P. v. Bowers 9/7/10 CA2/8

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State: California

Court: 1st District Court of Appeal 1st District Court of Appeal

Docket No: B215679

Case Date: 12/21/2010

Preview:Filed 9/7/10 P. v. Bowers CA2/8

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 EIGHT

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. BRENDA F. BOWERS et al., Defendants and Appellants.

B215679 (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BA318031)

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Charlaine F. Olmedo, Judge. Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded with directions. Alan Stern, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant Brenda F. Bowers.

Maxine Weksler, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant Corey Jamal Johnson. Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Pamela C. Hamanaka, Assistant Attorney General, Linda C. Johnson and Carl N. Henry, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. __________________________

Corey Jamal Johnson and Brenda Bowers appeal from the judgments following their convictions for multiple gang related offenses. We affirm as to Johnson. We affirm in part and reverse in part as to Bowers and remand for resentencing. FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS 1. Crimes Outside the Saints and Sinners Bar Around the time of "last call" at 2:00 a.m. on January 26, 2007, appellants Corey Johnson and Brenda Bowers and two unnamed women got out of their car near the Saints and Sinners bar in Culver City. Bar patrons Vanessa Castro and Melvin Alegria were walking to their parked car. Descending on Alegria and Castro, Bowers demanded at gunpoint that Alegria and Castro give them "everything" they had while Bowerss accomplice forced them up against a wall. Castro surrendered her drivers license and ATM bank card, and Alegria turned over his wallet, keys, and cell phone. In the meantime, appellant Johnson, joined shortly thereafter by one of Bowerss accomplices, approached Mark Huddleston and Katherine Crawley about 200 feet from Alegria and Castro. As Huddleston walked to the drivers side of his parked car and Crawley approached the cars front passenger door, Johnson moved toward Crawley and demanded her purse. Crawley refused, telling Johnson to "fuck off." Huddleston came around from his side of the car and asked Johnson what he wanted. Johnson replied Crawley "needs to do what I tell her," to which Huddleston answered, "leave her alone." Pushing Johnson away, Huddleston stepped between Johnson and Crawley. Johnson said, "Ill take care of you." Stepping back, Johnson shot Huddleston, inflicting injuries for which Huddleston required surgery and two weeks hospitalization. Johnson took a wallet containing about $200 from the injured Huddleston and then hit Crawley on the side of her head with his gun, injuring her ear and causing "barrel trauma" which left her temporarily deaf for three months. Following the shooting, Bowers and her accomplice ran from Castro and Alegria toward Johnson. One of the three women grabbed Crawleys neck and called her a "stupid fucking bitch" for refusing to give up her purse,

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and another woman punched Crawley in the face. The women then fled with Crawleys purse containing credit cards, a cell phone, and about $100. Johnson, Bowers, and their two accomplices then returned to their car and fled the scene. 2. Crimes Inside Hollywood Erotique The evening of January 11, 2007, Hisaki Shimizu was working at Hollywood Erotique in Mar Vista. A man and woman entered the store. At gunpoint, they took items on display, including videos and lingerie, and cash from the register. Several hours after the robbery, police found appellant Johnsons fingerprints on the counter near the cash register; Johnson testified at trial he could not explain why his fingerprints were on the counter because he had never been inside the store. Three nights after the January 11 robbery, four robbers

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