People v. Castillo CA2/1

Filed 11/3/21 P. v. Castillo CA2/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 ONE

THE PEOPLE, B304930

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BA463608) v.

MITCHELL CASTILLO,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Mildred Escobedo, Judge. Affirmed. Derek K. Kowata, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey, Assistant Attorney General, Stacy S. Schwartz and Joseph P. Lee, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. __________________________________

Mitchell Castillo appeals from a judgment of conviction for first degree murder and carjacking, contending the trial court erred in admitting hearsay testimony and evidence of uncharged acts. We affirm. BACKGROUND Castillo stole a pickup truck from Ricardo Mota in a public parking structure, running over and killing Mota in the process. He was arrested a few hours later in San Fernando Valley, standing next to the truck, and the parking attendant came to identify him. Mota’s DNA was found on Castillo’s clothing, the truck, and the parking structure. Castillo’s DNA was found in the truck. At trial, Castillo’s defense was that he meant only to steal the truck, not to injure Mota. Raul Infante, the parking attendant, testified that Mota often parked his truck in the public structure. At 5:46 p.m. on December 11, 2017, Infante observed Castillo walk past the parking booth to the elevator. The encounter was captured on time-stamped surveillance footage, which was played for the jury. Twelve minutes later, a catering van stopped at the booth prior to exiting and the driver said that two men were arguing and fighting on the roof. Infante saw Castillo exit the structure driving Mota’s truck. The surveillance footage showing that this occurred at 6:02:31 p.m. Seven seconds later, at 6:02:38 p.m., a red Saturn with two construction workers stopped at the booth, and one of the workers pointed at Mota’s truck ahead of him and said that the driver had gotten into a fight with the truck’s owner and took the truck and ran over the owner. The construction workers were never identified or located.