P. v. Gonzales
Filed 6/28/06 P. v. Gonzales CA2/3
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS
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IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION THREE
| THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. VINCENT REGINALD GONZALES, Defendant and Appellant. | B183864 (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. KA069767) |
APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County,
Robert M. Martinez, Judge. Affirmed.
Marta I. Stanton, 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, Assistant Attorney General, Linda C. Johnson and Karen Bissonnette, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
_________________________
Defendant and appellant, Vincent Reginald Gonzales, appeals from the judgment entered following his conviction, by jury trial, for unlawful driving or taking of a vehicle, with prior serious felony conviction and prior prison term findings (Veh. Code, § 10851; Pen. Code, §§ 667, subd. (b)-(i); 667.5).[1] Sentenced to state prison for five years, Gonzales now appeals, claiming there was sentencing error.
The judgment is affirmed.
BACKGROUND
Viewed in accordance with the usual rule of appellate review (People v. Ochoa (1993) 6 Cal.4th 1199, 1206, the evidence established the following.
1. Prosecution evidence.
Salvador Alvarez owned a 1986 Toyota truck. On February 3, 2005, the truck was stolen. After the police recovered the truck, Alvarez found that the ignition switch on the steering column had been broken. Alvarez worked as a mechanic and a gardener, and all his tools, which he kept in the truck, were missing when the vehicle was returned to him.
A police officer spotted the stolen truck on February 15, 2005, and began following it. The truck pulled over before the officer activated his overhead lights. Defendant Gonzales was driving. The truck's steering column had been broken, exposing its internal components, and a screwdriver had been shoved into the ignition.
2. Defense evidence.
Gonzales testified he had purchased the truck from someone named Juan Ramirez in late February 2005. Although Gonzales told police he had a pink slip and a bill of sale for the truck, at trial he produced only a document purporting to be a bill of sale for a 1983 Toyota truck. This document, which did not show a license number or a vehicle identification number, was dated January 22, 2005. When the discrepancy in dates was pointed out to him, Gonzales testified he bought the truck on January 22, not in February. When asked how he could have purchased the truck in January if Alvarez did not report it stolen until February, Gonzales replied, â€
