P. v. Vaughn

Filed 2/13/07  P. v. Vaughn CA2/4

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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  This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.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 FOUR

          APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Jacqueline Nguyen, Judge.  Affirmed.

          James Koester, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

          Edmund G. Brown, Jr., and Bill Lockyear, Attorneys General, Mary Jo Graves, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Pamela C. Hamanaka, Assistant Attorney General, Paul M. Roadarmel, Jr. and Rama R. Maline, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

          A jury convicted defendant Jerome Romeo Vaughn of one count of resisting an executive officer (Pen. Code, §  69).[1]  He admitted an allegation of a prior strike conviction (§§  667, subds. (b) – (i), 1170.12, subds. (a) – (d)), and was sentenced to a term of 32 months in prison (the low term of 16 months, doubled).  He appeals from the judgment, contending that the trial court erred in failing to give a limiting instruction concerning the use of an audio recording at trial, or in the alternative that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to request such an instruction.  We affirm.

BACKGROUND

          On the morning of July 23, 2005, Pasadena Police Officer Sam Desylva went to a room registered to defendant at an Econo-Lodge Motel in Pasadena to arrest defendant on two outstanding warrants.[2]  Defendant was not present, but Officer Desylva left his business card with a woman in the room who identified herself as Danielle Vaughn (the same last name as defendant).  He asked her to call him if defendant returned. 

          After returning to the police substation, Officer Desylva received a telephone call from an informant stating that defendant had returned.  The officer returned to the area of the motel, and positioned his vehicle so he could watch the exits.  He observed the woman he had earlier seen in defendant's room, and got out to talk to her.  She denied that defendant had returned to the room.  The officer then saw defendant approaching the motel on the street.  Defendant was pushing a metal basket the officer had observed in defendant's motel room during his earlier visit. 

          Upon observing the officer, defendant froze, then turned around and started walking in the opposite direction.  The officer yelled out to defendant that he wanted to talk to him, and ordered him to â€