P. v. CASTRO
Filed 3/30/06
CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION
IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION FOUR
| THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. RODOLFO CASTRO, Defendant and Appellant. | B182028 (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BA258325) |
APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Marsha N. Revel, Judge. Reversed and remanded.
Law Office of Bruce M. Margolin, Peter A. Vance and Bruce M. Margolin, for Defendant and Appellant.
Bill Lockyer, Attorney General, Robert R. Anderson, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Pamela C. Hamanaka, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Ana R. Duarte and Stacy S. Schwartz, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
Defendant Rodolfo Castro was convicted of felony false imprisonment (Pen. Code, § 236)[1] as well as child molestation (§ 647.6, subd. (a)). He appeals his conviction for felony false imprisonment on the ground that there was insufficient evidence at trial to support the conviction. In the alternative, he contends the trial court erred in failing to instruct, sua sponte, on the lesser included offense of misdemeanor false imprisonment. We agree the court erred in failing to provide an instruction on misdemeanor false imprisonment, a point conceded by respondent, and we cannot conclude the error was harmless. Accordingly, we reverse and remand.
FACTS
During the week of October 13, 2003, around 6:50 a.m., then 16-year-old Diana N. was walking to a bus stop on her way to high school. She noticed that a white van was being driven slowly near her. The driver, whom Diana identified in court as appellant, called out to her, â€
