CA Unpub Decisions

Appellant Timothy David Russell was convicted in 1986 of the murder of Marilyn Lyon, who had been found bludgeoned to death in her home in 1984. Appellant was a coworker of the victim and often performed gardening work for her. At trial he asserted he had come to the home, found the body, panicked, and fled. The jury concluded this explanation was late (it was different than his first statements) and was contradicted by other evidence. They found him guilty of first degree murder committed in the course of a robbery and attempted rape.

In 2010, a jury convicted petitioner Anthony Jones of the first degree murder of Deondre M. (Pen. Code, § 187, subd. (a)) with the special circumstance petitioner intentionally killed the victim while petitioner was an active participant in a criminal street gang, and the murder was carried out to further the activities of the gang (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(22)). (People v. Perkins, et al. (May 18, 2012, F060071 [nonpub. opn.] (Perkins).) For this offense, petitioner ultimately was sentenced to a term of 25 years to life pursuant to section 190.5. (People v. Jones (May 28, 2014, F066161 [nonpub. opn.] (Jones).)

Appellant B.L. is involuntarily committed to the State Department of State Hospitals at Coalinga State Hospital (CSH). The medical director of CSH obtained an order authorizing a necessary medical procedure be performed upon B.L. based on a finding that B.L. lacked the mental capacity to give informed consent. B.L. appeals that order. The parties now agree that the trial court’s order should be vacated because the medical procedure is no longer medically necessary and will not be performed upon B.L. pursuant to the order. We grant the parties’ joint motion, vacating the trial court’s order. Because we grant the relief B.L. seeks pursuant to the parties’ joint motion, we do not reach the merits of B.L.’s appeal and we dismiss the appeal as moot.

In 2006, a jury convicted petitioner Rafael Antonio Luna of the first degree murder of Marcos V. (Pen. Code, § 187, subd. (a), count 1) with the special circumstance petitioner intentionally killed Marcos while an active participant in a criminal street gang (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(22)). For this offense and the associated enhancements, the trial court sentenced petitioner to a term of life without the possibility of parole plus a term of 15 years to life. (People v. Luna (Mar. 16, 2007, F050272) [nonpub. opn.] (Luna).)

In 2013, the Agricultural Labor Relations Board (Board) ordered an election to decide whether to decertify an incumbent union (the United Farm Workers of America or UFW) based on an employee petition. Following the election, the Board impounded the ballots without tallying them pending resolution of whether misconduct by the employer, Gerawan Farming, Inc. (Gerawan), tainted the employees’ decertification effort. Administrative proceedings were held and the Board nullified the election as a remedy for Gerawan’s purported unfair labor practices. By petition for review under Labor Code section 1160.8, Gerawan challenged both the Board’s unfair labor practice findings and the remedy imposed of setting aside the election. In Gerawan Farming, Inc. v. Agricultural Labor Relations Bd. (2018) 23 Cal.App.5th 1129 (Gerawan), we concluded the Board erred in several of its unfair labor practice findings as well as in the legal standard applied in reaching its remedial conclusions. Accordingl

Defendant Jeffrey Wayne Ruether was convicted of crimes arising from the sexual abuse of his daughter, Jane Doe. On appeal, he contends (1) the trial court erred in instructing the jury with CALCRIM No. 1190, (2) the trial court erred in instructing the jury with CALCRIM No. 225 rather than CALCRIM No. 224, and (3) the trial court’s errors were cumulatively prejudicial. We affirm

The trial court revoked defendant and appellant David Tymel Cummings’s parole after he failed to charge the battery on his global positioning system (GPS) tracking device as required and failed to attend his sex offender treatment program. The court sentenced him to serve 180 days in county jail. On appeal, defendant contends (1) the trial court erred when it admitted inadmissible hearsay evidence at his parole revocation hearing, and (2) the trial court erred in finding he willfully violated his parole. We reject these contentions and affirm the order revoking his parole.

Ardreda Johnson filed this action against FCI Lender Services, Inc. and Crosby Capital USA LLC (collectively FCI) to enjoin them from foreclosing on her home. The trial court granted judgment on the pleadings in favor of FCI, but it gave Johnson 20 days’ leave to amend. Johnson failed to do so. The trial court therefore dismissed the action.

Pro. per. appellant Phillip Williams appeals the trial court’s judgment, its order denying his motion to vacate the judgment, and its order sanctioning him $2,500. We dismiss Williams’s untimely appeal from the trial court’s judgment and otherwise affirm.

Ro.H (Mother) and A.I. (Father) are A.R.’s (Minor) biological parents. Mother left Minor in Ri.H.’s care after her birth. Ri.H. and C.H. have raised Minor together ever since. They obtained a default parentage judgment declaring them Minor’s parents, but the trial court later vacated the judgment. Ri.H. and C.H. appeal the trial court’s order vacating the judgment. We affirm.

Alfredo Bracamontes appeals from a judgment denying his petition for writ of mandate to set aside an order of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) suspending his driving privileges for four months under Vehicle Code sections 13353.2 and 13353.3, subdivision (b)(1) for driving a vehicle when he had more than .08 percent by weight of alcohol in his blood.

When he was 17 years old, defendant Frank Abella killed a mentally and physically disabled man as the victim sat outside a store sipping coffee. (People v. Abella (Jan. 2, 2013, C066010) [nonpub. opn.) (Abella).) Defendant was tried as an adult; the jury found him guilty of murder, robbery, and torture. (Ibid.) The jury also found true that defendant had used a deadly weapon in connection with the murder and torture, and the murder occurred during the commission of the robbery. (Ibid.) The trial court sentenced defendant to life without the possibility of parole (LWOP) on the murder conviction and stayed the remaining sentences on the other offenses except for a one-year enhancement. (Ibid.)

In 2010 defendant Gabriel Ricardo Dominguez was convicted of first degree murder. At his trial, the prosecution argued defendant was guilty of murder under alternating theories of liability: “deliberation and premeditation and aiding and abetting battery or assault with murder as the natural and probable consequence.” (People v. Dominguez (June 27, 2012, C065762) [nonpub. opn.].)

In 2007, a jury found defendant Carlos Tomas Campaz, Jr., guilty of first degree murder. It found not true the allegations defendant intentionally killed the victim while lying in wait and personally used a deadly weapon. The trial court sentenced defendant to 25 years to life and we affirmed his conviction. In 2020, department 24 of the trial court granted defendant’s habeas corpus petition and defendant’s conviction was reduced to second degree murder. Meanwhile, defendant filed a petition for resentencing in department 23 of the same court pursuant to Penal Code section 1170.95. Defendant appeals the denial of this petition arguing that department 23 used the wrong standard to determine he was not eligible for relief. The People concede the error. We will reverse and remand.