People v. Rutkowski CA2/6 ( 2015 )


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  • Filed 12/1/15 P. v. Rutkowski CA2/6
    NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS
    California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified
    for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for
    publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.
    IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
    SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT
    DIVISION SIX
    THE PEOPLE,                                                                    2d Crim. No. B259316
    (Super. Ct. No. TA131783)
    Plaintiff and Respondent,                                                 (Los Angeles County)
    v.
    SKIPPY CHARLES RUTKOWSKI,
    Defendant and Appellant.
    Skippy Charles Rutkowski appeals his conviction, by jury, of assault
    on a peace officer (Pen. Code, § 245, subd. (c))1, and battery with injury on a peace
    officer. (§ 243, subd. (c)(2).) Appellant personally inflicted great bodily injury in
    the commission of each offense. (§ 12022.7, subd. (a).) He was sentenced to a total
    term of six years in state prison, comprised of the low term of three years on count
    4, the assault conviction, plus three years on the great bodily injury enhancement.
    The trial court also imposed a concurrent term of 16 months on count 5, the battery
    conviction, plus three years on the great bodily injury enhancement associated with
    that conviction. Appellant contends the term and sentence enhancement imposed
    for the battery conviction should have been stayed pursuant to section 654. He
    1
    All statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise stated.
    1
    further requests that this court review the sealed transcripts from the in camera
    hearing held on his motion for discovery of the arresting officer's personnel files.
    (Pitchess v. Superior Court (1974) 
    11 Cal. 3d 531
    , 536-537.) Respondent contends
    additional mandatory fees must be imposed under section 1465.8 and Government
    Code section 70373.
    Our independent examination of the in camera proceedings discloses
    no abuse of discretion in the trial court's discovery order. (People v. Mooc (2001)
    
    26 Cal. 4th 1216
    , 1232.) We agree, however, that the concurrent term imposed on
    count 5 violates section 654 and that the trial court should have imposed the fees
    identified by respondent. Accordingly, we order the judgment modified to reflect
    that the sentence on count five is stayed pursuant to section 654. In addition, we
    order the judgment modified to impose a court security fee of $40 (§ 1465.8, subd.
    (a)(1)), and a court construction fee of $30 (Gov. Code, § 70373, subd. (a)), on
    count 5. As so modified, the judgment is affirmed.
    Facts
    Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy Clinton Randall was driving his
    patrol car on Long Beach Blvd. in Compton when he was flagged down by a
    pedestrian. The pedestrian was very agitated and gestured toward appellant, who
    was seated on a bicycle nearby. She reported that appellant had stabbed her two
    weeks earlier. Randall parked his patrol car in the center median and asked
    appellant to meet him at the curb. When Randall tried to open the car door, he
    found that appellant was blocking it with his bicycle. Randall asked him to move
    and appellant complied, moving back just far enough to permit Randall to open the
    door. Just as Randall put his left foot outside the door, appellant struck him on the
    head with a plastic bottle that was filled with juice. The blow was so forceful, it
    burst the bottle. Juice poured all over Deputy Randall and the inside of the car.
    Randall was stunned and fell backwards into the car seat. Through the open
    2
    window, appellant again struck Randall on the forehead. A few seconds later,
    Randall noticed appellant was hitting him again, this time with a box cutter.
    Appellant used a "downward, stabbing motion" to inflict numerous blows to
    Randall's left arm.
    Randall's ride-along passenger, Deputy Martin Dominguez, got out of
    the patrol car, pulled appellant off Randall and backwards onto the ground.
    Appellant continued to fight with Dominguez and Randall. Randall struck appellant
    several times because appellant ignored Randall's direction to stop resisting.
    Eventually other deputies arrived and appellant was taken into custody.
    Discussion
    Pitchess Motion
    On appellant's motion, the trial court conducted an in camera review
    of the personnel files of both Deputy Randall and Deputy Dominguez. It ordered
    disclosure of one complaint involving issues of dishonesty. In a subsequent in
    camera hearing, the trial court concluded no further discovery of the officers'
    personnel records was required. We have reviewed the sealed transcripts of these
    proceedings and conclude that the trial court's discovery orders were not an abuse of
    discretion. (People v. Hughes (2002) 
    27 Cal. 4th 287
    , 330; People v. 
    Mooc, supra
    ,
    26 Cal.4th at p. 1232.)
    Section 654
    Appellant contends the trial court erred when it imposed concurrent
    terms for the battery conviction on count 5 and the associated great bodily injury
    enhancement, rather than staying that term under section 654. Respondent contends
    the trial court made an implied finding of fact, which is supported by substantial
    evidence, that the two offenses involved multiple criminal objectives, so section
    654 did not apply. We are not persuaded.
    3
    "Section 654 precludes multiple punishment where an act or course of
    conduct violates more than one criminal statute but a defendant has only a single
    intent and objective. (People v. Liu (1996) 
    46 Cal. App. 4th 1119
    , 1135.) In such
    circumstances, the court must impose but stay execution of sentence on all of the
    convictions arising out of the course of conduct except for the offense with the
    longest sentence. (People v. Alford (2010) 
    180 Cal. App. 4th 1463
    , 1466.) On this
    issue, we review the court's explicit or implicit factual resolutions for substantial
    evidence. 
    (Liu, supra
    , 46 Cal.App.4th at p. 1136; People v. Coleman (1989) 
    48 Cal. 3d 112
    , 162.)" (People v. McCoy (2012) 
    208 Cal. App. 4th 1333
    , 1338. See also
    People v. Hester (2000) 
    22 Cal. 4th 290
    , 294 [statute "precludes multiple
    punishments for a single act or indivisible course of conduct."].)
    Acts that occur closely together in time may still be divided by
    multiple criminal objectives. (People v. Garcia (2008) 
    167 Cal. App. 4th 1550
    ,
    1565.) As our Supreme Court has explained, "It is defendant's intent and objective,
    not the temporal proximity of his offenses, which determine whether the transaction
    is indivisible. [Citations.] . . . [I]f all of the offenses were merely incidental to, or
    were the means of accomplishing or facilitating one objective, defendant may be
    found to have harbored a single intent and therefore may be punished only once.
    (Neal v. State of California (1960) 
    55 Cal. 2d 11
    , 19.) [¶] If, on the other hand,
    defendant harbored 'multiple criminal objectives,' which were independent of and
    not merely incidental to each other, he may be punished for each statutory violation
    committed in pursuit of each objective, 'even though the violations shared common
    acts or were parts of an otherwise indivisible course of conduct.' [(People v.
    Beamon (1973) 
    8 Cal. 3d 625
    , 639].)" (People v. Harrison (1989) 
    48 Cal. 3d 321
    ,
    335.)
    Appellant was convicted of assault on a police officer (§ 245, subd.
    (c)) and battery with injury on a peace officer. (§ 243, subd. (c)(2).) The trial court
    4
    made no express findings regarding section 654. Respondent contends the
    imposition of concurrent terms was an implied finding that appellant acted with two
    distinct criminal objectives. First, appellant hit Deputy Randall with the juice
    bottle, to prevent him from exiting the patrol car and arresting appellant. Second,
    appellant slashed at Randall with the box cutter, to injure him. Because appellant
    acted with two objectives, to avoid arrest and to harm the officer, respondent
    contends, multiple terms were appropriate. We disagree.
    Appellant slashed at Deputy Randall with the box cutter only
    moments after hitting him with the juice bottle. The two assaults were part of a
    single, continuous course of conduct, intended to injure the deputy. Our review of
    the record discloses no substantial evidence supporting respondent's theory that
    appellant harbored two different criminal intents or objectives: first, to escape and
    then to injure. Appellant did not run or ride his bicycle away from the patrol car
    immediately after hitting Deputy Randall with the juice bottle, as we would expect
    if he committed the assault to prevent Randall from arresting him. Instead,
    appellant stayed next to the car, drew his box cutter and began slashing at the
    deputy. The only reasonable inference is that appellant engaged in both acts for the
    purpose of harming Deputy Randall.
    Because the assault and the battery were separate parts of an
    indivisible criminal transaction, section 654 bars imposition of concurrent terms for
    these offenses. The trial court should have imposed and stayed the entire sentence
    on count 5, to comply with section 654. (People v. Alford (2010) 
    180 Cal. App. 4th 1463
    , 1468-1469.)
    Imposition of Mandatory Fines
    At sentencing, the trial court imposed one court security fee of $40
    under section 1465.8, and one court construction fee of $30 under Government
    Code section 70373. Each statute, however, mandates that the fine it authorizes
    5
    "shall be imposed" for each felony conviction, even if the sentence for that
    conviction is stayed pursuant to section 654. (People v. Sencion (2012) 
    211 Cal. App. 4th 480
    , 484; People v. Roa (2009) 
    171 Cal. App. 4th 1175
    , 1181.)
    Appellant was convicted of two felony offenses. He should have been assessed two
    fees under section 1465.8 and two fees under Government Code section 70373,.
    We will order the judgment modified to impose each fee on each count. (People v.
    Mitchell (2001) 
    26 Cal. 4th 181
    , 185.)
    Disposition
    The judgment is ordered modified to reflect that the term imposed on
    count 5, battery with injury on a peace officer, and the sentence enhancement for
    that court, are stayed pursuant to section 654. The judgment is also modified to
    impose a court security fee of $40 (§ 1465.8, subd. (a)(1)) and a court construction
    fee of $30 (Gov. Code, § 70373) on count 5. In all other respects, the judgment is
    affirmed.
    NOT TO BE PUBLISHED.
    YEGAN, J.
    We concur:
    GILBERT, P.J.
    PERREN, J.
    6
    Paul A. Bacigalupo, Judge
    Superior Court County of Los Angeles
    ______________________________
    Danielle Charles, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for
    Defendant and Appellant.
    Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant
    Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Margaret
    E. Maxwell, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, Tasha G. Timbadia, Deputy
    Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
    7
    

Document Info

Docket Number: B259316

Filed Date: 12/1/2015

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 4/18/2021