People v. Brown CA1/5

Filed 1/10/23 P. v. Brown CA1/5 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FIVE

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, A163445 v. ZACHARY RUNNINGWOLF (Alameda County BROWN, Super. Ct. No. 20- CR0139999) Defendant and Appellant.

Zachary Runningwolf Brown 1 appeals from a judgment of conviction and sentence imposed after a jury found him guilty of multiple counts of vandalism (Pen. Code, § 594, subd. (a)). His attorney has filed a brief seeking our independent review of the appellate record, pursuant to People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436 (Wende), to determine whether there is any arguable issue on appeal. Appellant has filed a supplemental brief. We find no arguable issue and affirm. I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY A second amended information charged appellant with two counts of felony vandalism (Pen. Code, § 594, subd. (a)), each with a hate crime

1 Appellant was charged as Freddie Lee Smith, “aka Zachary Brown, Zachary Runningwolf.” He filed his appeal in the name of Zachary Runningwolf Brown. 1

allegation (§ 422.55/422.75, subd. (a)), as to incidents on October 4 and 17, 2020; and one count of misdemeanor vandalism (§ 594, subd. (a)) as to an incident on August 1, 2020.2 The matter was tried to a jury. A. Evidence 1. Incidents at Temple Sinai Temple Sinai is a Jewish religious institution in Oakland, California. Muhammad Mir was an event and facilities coordinator for Temple Sinai and was responsible for, among other things, monitoring and maintaining the temple’s surveillance system. On August 3, 2020, Mir discovered graffiti on the corner of Webster and 28th Street on the ground about 15–20 feet away from the sanctuary’s front door. The text said, among things, “bye, bye, evil, evil Jews.” Video footage from surveillance cameras showed that the graffiti was placed on August 1, 2020. Mir reported the graffiti to the Oakland Police Department, senior staff at the temple, and the City of Oakland, who removed the graffiti. On October 5, 2020, Mir discovered graffiti on the wooden doors of the temple’s sanctuary entrance at the corner of Webster and 28th Street. On one door, the word “Jews” was drawn or painted over an engraving of the Star of David. The letters SERA were written in the middle of four other wooden doors. Mir checked the video surveillance and discovered that this incident occurred on October 4, 2020. On October 19, 2020, Mir again discovered graffiti on the wooden doors of the temple’s sanctuary entrance at the corner of Webster and 28th Street. Mir described the graffiti as a swastika painted over the Star of David. Surveillance footage indicated that this incident occurred on October 17 or