P. v. Villa CA3 filed 2/5/13 A

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State: California

Court: California Eastern District Court

Docket No: C066853

Case Date: 02/05/2013

Plaintiff: P.

Defendant: Villa CA3 filed 2/5/13 Case Details

Preview:Filed 2/5/13 P. v. Villa CA3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Sacramento) ----

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. GERARDO VALENCIA VILLA, Defendant and Appellant.

C066853 (Super. Ct. No. 09F02510)

Convicted of the first degree murder of his son, defendant Gerardo Valencia Villa appeals. He contends: (1) a search of his home violated his Fourth Amendment rights; (2) the trial court erred by excluding some of the evidence of the victims propensity for violence; (3) the court erred by excluding some photographs of defendant and the victim; (4) the jurors may have misunderstood the law supporting the defenses heat-of-passion theory; (5) the court did not sufficiently instruct the jury on subjective heat of passion; (6) the evidence was insufficient to support the first degree murder verdict; (7) the court improperly instructed the jury on consciousness of guilt; and (8) the alleged errors were cumulatively prejudicial. Finding no prejudicial error, we affirm.

1

FACTS In April 2009, defendant was living with his girlfriend Janet Sartain in the home of Janets elderly mother, Frieda Sartain, in Sacramento. Defendants son Alex, the murder victim, also lived in the home. Defendant is five feet, ten inches tall and weighs about 240 pounds, according to the probation report. Alex was six feet, two inches tall, and weighed 372 pounds. On April 3, 2009, defendants other son, Gerardo, Jr., married Kassandrea. After the wedding, which took place in the morning, the family partied and drank. That evening, the party continued at defendants home. While they were partying, Alex looked for his two Chihuahuas in the backyard. When he found them, he grabbed them by their necks, causing them to yelp. Defendant saw Alexs treatment of the dogs and became angry, saying to Alex, "What is wrong with you?" Alex sharply responded, "Wait till you see what I do to them now." Alex took the dogs to his bedroom and later returned to where the others were. Defendant saw Alex and said, "Whats wrong with you? Youre just like your mother." This angered Alex because he was upset about things his mother had done. Alex moved toward defendant and challenged, "Hit me, go ahead and hit me." Defendant grabbed Alex by the throat, but Janet jumped between them and broke it up before anything further occurred. The next day, April 4, Janet arrived home from work at around 7:00 p.m. She told defendant that Alex had to move out of the house. Also that evening, at between 10:13 p.m. and 10:36 p.m., Alex and Gerardo, Jr., corresponded by text messages: Alex: "Dad just said he would knock me out and kill me." Gerardo, Jr.: "Yup, on the phone with me. We just talked. He thinks you killed the dogs." Alex: "Why would you talk to him?" 2

Gerardo, Jr.: "Because I just wanted to know what he had to say." Gerardo, Jr.: "He called me like 10 minutes ago and when we were on the phone, he was saying that he was going to knock you out and all that and when he said that, I told him bye." In the 10-minute phone conversation with Gerardo, Jr., defendant said, "I havent heard from those little dogs yet. He is so crazy, I think he killed those dogs. If he killed those dogs, Ill kill him." After defendant spoke to Gerardo, Jr., on the phone, defendant wrote a note to Alex. He told Alex that he had to move out. Defendant also gave Alex instructions on handing over keys and other matters that would attend Alexs moving out. Defendant first left the note in the living room for Alex to find, but then took the note out to the garage. Defendant and Janet talked and drank in the garage. They decided to go to Alexs room to check on the dogs. Defendant said he needed to protect himself, and Janet said, "[O]f course you do." Defendant armed himself with a knife that was approximately 14 inches long. Defendant knocked firmly on Alexs bedroom door, and Alex opened the door. Defendant saw that the dogs were in the room and were unharmed. Defendant and Alex began to argue. Alex moved toward defendant, and defendant stabbed Alex in the belly. Alex said, "I cant believe you did that, Dad." He then walked out of the house and down the street where he collapsed in the driveway of another home. He died the next morning at 1:44. The forensic pathologist who conducted the autopsy found that there was one exterior wound but two different tracks inside the body, indicating that the knife was partially removed and redirected. One of the wounds was upward from the belly, through the liver and the diaphragm and into a lung, a total of about 13 inches. The other wound was more left to right into the heart sac. 3

PROCEDURE The district attorney charged defendant by information with one count of murder (Pen. Code,

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