P. v. Juarez
Filed 1/29/07 P. v. Juarez CA5
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL
REPORTS
California Rules of Court,
rule 977(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions
not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule
977(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered
published for purposes of rule 977.
IN THE COURT OF
APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
FIFTH APPELLATE
DISTRICT
THE PEOPLE ,
Plaintiff and
v.
SAMUEL PIILANI JUAREZ,
Defendant and
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F049154
(Super.
O |
APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Kern County. Stephen
Gildner, Judge.
Sandra Uribe, under appointment by the Court of
Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.
Bill Lockyer, Attorney General, Robert R. Anderson,
Chief Assistant Attorney General, Mary Jo Graves, Assistant Attorney General,
John G. McLean and Barton Bowers, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and
Respondent.
-ooOoo-
Defendant Samuel
Piilani Juarez was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and attempted voluntary manslaughter for
killing Manuel Lopez and injuring Jose Luna when he drove his truck into them
after a party. On appeal, he contends (1) the trial court erred by failing to
respond properly to the jury's questions, (2) the trial court erred by
instructing the jury with both alternative paragraphs of CALJIC No. 5.16, and
(3) CALJIC No. 5.15 was misleading and lightened the prosecution's
burden. We affirm.
PROCEDURAL
HISTORY
On November 29, 2004, defendant was charged with murder (Pen. Code,
§ 187, subd. (a); count 1)[1] and
attempted murder (§§ 664, 187,
subd. (a); count 2). The information alleged as to both counts that the crimes
were willful, deliberate and premeditated (§ 189), and alleged as to count
2 that defendant caused great bodily injury (§ 12022.7). The jury found
defendant not guilty on count 1 and was unable to reach a verdict on count 2.
The court declared a mistrial
on count 2 and on the lesser offense to count 1.
On May 24, 2005, the district attorney filed an amended information charging
appellant with second degree murder (§ 187, subd. (a); count 1) and
attempted murder (§§ 664, 187, subd. (a); count 2). The jury found
defendant not guilty of these charges, but found him guilty of the lesser
included charges of voluntary manslaughter (§ 192, subd. (a); count 1) and
attempted voluntary manslaughter (§§ 664, 192, subd. (a); count 2). The
trial court sentenced defendant to the midterm of six years on count 1, plus
one year on count 2, to be served consecutively.
FACTUAL
SUMMARY
Prosecution Evidence
On the evening of July 17, 2004, Miguel Lasalde hosted a party in the backyard of a house on Hazel Street in Bakersfield.[2]
About 100 people attended the party, including Manuel Lopez and his brother,
Robert Herrera. Juan Lopez, who lived two houses down the street, also went to
the party with some friends. Defendant was there with his best friend, Chris
Tune, and an acquaintance, Jason Foster.
As the party broke up at about 2:00 a.m.,[3] approximately
15 people went down to Juan Lopez's house to gather in the front yard. At 28
years old, Juan was one of the oldest in the group. Also present were Juan's
younger brother, Alex Montoya, and Jose Luna, who was staying at Juan's house.
Defendant got into his white Silverado pickup
truck in front of the house. He burned his tires on the pavement, making a
loud screeching noise and a big cloud of smoke. People told him â€
| Description | Defendant was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and attempted voluntary manslaughter for killing Manuel Lopez and injuring Jose Luna when he drove his truck into them after a party. On appeal, he contends (1) the trial court erred by failing to respond properly to the jury's questions, (2) the trial court erred by instructing the jury with both alternative paragraphs of CALJIC No. 5.16, and (3) CALJIC No. 5.15 was misleading and lightened the prosecution's burden. Court affirm. |
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