People v. Arcenio V.

Opinion

TURNER, P. J. The minor, Arcenio V., appeals the October 26, 2005 wardship order (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 602) and placement in a camp community placement program. The juvenile court sustained the allegations of a petition filed October 4, 2005, charging the minor with single counts of firearm possession (Pen. Code,1 § 12101, subd. (a)(1)) and live ammunition possession by a minor. (§ 12101, subd. (b)(1).) The minor argues there was insufficient evidence to support his conviction for possession of live ammunition. We agree. We reverse the jurisdictional order in part.

[615]We view the evidence in a light most favorable to the judgment. (Jackson v. Virginia (1979) 443 U.S. 307, 319 [61 L.Ed.2d 560, 99 S.Ct. 2781]; People v. Elliot (2005) 37 Cal.4th 453, 466 [35 Cal.Rptr.3d 759, 122 P.3d 968]; People v. Osband (1996) 13 Cal.4th 622, 690 [55 Cal.Rptr.2d 26, 919 P.2d 640]; Taylor v. Stainer (9th Cir. 1994) 31 F.3d 907, 908-909; see also In re Cheri T (1999) 70 Cal.App.4th 1400, 1404 [83 Cal.Rptr.2d 397]; In re Babak S. (1993) 18 Cal.App.4th 1077, 1088-1089 [22 Cal.Rptr.2d 893] [standard of proof is the same in juvenile proceedings as that required in adult criminal trials]; In re Jose R. (1982) 137 Cal.App.3d 269, 275 [186 Cal.Rptr. 898] [same].) At approximately 4:55 p.m. on October 1, 2005, Los Angeles Police Officer Benjamin Jones was driving in an alley. Officer Jones saw the minor and two other young men move from the front of a utility cabinet to hide behind a green metal trash bin. The minor had been facing the utility cabinet while the two other youngsters faced different directions. Officer Jones knew that the minor and one of the other young men were on probation. Officer Jones and other officers detained and handcuffed the minor and the two youngsters. Officer Jones saw another officer look inside the utility cabinet. The other officer found two handguns and a black bag that contained marijuana and a glass pipe. The minor was advised of his constitutional rights. Thereafter, the minor waived his rights and agreed to speak with Officer Jones. The minor told Officer Jones, “All I did was play with [the gun].” The minor said he did not know who owned the gun but they had just been passing it back and forth. Officer Jones unloaded the ammunition from the gun’s magazine and booked the bullets into evidence.

There is no substantial evidence to support the minor’s conviction for possessing live ammunition. In reviewing a challenge of the sufficiency of the evidence, we apply the following standard of review: “[We] consider the evidence in a light most favorable to the judgment and presume the existence of every fact the trier could reasonably deduce from the evidence in support of the judgment. The test is whether substantial evidence supports the decision, not whether the evidence proves guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.” (People v. Mincey (1992) 2 Cal.4th 408, 432 [6 Cal.Rptr.2d 822, 827 P.2d 388], fn. omitted; see People v. Hayes (1990) 52 Cal.3d 577, 631 [276 Cal.Rptr. 874, 802 P.2d 376]; People v. Johnson (1980) 26 Cal.3d 557, 576 [162 Cal.Rptr. 431, 606 P.2d 738]; see also People v. Gurule (2002) 28 Cal.4th 557, 630 [123 Cal.Rptr.2d 345, 51 P.3d 224].) Our sole function is to determine if any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. (Jackson v. Virginia, supra, 443 U.S. at pp. 318-319; Taylor v. Stainer, supra, 31 F.3d at pp. 908-909; People v. Moon (2005) 37 Cal.4th 1, 22 [32 Cal.Rptr.3d 894, 117 P.3d 591]; People v. Bolin (1998) 18 Cal.4th 297, 331 [75 Cal.Rptr.2d 412, 956 P.2d 374].) The standard of review is the same in cases where the prosecution relies primarily on circumstantial evidence. (People v. Rodriguez (1999) 20 Cal.4th 1, 11 [82