In re J v. CA2/4

Filed 4/17/13 In re J.V. CA2/4 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 FOUR

In re J.V., a Person Coming Under the B242841 Juvenile Court Law. ___________________________________ (Los Angeles County THE PEOPLE, Super. Ct. No. GJ29694)

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

J.V.,

Defendant and Appellant. ___________________________________

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Robin Miller Sloan, Judge. Modified and affirmed. Gerald Peters, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Eric E. Reynolds and Rene Judkiewicz, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. ______________________________

Minor J.V. appeals from an order sustaining a petition under Welfare and Institutions Code section 6021 and placing him home on probation. He argues the juvenile court erred in admitting his statements to police. We find no prejudicial error. We strike the maximum period of incarceration and affirm the order as modified.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL SUMMARY In March 2012, J.V., who was almost 18 years old, was involved in a traffic accident on Los Robles Avenue in Pasadena. The PT Cruiser belonging to J.V.’s father struck a parked Honda van. J.V. and his three companions ran from the accident scene. The section 602 petition alleged J.V. committed the misdemeanor offenses of driving under the influence of alcohol and fleeing the scene of an accident (hit and run). (Veh. Code, §§ 20002, subd. (a), 23152, subd. (a).) At the adjudication hearing, two police officers and three civilians testified for the prosecution, and one of J.V.’s companions testified for the defense. Prosecution witness Cesar Leon testified he was inside a house, two doors down on the same street where the accident occurred. After hearing a crash, he went out and took cell phone pictures of the two cars and of two individuals running away. He identified J.V. as one of the two individuals, and claimed to have seen him go around the PT Cruiser and help out a young woman sitting in the front passenger seat. Leon testified he did not see J.V. exit the PT Cruiser, but saw him fall down two or three times while trying to go around it. Prosecution witness Anthony Villa Gomez was in his car three doors away from the accident. He heard the crash and saw four individuals get out of the PT Cruiser. Two of them ran south, and two, including J.V., ran north. Gomez said J.V. staggered and fell down twice before he ran away. He also testified J.V. got out of the driver’s side of the PT Cruiser. When asked whether he saw which door J.V. used to exit, Gomez said he