PEOPLE v. HALL













Filed 8/9/10

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>CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION







IN
THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA



SECOND
APPELLATE DISTRICT



DIVISION
ONE




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THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. CHRISTOPHER ANTHONY HALL, Defendant and Appellant.

B215310 (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. MA032340)

APPEAL from
a judgment of the Superior Court
of Los Angeles
County. Robert J. Perry,
Judge. Affirmed.

Victor J.
Morse, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Edmund G.
Brown, Jr., Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney
General, Pamela C. Hamanaka, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Jaime L. Fuster
and Rama R. Maline, Deputy Attorneys
General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.



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On June 18, 2005, Christopher Anthony
Hall fled police in a vehicle pursuit which resulted in the deaths of Lillian
Arrevalo, and 16-year-old Brian McWright.
A jury convicted appellant Hall of multiple counts, including second degree murder, assault upon a peace
officer, and driving under the influence causing injury. Hall contends the trial court committed
reversible error by: (1) admitting
testimony regarding the blood-alcohol level of a blood sample over his chain of
custody objection, and (2) denying his motion for a new trial based on newly
discovered evidence. We affirm.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Prosecution Case

>1.
Incidents
Prior to the Pursuit

On June 17, 2005 or on June 18, 2005, Hall entered a store, grabbed two cases of
beer and a bottle of rum, and left without paying.^[1] The storeowner followed him and saw Hall enter
a large motor home and drive off.

On June 18, 2005 at about 1:00
p.m., California Highway Patrol Officer Jerry Nelson responded to a
traffic collision. Officer Nelson
arrived at the location and found Hall and his wife, Michelle Hall, standing
next to a damaged El Camino. When
Officer Nelson asked if anyone was injured, Hall and his wife stated they had
no injuries. Hall had a strong odor of
alcohol and was unsteady on his feet.
With slurred speech, Hall admitted to Officer Nelson that he had been
drinking alcohol that day. Hall appeared
fully conscious and answered Officer Nelson's questions appropriately. Hall and Michelle told Officer Nelson that
Michelle had been driving the El Camino.
Since the El Camino could not be driven, Officer Nelson called for a tow
truck over Hall's objections.
Eventually, the tow truck arrived and took the car along with Hall and
his wife.

2.
The
Police Pursuit

That same
day, at about 4:00 p.m., Hall was
driving a motor home and cut off two cars that were leaving a gas station,
forcing the drivers to slam on their brakes in order to avoid colliding with
the motor home. Hall continued driving
at about 50 miles per hour in the far right lane and suddenly swerved into the
left lane, clipping the left bumper of a car driven by Lillian Arrevalo. Arrevalo's car crashed into a light pole;
Arrevalo was killed. Shortly after
striking Arrevalo's car, Hall pushed a truck out of a left turn lane and struck
the rear side of another car. Some time
after the collisions, Deputy Sheriff Brian Hickey activated the lights and
siren of his marked patrol car and began pursuit of the motor home. Hall did not stop and drove through numerous
intersections with stop signs.

At one point, Hall pulled over to
the shoulder of the road. Deputy Hickey
got out of his car, drew his weapon, and ordered Hall to exit the motor
home. About thirty seconds later, Hall
drove away and Deputy Hickey continued pursuit.
A short time later, Hall stopped again and Deputy Hickey observed â€