People v. Ivan J.

Opinion

COFFEE, J. Ivan J. appeals from a judgment declaring him a ward of the juvenile court and placing him on probation. (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 602.) He contends the evidence did not support the court’s jurisdictional finding that he had falsely identified himself to a peace officer under Penal Code section 148.9, subdivision (a) (hereafter section 148.9(a)). We affirm.

Facts

About 10:00 p.m. on October 30, 1999, Deputy Ellsworth Pond of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department responded to a report of loud [29]music at the Casmalia Post Office. When Pond arrived at the post office, appellant was standing outside with several other individuals, some of whom were drinking beer. Appellant, who was then 17 years old, was smoking a cigarette. Pond detained him for a suspected violation of Penal Code section 308, subdivision (b), which prohibits the possession of tobacco by a minor.

Pond asked appellant for his name and age. Appellant gave his true name and said his date of birth was May 11, 1981, which would have made him 18 years old. Pond recognized appellant from a prior contact, and suspected that he was lying about his age. He gave appellant an opportunity to provide his correct date of birth, but appellant would not do so. Appellant was actually born on May 11, 1982, which Pond discovered after his dispatcher checked the records from the prior contact. Pond testified that in his 14 years of experience as a peace officer, the information required to identify someone includes some type of photographic identification, a full name and a date of birth.

Discussion

It was undisputed that appellant gave Deputy Pond a false birth date to avoid a citation for possession of tobacco. Appellant contends his conduct did not violate section 148.9(a) because he also gave his correct name. We disagree.

Section 148.9(a) provides, “Any person who falsely represents or identifies himself or herself as another person or as a fictitious person to any peace officer listed in [Penal Code] Section 830.1 or 830.2, . . . upon a lawful detention or arrest of the person, either to evade the process of the court, or to evade the proper identification of the person by the investigating officer is guilty of a misdemeanor.” There was no evidence that by saying he was born in 1981 instead of 1982, appellant was identifying himself as “another person,” i.e., as an actual 18 year old who was also named “Ivan J.” (See Lee v. Superior Court (2000) 22 Cal.4th 41, 45 [91 Cal.Rptr.2d 509, 989 P.2d 1277] [impersonation of “another” under Pen. Code, § 529 contemplates impersonation of a real or actual person].) We must therefore determine whether appellant “falsely represented] or identifiefd] himself ... as a fictitious person” when he lied about his year of birth.