P. v. Cohen CA4/1
A jury convicted Jonathon Benjamin Cohen of five counts of arson of forest land (Pen. Code, § 451, subd. (c)) that occurred on five separate dates. The court sentenced Cohen to nine years, four months in state prison, consisting of the middle term of four years on count 1 plus consecutive one-third middle terms of 16-months each on counts 2 through 5. On appeal, Cohen contends the trial court erred and violated his constitutional rights to due process and a fair trial by admitting evidence of prior uncharged acts under Evidence Code section 1101, subdivision (b), and the court's limiting instruction did not prevent the jury from improperly using the evidence. Specifically, he argues the three prior unrelated and uncharged fires were not sufficiently similar to prove identity, common plan, and intent. Cohen maintains the error was prejudicial in that the verdict could have been different had the court excluded the evidence of uncharged acts, warranting reversal of his convicti
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