P. v. Mode
Filed 4/13/06 P. v. Mode CA1/4
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IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION FOUR
| THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. JAYSON LAVERN MODE, Defendant and Appellant. | A109346 (Del Norte County Super. Ct. No. CRF04-9940) |
A jury found appellant Jayson Lavern Mode guilty of one felony count of assault, one felony count of battery with serious bodily injury, and one misdemeanor count of resisting arrest. It also found true the special allegations of infliction of great bodily injury and use of a deadly weapon. (Pen. Code,[1] §§ 148, 243, subd. (d), 245, subd. (a)(1), 12022, subd. (b), 12022.7.) The trial court sentenced appellant to a total of five years in state prison. On appeal he contends the trial court erred in denying his motion for a new trial based on alleged jury misconduct. We affirm.
I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
A. The People's Case
On October 10, 2004, appellant was at a bar in Crescent City, celebrating his friend's birthday. The appellant was leaving the bar with his friends when he became involved in an argument with the victim, Zachary Trado. The argument turned into a physical altercation. At some point during the fight, appellant pulled out a knife, threatened the victim with the knife, and eventually stabbed the victim multiple times. When Officer Whisenhunt of the Crescent City Police Department arrived at the scene, she saw two men fighting. She jumped out of her vehicle and yelled for both men to stop. Appellant ran away once he saw the officer but was soon taken into custody. A knife with blood on the blade was retrieved next to the back of the building.
The victim was taken to the hospital. Dr. James Holmes examined the victim and found lacerations to his neck, ear, right lower chest, and left chest. Dr. Holmes found these injuries to be consistent with being stabbed with a knife. He considered the laceration that went through to the liver to be a significant injury. Some of the more superficial lacerations were closed with Derma Bond, a medical glue used to seal lacerations. The other lacerations required Derma Bond and sutures.
About an hour or more after the fight, Officer Whisenhunt went to see appellant in jail. She read him his Miranda[2] rights after he agreed to discuss the incident. He stated that he ran from her because he was scared. He denied stabbing the victim and claimed a â€
