P. v. Castro 4/11/06 CA5

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State: California

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

Docket No: F046915

Case Date: 07/20/2006

Preview:Filed 4/11/06

CERTIFIED FOR PARTIAL PUBLICATION* IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT THE PEOPLE, F046915 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. BF107186A) v. CONRADO RAMOS CASTRO, Defendant and Appellant.

OPINION

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Kern County. John I. Kelly and John L. Fielder, Judges. Daniel G. Koryn, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Bill Lockyer, Attorney General, Robert R. Anderson, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Mary Jo Graves, Assistant Attorney General, Brian Alvarez and William K. Kim, Deputy Attorneys General, for Respondent.

The main question presented in this case is whether an anonymous 911 call was constitutionally sufficient to support the traffic stop that led to defendant Conrado Ramos to California Rules of Court, rules 976(b) and 976.1, this opinion is certified for publication with the exception of parts II, III, and IV.
*Pursuant

Castro's arrest and conviction for possession of a firearm by a person with a qualifying prior conviction. We hold in the published part of this opinion that an exigent circumstancethe anonymous caller's allegation of a threat by defendant against the life of defendant's wiferendered the tip sufficient even if it was not sufficient otherwise. Defendant's remaining contentions pertain to jury instructions and the trial court's comments to the jury. Perceiving no prejudicial error, we affirm the judgment. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORIES Christine Achen, a Kern County Sheriff's Department dispatcher, took a 911 call at 10:23 p.m. on July 30, 2004. A caller who did not give his name spoke to the dispatcher.1 The caller gave defendant's name and said defendant came to the caller's house and stated he was going to shoot his (defendant's) wife. The caller said defendant had a "steel colored" revolver and that it was "strapped to his back." He described defendant as about 40, thin, Hispanic, and wearing a white shirt and dark pants. The caller was calling from his car and indicated that he had been following defendant's truck, although he could no longer see it. He described the truck as a full-size white Ford with a green stripe and a long bed and "the letters GTO painted on the side." He gave defendant's wife's address and claimed that defendant was driving toward her street. He also gave the wife's name, described her as Hispanic and in her forties, and stated that she was then at home with her daughters. The caller's wife had just called defendant's wife to warn her. The dispatcher asked whether defendant and his wife were "going through a divorce or something." The caller replied that "apparently they were split up," but he did not "know the whole details about it." When the dispatcher asked for the caller's name, he declined to give it and said, "I just don't want her hurt and I don't want to get involved."

1A

transcript of the 911 tape is attached to this opinion as Appendix A.

2.

The contents of the call were relayed to deputy sheriffs. Achen testified that in an "officer safety situation" like this one, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) would also normally receive the dispatch. Shortly after the information was dispatched, CHP officers located and stopped defendant's truck. Deputy sheriffs arrived after the stop had taken place. Defendant had been driving with two passengers, Debra Walker and Felix Marrufo. The three were ordered out of the truck. Officers then saw the butt of a .22 caliber handgun protruding from Walker's purse, which she had left inside. They also found 10 rounds of .22 caliber ammunition in defendant's pocket. The ammunition was later found to fit the gun. The District Attorney filed an information charging defendant with one count of possession of a firearm by a person with qualifying prior offenses. (Pen. Code,

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