his pupils were constricted and he was lethargic. A Los Angeles County arson investigator, who had been certified as an emergency medical technician earlier in his career, was driving to work when he came upon the accident scene and pulled over to assist. He testified defendant’s eyes were “pinpoint.” A CHP officer who was a certified Drug Recognition Expert at the time testified defendant was lethargic but coherent with slow and slurred