P. v. Sauceda-Contreras 2/16/11 CA4/3

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State: California

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

Docket No: G041831

Case Date: 06/09/2011

Preview:Filed 2/16/11 P. v. Contreras CA4/3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION THREE

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. JOSE SAUCEDA-CONTRERAS, Defendant and Appellant. G041831 (Super. Ct. No. 07NF0170) OPINION

Appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court of Orange County, Richard F. Toohey, Judge. Reversed. Diane Nichols, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Gary W. Schons, Assistant Attorney General, Lynne G. McGinnis and Marilyn L. George, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

Jose Sauceda-Contreras appeals from a judgment after a jury convicted him of murder. Sauceda-Contreras argues: (1) the trial court erroneously admitted his statements to police in violation of the Fifth Amendment pursuant to Miranda v. Arizona (1966) 384 U.S. 436 (Miranda); (2) the court erroneously denied his suppression motion because there were not sufficient exigent circumstances; (3) insufficient evidence supports his conviction for premeditated and deliberate murder; (4) CALCRIM No. 362 created an impermissible inference of guilt; and (5) there was cumulative error. Sauceda-Contreras also asks this court to review sealed medical and police records to determine whether there is any discoverable information. Because we agree the court admitted Sauceda-Contrerass statements in violation of Miranda, we need not address his other claims. We reverse the judgment. FACTS One afternoon, Alondra Gaona Gutierrez and her husband, Pascuel Rivera Rodriguez, heard arguing at their neighbors house. Gutierrez heard a woman say, "if he was unable to get the money to give her, . . . let her go and get the money." Gutierrez heard a bang, like a person hitting a wall, she heard the woman say, "if this was all that he had to give her more until he got tired." Gutierrez heard the woman crying but nothing else as she had to leave.1 The next morning, Gutierrez saw smoke and smelled burning hair, and she called to her husband who was in the garage. Ten minutes later, she smelled burning flesh. Gutierrez climbed a short playground ladder and saw smoke coming from the neighbors backyard. Gutierrez climbed a taller ladder and saw a large metal can with what looked like a black ball protruding from the top. Flames and smoke were billowing from the can that was sitting on a concrete slab. Rodriguez arrived and stood next to

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Gutierrez told police the woman sounded like she was outside, but at trial she testified the woman sounded to be inside and the man outside.
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Gutierrez. A man, later identified as Sauceda-Contreras, poured liquid into the can and when the flames increased, Sauceda-Contreras backed away. There was a mattress propped against the wall to one side of the can and a Jacuzzi cover on the other side of the can. Gutierrez saw Sauceda-Contreras bend what appeared to be an arm and push it into the can. Rodriguez got into his truck and drove around the block to get Sauceda-Contrerass address to call the fire department. Rodriguez saw Sauceda-Contreras look at him from behind a car parked in the driveway. Rodriguez drove home and called 911. When the firefighters arrived, Rodriguez, from his ladder, saw Sauceda-Contreras throw the mattress on top of the burning can. Anaheim Firefighter Kevin Harris and three colleagues dressed in yellow "turnouts" and helmets responded to the call to investigate a "miscellaneous" fire. When they arrived, they did not see fire or smoke so they walked through an open gate along the side of the house where they met Sauceda-Contreras. Harris asked him if there was a fire, and Sauceda-Contreras nervously said there was a fire but it was out. Harris smelled gasoline and saw a metal trash can with smoke coming from it and a mattress laid over the top. Harris asked Sauceda-Contreras what was burning, and he said, "[N]othing[,] [n]o problem[,] [n]o problem, sir." Harris walked towards the trash can, and Sauceda-Contreras put his hands on Harriss chest to stop him. Harris stopped and saw a "slight flicker of flame" from the trash can. Harris called to his captain and said he needed police assistance, and the captain replied police had been called. The fireman and Sauceda-Contreras walked towards the front of the house, Sauceda-Contreras stated he bought a pig in Indio and he was cooking it in the trash can for a large party he was having. When the police arrived, Harris and a colleague went to the backyard and removed the mattress and found a charred towel covering the can. Harris lifted the towel

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and saw a human skull and burned body. The firefighters placed the towel and mattress to their original places and returned to the front yard. Harris motioned to the police officer and the officer handcuffed Sauceda-Contreras. Terri Powers-Raulston, a forensic specialist, processed the crime scene. She photographed the crime scene: there was a car parked on the driveway; there was a bedroom with a sliding glass door adjacent to the backyard; a large metal can was partially covered with a box spring, and a spa cover lay nearby; and near the metal can was a charred piece of wood, two pairs of work gloves, a charred saucepan, a metal rod, and a bucket containing a liquid that smelled like gasoline and half a beer can. Inside the metal can, Powers-Raulston saw a charred body propped away from the can wall with a brick; the brick was from a nearby walkway. She removed a towel from the victims head. She found a garden hose with a nozzle and the water turned on full. In a trash can located on the driveway, she found a plastic container, which smelled of gasoline and had hair attached to it. Powers-Raulston also processed the homes interior. The southeast bedroom was in disarray--the sheets were off the mattress and on a chair, and the mattress was moved off the box spring. In the bathroom across from the southeast bedroom, she saw a red stain on the bathroom floor. In the bathtub she found hair, unknown stains, and a cup. There was no evidence the bathroom door had been forced open. Scott Flynn, a forensic specialist, photographed Sauceda-Contreras at the police station. He had injuries to the left side of his head, and his nose, lip, chin, and hands. He was wearing a shirt, jeans, and a belt. The jeans and belt were booked into evidence. There was gasoline on the jeans. The belt had almost a complete tear, near the belt buckle, and a diagonal line impression approximately 11 inches in from the buckle. Flynn took swabs of the belt for DNA analysis. Sauceda-Contreras tested negative for drugs and alcohol.

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Detectives Robert Blazek and Julissa Trapp interviewed Sauceda-Contreras. Trapp, who was bilingual in English and Spanish, translated. Sauceda-Contreras stated he had lived at the residence with family members about one and a half years. He said he worked two jobs but that day and the previous day were his days off. Sauceda-Contreras explained that eight years prior he lived in Long Beach with Martha Mendoza and her five children. He said she would leave her children with him and she would find men and use drugs. He claimed she would bring men to his house when he was at work. Sauceda-Contreras loved her but eventually he left her and the government took away her children. He stated that about one and a half years prior, she found him and told him she wanted to move in with him because he had a house and money. He told her that he did not want anything to do with her because she was never going to change. Mendoza contacted him the previous day. He stated they argued, she scratched him, and he told her to leave. Sauceda-Contreras said that after she calmed down, they went to a video store. She seemed nervous, like she needed drugs, and he told her that he loved her, but he could not be with her. Sauceda-Contreras said he told her that he would not give her money and to go to sleep. Sauceda-Contreras said the next morning Mendoza was nervous and he told her that he would not give her money because he knew she would use it for drugs. He stated she told him that she lost everything she had, him, her children, and her mother, and no one loved her. He said she did not want to be on the streets earning money to live day by day. He claimed she made him promise that when she died that he would burn her, keep her ashes, and take care of the ashes as if she were alive. He said she told him to buy some things for her children and tell them she left and he did not know anything else. He stated he told her she was crazy and he continued gathering his laundry. Sauceda-Contreras claimed he had not seen her for awhile and he got nervous because she often stole things. He stated he found her lying in the bathroom.
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Sauceda-Contreras asserted he thought about calling the police but he remembered what she had told him. He thought about all the years he supported her and tried to change her. He stated it hurt him so much as he watched her burn because his life was going with her and he would never forget her. He said he bought her a car and opened a bank account for her, but she spent all the money and she was stopped by police with drugs. He stated that over the last six months she stopped by the house a couple times a month. When asked, Sauceda-Contreras said Mendoza arrived the prior morning at eight and she spent the night but no one saw her because he had his own bedroom and bathroom. He stated crystal methamphetamine was Mendozas drug of choice but she did not use any that day because he would not let her. He denied drinking or using drugs, and later tested negative for both. Sauceda-Contreras said they went to bed around nine the prior night and awoke at eight that morning and lay in bed until they heard everyone leave. He claimed she was very nervous and that is when she asked him to burn her. He stated that as he prepared the laundry he thought she went to take a shower because she was naked. He said that he went to look for her because she had stolen things from him in the past. He said the bathroom door was open and he found her lying in the bathtub not breathing. He said he hit her to try to wake her up because he did not know how to resuscitate her. He said she was "cold, cold, cold." He said she was out of his sight for approximately one and a half hours but he was not sure. When Sauceda-Contreras said he could help the officers arrest "someone thats big," Blazek asked him how he got the scratches. He explained the prior afternoon Mendoza saw his Ipod and got mad because he never bought her anything. Mendoza asked for $100 or $200 and when he refused to give it to her, she scratched him.

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When Blazek asked him whether there was any medication in the bathroom, Sauceda-Contreras replied only Alka-Seltzer. He said he did not know how Mendoza did it, but he saw bubbles coming from her mouth and she was really cold. When Blazek said it takes more than an hour and a half to get cold, Sauceda-Contreras said there were times she was sweating and times she was cold. Sauceda-Contreras stated that when he found Mendoza in the bathtub, he felt anger and sadness because he wasted so many years of his life on her and he loved her very much. He said he moved her and yelled at her to wake up. He stated he took her out of the bathtub and hugged her. He said he considered calling the police but remembered what she had told him. He told her that she was not going anywhere to do bad things and she was going to stay there with him. Sauceda-Contreras explained he put wood in the bottom of the trash can and put Mendoza in the trash can. He said he used gasoline and a match to start the fire. He stated he had gas in a can but he put gasoline into a pot to pour into the trash can. He claimed he wanted to take Mendoza out but the fire got really big. He stated he did not burn his hands because he was wearing gloves. He said he heard the sirens and decided to cover her with the mattress so they would not see her. He admitted lying to the firefighters. When Blazek told him neighbors heard him arguing with Mendoza the previous day, Sauceda-Contreras said it must have been in the afternoon but it was minor. When Blazek told him the neighbors heard him yelling, he responded the window on the neighbors side of the house was open. He explained Mendoza was yelling at him that he did not give her any money, and he told her to "shut up." He added, "Whatever happens . . . even if you judge me . . . Im going to be at peace here because I didnt do anything to her." He stated the argument was "small" compared to other arguments he had with her. He denied arguing with her that morning.

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Blazek asked him why he waited an hour and a half if he was concerned Mendoza might steal from him. He said he looked for her but oftentimes she just leaves. When Blazek asked him why he did not call 911, Sauceda-Contreras replied Mendoza told him not to. He added he was afraid because she had died in his house and the police had never helped him before and why would they help him now. He stated the police never believed him because he cannot speak English. He claimed he did not know there were places where you could take a body to be cremated. He repeatedly denied hitting or choking Mendoza or doing anything to cause her death. Later, after a break, Blazek asked Sauceda-Contreras whose car was on the driveway. He responded it was his brothers car, and when asked he denied he drove the car that morning. Eventually, he stated he was not going to lie anymore and explained he moved the car onto the driveway so nobody would see what he was doing. He said that if he called the police they would think he killed Mendoza and he burned her because she told him to. He stated the gas can burned and he was pouring gas with a small plastic container. When Blazek asked him about the events that morning, Sauceda-Contreras repeated his story about gathering laundry and added details about eating and cleaning the kitchen before looking for and finding Mendoza in the bathtub. Blazek said his story did not make sense and accused him of lying. Blazek said Sauceda-Contreras had told "six different stories" and to slow down and tell the truth. He repeated his version of the events leading up to where he entered the bathroom. Blazek said Mendozas body would not be cold in the time between her leaving and him finding her in the bathroom and his story made no sense and he was lying. Sauceda-Contreras explained Mendoza killed herself with the belt he was wearing in the bathroom on the bathtub faucet. He claimed he loosened the belt from her neck and tried to revive her but her body was purple and she was warm. He repeated he thought about calling the police but decided to do what Mendoza told him to do. Sauceda-Contreras explained he "scorned her real badly" before her death. He told
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Mendoza that he had seen her "selling herself on the streets of Long Beach" and leaving motel rooms with men. He stated he told her that she had ruined her life and the lives of the people who loved her. He admitted calling her "trash" and yelling profanities at her and this is what the neighbors heard. He said Mendoza was distraught and pleaded with him to hit her instead of calling her those names. Sauceda-Contreras admitted they had sexual intercourse that evening. Sauceda-Contreras denied choking her with his belt. He explained "for eight years, it has hurt me to know that Im eating . . . and know that she is out on the street doing who knows what things." He stated Mendoza told him that morning she wanted to move in with him and he said no because he knew she would never change. He stated he was in the country illegally and that morning Mendoza called him a "stupid Mexican" and a "wetback" and threatened to have him and his family deported and they would lose the house. He said he told Mendoza to leave, she left the bedroom, and later in the bathroom he heard her crying and what sounded like hitting. He said he gathered the laundry and cleaned the house, and "a lot of time [went] by." He claimed he knocked on the bathroom door, went outside and knocked on the bathroom window, and went back inside and again knocked on the door. He said he finally used a key to open the door. Sauceda-Contreras insisted he did not kill Mendoza, said she was dead when he burned her, and claimed it was painful to watch her burn. Blazek asked him how she killed herself. He responded she was lying in the bathtub and she had the belt wrapped around her neck and looped over the bathtub faucet. He said she was holding on to the long end of the belt with her hands.2 An information charged Sauceda-Contreras with murder (Pen. Code,

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