Filed 12/22/05 In re Brandon G. CA2/1

 

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS

 

 

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

 

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

 

DIVISION ONE

 

 

In re BRANDON G., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law.	B178671   L.A.Super.Ct. No. VJ 23735)
THE PEOPLE,   Plaintiff and Respondent,   v.   BRANDON G.,   Defendant and Appellant.

 

 

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Steff Padilla, Juvenile Court Referee. Affirmed.

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Holly Jackson, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Bill Lockyer, Attorney General, Robert R. Anderson, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Pamela C. Hamanaka, Assistant Attorney General, Lawrence M. Daniels and Michael R. Johnsen, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

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Brandon G., a minor, was charged with vehicular manslaughter and other offenses in a 14-count petition under Welfare and Institutions Code section 602. The trial court sustained the petition as to eight of the counts, including the vehicular manslaughter charge, and ordered placement in a closed facility for a maximum of eight years and five months. Brandon G. appeals, contending that (1) there was insufficient evidence that he appreciated the wrongfulness of his conduct and (2) his confession was not voluntary. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

The district attorney filed a petition against appellant under Welfare and Institutions Code section 602, alleging one count of vehicular manslaughter (count 1), five counts of leaving the scene of an accident (counts 2-6), one count of unlawful driving or taking of a vehicle (count 7), four counts of reckless driving with bodily injury (counts 8-11), one count of driving without a license (count 12), one count of engaging in a speed contest (count 13), and one count of engaging in a speed exhibition (count 14). Appellant, who was 13 years old at the time of the charged conduct, denied the allegations. After an adjudication hearing, the court dismissed counts 3-6, 8, and 14 but sustained the remaining eight counts, determining that counts 1, 2, and 7 (vehicular manslaughter, leaving the scene of an accident, and unlawful driving or taking of a vehicle) were felonies. The court declared appellant a ward of the court and ordered him suitably placed in a closed facility (the court recommended the Dorothy Kirby Center), with the period of confinement not to exceed eight years and five months, minus predisposition credit of 466 days.

The facts, in brief, are as follows: On June 3, 2003, appellant found a black Honda with the engine running and a â€