P. v. Polanco

Filed 2/15/07  P. v. Polanco CA2/2

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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  This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.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

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION TWO

            APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County.  Gary  E.  Daigh, Judge.  Affirmed.

            Murray A. Rosenberg, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

            Bill Lockyer and Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorneys General, Mary Jo Graves, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Pamela C. Hamanaka, Assistant Attorney General, Stephanie C. Brenan and Ryan B. McCarroll, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

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            Appellant Obed Robert Polanco appeals from a judgment entered after a jury convicted him of count 1, kidnapping to commit robbery (Pen. Code, § 209, subd. (b)(1))^[1] and count 2, kidnapping during carjacking (§ 209.5, subd. (a).)  Appellant contends that there was insufficient evidence to support his convictions.  We disagree and affirm the judgment.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

            Viewing the record in the light most favorable to the judgment below as we must (People v. Ceja (1993) 4 Cal.4th 1134, 1138, 1139), the evidence established the following.

            On June 7, 2005, Javier Mejia was making a right turn in his car when he almost hit 15-year-old Jeanette H., who was crossing the street.  After Mejia stopped and apologized, Jeanette H. asked him for a ride to a girlfriend's house, and directed him to the Jordan Downs housing project in Watts.  Jeanette H. asked Mejia to wait in the driveway because she wanted to check and see if her friend was home.  After a few minutes, Jeanette H. returned with her girlfriend and introduced her to Mejia.  As the girls walked away, two men approached Mejia's car from the rear.

            Appellant, who Jeanette H. claimed to have dated for a few weeks at the beginning of that year, entered the car through the rear passenger door and pointed a gun at Mejia's back.  He wore a â€