People v. Garcia CA3

Filed 1/19/22 P. v. Garcia CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 (El Dorado) ----

THE PEOPLE, C092334

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. S19CRF0079)

v.

JOHN ROBERT GARCIA,

Defendant and Appellant.

After the case went to the jury, the trial court discharged a juror for failing to deliberate, bias, and prejudging the case before deliberations. The reconstituted jury convicted defendant John Robert Garcia of multiple sex crimes against a minor. On appeal, defendant raises several arguments, including that the trial court abused its discretion in discharging the juror. We agree, and reverse. Consequently, we need not address defendant’s other arguments on appeal.

1

BACKGROUND A Because we reverse defendant’s conviction due to trial court error during jury deliberations, only a relatively brief recitation of the factual background of the case is necessary. Born in November 2002, Doe spent most of his childhood living with his father in a two-bedroom, apartment.1 Defendant, Doe’s father’s best friend, visited the apartment often. The two men regularly smoked marijuana and played video games in the living room. Doe testified that, starting when he was about six years old, defendant sexually molested him “almost every time” defendant came to the apartment. Defendant would enter Doe’s bedroom, have Doe lie down on his stomach, place one hand on Doe’s back to hold him down, and place his other hand inside Doe’s pants and underwear, touching Doe’s vagina. Around the time Doe turned 11, the molestations were less frequent; they ceased altogether when Doe was 13, because defendant stopped coming to the apartment after a dispute between defendant and Doe’s father. In addition to Doe, other witnesses for the prosecution at trial included: (i) Doe’s best friend, who testified that—several years before the December 2019 trial—Doe told her about defendant sexually abusing him; (ii) Doe’s mother, who testified that Doe first told her about the sexual abuse in September 2018; and (iii) the police detective who conducted a recorded interview with Doe in December 2018. Defendant testified he never touched “[Doe’s] or any child’s vagina or private parts,” never held Doe down, and never engaged in any inappropriate behavior with Doe.