P. v. Thomas
Filed 6/21/06 P. v. Thomas CA2/1
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.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 ONE
| THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. KARL THOMAS, Defendant and Appellant. | B182373 (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BA265251) |
APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Samuel Mayerson, Judge. Reversed in part, affirmed as modified, and remanded with directions.
Bruce G. Finebaum, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.
Bill Lockyer, Attorney General, Robert R. Anderson, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Pamela C. Hamanaka, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Steven D. Matthews and Adrian N. Tigmo, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
___________________________________
Karl Thomas was convicted of two felony counts (resisting a police officer and evading a police officer) and one count of misdemeanor hit-and-run driving, after which he admitted he had served several prior prison terms and suffered a prior strike. (Veh. Code, §§ 2800.2, subd. (a), 20002, subd. (a); Pen. Code, §§ 69, 667.5, subd. (b), 667, subds. (b)-(i), 1170.12, subds. (a)-(d).)[1] Thomas was sentenced to state prison for an aggregate term of 11 years. He appeals, challenging the manner in which his sentence was calculated, the sufficiency of the evidence to support the felony resisting count, and the trial court's refusal to grant a continuance. We agree that one of the one-year enhancements must be stricken, disagree that there is insufficient evidence to support felony resisting count but find for other reasons that it must be reversed, and affirm the remaining counts.
FACTS
Los Angeles Police Officers Amador and Olea (in an unmarked police car), and Officers Escamilla and Reyes (in a marked police car) were driving east on Martin Luther King Boulevard when Thomas, driving west, turned left and cut off Officer Amador's approaching car. After they saw Officer Amador swerve to avoid a collision, Officers Escamilla and Reyes followed Thomas intending to stop him for a traffic violation. Officers Amador and Olea turned around and followed.
During the ensuing pursuit, Thomas ran two stop signs, drove in a lane of oncoming traffic, entered the driveway of a Taco Bell restaurant, then stopped when blocked by traffic in the parking lot. Officers Amador and Olea stopped behind Thomas, who then backed up and hit the officers' car, got out of and abandoned his own car, ran toward another restaurant, and tried to climb over a chain link fence. Officer Reyes grabbed Thomas's leg but lost his grip, and Thomas went over the fence and into an alley. Officers Reyes and Amador went over the fence and tried to grab Thomas as he got to his feet. Thomas tried to â€
