A jury found defendant and respondent Carlos Miguel Iraheta guilty of shooting at an occupied motor vehicle in violation of Penal Code section 246.
Viewed in accordance with the usual rules governing appellate review, the evidence relevant to the issues raised on appeal established the following.
On December 20, 2002, at approximately 5:30 p.m., Noe Martinez drove his white Honda Civic to the Jr. Market in Inglewood. Inside the market, Jose Tovar, whom Martinez did not know, kept staring at him, giving him a bad feeling. When Martinez left the market, Tovar walked toward Martinez's Honda, and pulled out a cellular telephone when a police car pulled up. Tovar was a member of the Inglewood 13 criminal street gang.
Martinez drove to his friend Michael Orozco's home, where he socialized and drank beer. At approximately 8:30 that evening, Orozco and Martinez headed for another friend's home. Because Martinez was feeling "buzzed," Orozco drove Martinez's Honda. Their route took them past the Jr. Market.
Meanwhile, Iraheta drove his girlfriend Melody Maciel, his younger brother Richard Iraheta,
When Martinez and Orozco drove away, Iraheta followed them in his Camaro. Orozco drove to 65th Street and, at Martinez's direction, stopped the car. Martinez exited the Honda to talk to the people in the Camaro. He was wearing a red hat and a dark red jacket or shirt. The Camaro pulled up slowly. Iraheta was driving. Martinez lifted up his hands and said, "what's going on?" As the Camaro passed the Honda, Iraheta fired a single gunshot at the Honda, and sped off. The shot shattered the Honda's driver's side window and hit Orozco in the neck, fatally wounding him. Neither Orozco nor Martinez was armed.
Officers stopped the Camaro shortly after the shooting. Iraheta was driving. One of the officers found a gun under the Camaro's front passenger seat,
Moreno and Maciel testified that as it passed the Jr. Market, the Honda slowed and then sped off. En route to Maciel's house, the group came upon the Honda stopped in the middle of the road, blocking their path. Maciel asked Orozco to move. Martinez approached the back of the Camaro. Both Maciel and Moreno heard Richard say, "he's got a gun." Iraheta then pulled a gun from under the seat and fired a single shot at the Honda. In a recorded police interview, Moreno stated that Iraheta had followed the Honda after leaving the market.
A gang expert testified regarding the characteristics and activities of the Inglewood 13 gang. Among other things, he opined that Iraheta was an Inglewood 13 gang member, based on his "West L.A." tattoo, attire, and association with other gang members. When given a hypothetical based on the facts of the case, the expert opined that the motive for the shooting was gang related.
Iraheta testified in his own defense. At the time of the shooting, he was 19 years old, had no criminal record, was in the military reserves, and was not a gang member. He and Maciel were planning on getting married, and he had just been hired by Bank of America and was enrolled to start classes at ITT Tech. His "West L.A." tattoo was not a gang tattoo. He had the gun for protection because he had been beaten up near his house by gang members a few months before the shooting.
On the night of the shooting, he drove by the Jr. Market and his friend Tovar flagged him down. While he and Tovar were talking, the Honda passed by. Tovar warned Iraheta that the occupants of the Honda had been "cruising around and looking for trouble" and had "mad-dogg[ed]" him earlier that day. Iraheta left the Jr. Market a few minutes later. His route took him to 65th Street. The Honda was stopped in the street, blocking it. Martinez was standing outside the car, staring at Iraheta. Iraheta signaled to Martinez to move the car. Martinez then put up his hands up as if to say "What's up?"
An information filed on May 1, 2003, charged Iraheta with murder (§ 187, subd. (a)). It also alleged that Iraheta personally and intentionally used and discharged a firearm, causing death (§ 12022.53, subds. (b), (c) & (d)). Iraheta was tried by a jury, convicted of second degree murder with the firearm enhancement, and sentenced to 40 years to life in prison. We affirmed his conviction in an unpublished opinion. (People v. Iraheta (Apr. 30, 2008, B173223.)
The California Supreme Court subsequently granted Iraheta's petition for review and, on June 10, 2009, transferred the case back to us with directions to vacate our decision and reconsider the cause in light of People v. Chun (2009) 45 Cal.4th 1172 [91 Cal.Rptr.3d 106, 203 P.3d 425]. Upon reconsideration, we concluded Chun required reversal of Iraheta's murder conviction. (People v. Iraheta (Nov. 20, 2009, B173223) [nonpub. opn.].)
The People filed an amended information on October 5, 2010, again charging Iraheta with murder (§ 187, subd. (a); count 1), and a second amended information on October 3, 2011, adding a second count of shooting at an occupied motor vehicle (§ 246; count 2). Iraheta's retrial commenced in March 2013. The jury found Iraheta guilty of shooting at an occupied motor vehicle, and found true the allegation he had personally and intentionally used and discharged a firearm, causing Orozco's death. It deadlocked on count 1, the murder charge, and the court declared a mistrial on that count.
On May 31, 2013, the People appealed the trial court's order. (§ 1238, subd. (a)(3).) On July 24, 2013, we granted the People's petition for a writ of supersede as and issued a stay of proceedings pending finality of this appeal.
The defense requested that the court instruct the jury on "imperfect" self-defense as to both charged counts.
During deliberations, two jurors sent a note to the court asking whether, in regard to the section 246 charge and the lesser included offense of shooting a firearm in a grossly negligent manner, "the term self-defense include[s] both imperfect and complete self defense? [¶] Or in those instances does `self-defense' only mean complete self-defense?" Consistent with its earlier ruling, and over a defense objection, the trial court informed the jury: "Imperfect self[-]defense does not apply to [section] 246 (willful and malicious shooting
Iraheta argued in his new trial motion that the jury should have been instructed that imperfect self-defense applied to the section 246 charge. Iraheta urged, as he had earlier, that an unreasonable belief in the need for self-defense could negate malice, an element of section 246. The People countered that the theory of imperfect self-defense is inapplicable to the crime of shooting at an occupied motor vehicle, and the legal principles relevant to mistake of fact were covered by other instructions.
Relying on People v. McKelvy (1987) 194 Cal.App.3d 694 [239 Cal.Rptr. 782], the trial court granted the new trial motion on the ground it had erred by failing to instruct on imperfect self-defense in regard to count 2, shooting at an occupied vehicle. The court reasoned that the authorities cited by the People (People v. Watie (2002) 100 Cal.App.4th 866 [124 Cal.Rptr.2d 258]; People v. Sekona (1994) 27 Cal.App.4th 443 [32 Cal.Rptr.2d 606]) held only that an imperfect self-defense instruction need not be given sua sponte, whereas here the defense requested the instruction. The court explained: "[T]he reasoning in McKelvy makes sense to me.... [I]f this were a case where there were no cars involved and somebody is on one side of the sidewalk and another person is on the other side, and the exact same facts where somebody exhibits arguably a gun which in retrospect may not have been a gun, and the assailant shoots and kills that person, you have murder or manslaughter depending if it's imperfect self-defense. [¶] But if [you] put walls around the people in a car or a house, you don't get the benefit of that argument. [¶] And it's hard conceptually for me to grasp or associate any common sense with that argument unless there's some policy reasons I'm just not considering."
A criminal defendant may move for a new trial on specified grounds, including instructional error. (§ 1181; People v. Ault (2004) 33 Cal.4th 1250, 1260 [17 Cal.Rptr.3d 302, 95 P.3d 523]; People v. Masotti (2008) 163 Cal.App.4th 504, 507 [77 Cal.Rptr.3d 483].) The trial court has broad discretion in ruling on a new trial motion, and its decision will be disturbed only for clear abuse of that discretion. (Ault, at p. 1260; see generally People v. Richmond (1991) 2 Cal.App.4th 610, 618 [3 Cal.Rptr.2d 252].) Such an abuse of discretion arises if the court's decision is based on an incorrect legal standard. (People v. Knoller (2007) 41 Cal.4th 139, 156 [59 Cal.Rptr.3d 157, 158 P.3d 731].)
"The doctrine of self-defense embraces two types: perfect and imperfect." (People v. Rodarte (2014) 223 Cal.App.4th 1158, 1168 [168 Cal.Rptr.3d 12].) "Perfect" self-defense requires that a defendant have an honest and reasonable belief in the need to defend himself or another. (Ibid.) Imperfect self-defense, sometimes referred to as a "Flannel defense" (People v. Flannel (1979) 25 Cal.3d 668 [160 Cal.Rptr. 84, 603 P.2d 1]; People v. Quintero (2006) 135 Cal.App.4th 1152, 1166 [37 Cal.Rptr.3d 884]), "is the killing of another human being under the actual but unreasonable belief that the killer was in imminent danger of death or great bodily injury. [Citation.] Such a killing is deemed to be without malice and thus cannot be murder." (People v. Booker (2011) 51 Cal.4th 141, 182 [119 Cal.Rptr.3d 722, 245 P.3d 366]; see People v. Duff (2014) 58 Cal.4th 527, 561-562 [167 Cal.Rptr.3d 615, 317 P.3d 1148].) Imperfect self-defense is therefore a "`theor[y] of partial exculpation' that reduce[s] murder to manslaughter by negating the element of malice." (People v. Moye (2009) 47 Cal.4th 537, 549 [98 Cal.Rptr.3d 113, 213 P.3d 652].) As explained by our Supreme Court: "`[U]nreasonable self-defense' is ... not a true defense; rather, it is a shorthand description of one form of voluntary manslaughter. And voluntary manslaughter, whether it arises from unreasonable self-defense or from a killing during a sudden quarrel or heat of passion, is not a defense but a crime; more precisely, it is a lesser offense included in the crime of murder." (People v. Barton (1995) 12 Cal.4th 186, 200-201 [47 Cal.Rptr.2d 569, 906 P.2d 531]; see People v. Elmore (2014) 59 Cal.4th 121, 134 [172 Cal.Rptr.3d 413, 325 P.3d 951].)
In granting Iraheta's new trial motion, the trial court relied primarily on People v. McKelvy, supra, 194 Cal.App.3d 694. In McKelvy, a single justice concluded the unreasonable self-defense doctrine applied to the general intent crime of mayhem, and the court had a sua sponte duty to instruct on the doctrine. (Id. at pp. 702-704.) McKelvy reasoned that inclusion of the word "maliciously" in the mayhem statute required proof of something more than an intentional act. The lead opinion reasoned: "Although the `malice' required for the offense of mayhem differs from the `malice aforethought' with which Flannel was concerned, it is equally true in both cases that the requisite state of mind is inconsistent with a genuine belief in the need for self-defense. One who truly believes there is a need for self-defense cannot be said to act with intent to `vex, injure or annoy' and may be found guilty of no more than an assault or battery." (Id. at p. 702, fn. omitted.)
McKelvy is not persuasive for several reasons. First, the lead opinion did not command a majority for its conclusion because the two non-authoring justices concurred only in the result. (See People v. Vallejo (2013) 214 Cal.App.4th 1033, 1040 [154 Cal.Rptr.3d 341] [the McKelvy lead opinion "is not binding authority"]; People v. Quintero, supra, 135 Cal.App.4th at p. 1166; People v. Sekona, supra, 27 Cal.App.4th at p. 451.) Second, the lead opinion's conclusion regarding the imperfect self-defense instruction "was dictum, because the court affirmed the defendant's conviction despite the absence of a Flannel instruction." (People v. Hayes (2004) 120 Cal.App.4th 796, 801-802 [15 Cal.Rptr.3d 884].) Third, no other reported decision has followed McKelvy, and its reasoning "has been uniformly rejected." (People v. Rodarte, supra, 223 Cal.App.4th at p. 1169; see People v. Szadziewicz (2008) 161 Cal.App.4th 823, 835 [74 Cal.Rptr.3d 416].) Indeed, appellate courts
People v. Sekona, supra, 27 Cal.App.4th 443, held that a trial court has no sua sponte duty to instruct on unreasonable self-defense in relation to a mayhem charge. (Id. at pp. 450, 457.) In a scholarly opinion, Sekona explained that no statute required, and no Supreme Court case had held, that an unreasonable belief in the need for self-defense negated mayhem's malice element. Because application of the imperfect self-defense doctrine to mayhem was not a general principle of law, a trial court had no sua sponte duty to instruct on it. (Id. at pp. 450-451.) Further, the California Supreme Court had not held such a sua sponte duty existed "in any context other than murder." (Id. at p. 451.) People v. Flannel, supra, 25 Cal.3d 668, considered only the "`malice aforethought'" required for murder, not the "`malice'" required for mayhem, which are legally distinct concepts. (Sekona, at pp. 452-453.) The concept of malice under section 7, subdivision 4 was distinguishable from the malice aforethought required for murder. (Sekona, at p. 453; People v. Rodarte, supra, 223 Cal.App.4th at p. 1169.) Sekona traced the development of the crime of mayhem under the English common law and California's statutory scheme, and concluded that unlike the crime of murder, "mayhem involves a different requisite mental state and has no statutory history recognizing a malice aforethought element or the availability of the Flannel defense." (Sekona, at p. 457.)
Other cases are in accord. (See People v. Quintero, supra, 135 Cal.App.4th at p. 1167 [the Sekona and Hayes rationale that imperfect self-defense is inapplicable to the crime of mayhem also pertains to aggravated mayhem]; People v. Szadziewicz, supra, 161 Cal.App.4th at p. 836 ["Because the theory of unreasonable self-defense does not apply to a charge of aggravated mayhem, the trial court had no duty to instruct on that theory ... either sua sponte or on request."].)
In People v. Vallejo, supra, 214 Cal.App.4th 1033, the defendant was convicted of, inter alia, shooting from a motor vehicle (former § 12034, subd. (c), now § 26100, subd. (c)), which, like section 246, required proof the defendant acted maliciously. Relying on Sekona and Hayes, Vallejo rejected McKelvy's analysis. (Vallejo, at p. 1041.)
Most recently — and after the trial court's ruling in the instant matter — our colleagues in Division One held that a trial court did not err by failing to instruct on imperfect self-defense on a charge of shooting from a motor vehicle (§ 26100, subds. (c) & (d).) (People v. Rodarte, supra, 223 Cal.App.4th at p. 1171.) In Rodarte, as here, the defendant's request for an imperfect self-defense instruction was denied. (Id. at p. 1167.) During deliberations the jury asked for clarification of the difference between perfect and imperfect self-defense, and the court advised that imperfect self-defense was inapplicable to the shooting from a motor vehicle counts. (Ibid.) Rodarte
The trial court's order granting a new trial is reversed. The matter is remanded to the trial court with instructions to reinstate the verdict rendered by the jury and to impose sentence accordingly.
Klein, P. J., and Croskey, J., concurred.
The court instructed on self-defense in regard to section 246 as follows: "You should consider whether the defendant acted in `self-defense' and `defense of others' during your deliberations in connection with the offense of Penal Code Section 246, Shooting into an Occupied Vehicle (CALCRIM [No.] 965 defines the elements of the offense of Penal Code Section 246) and the enhancement (CALCRIM [No.] 3150 defines the elements of the enhancement). [¶] If you find that the defendant acted in `self-defense' or `defense of others,' then you must find the defendant not guilty of the offense of Penal Code Section 246, Shooting into an Occupied Vehicle. [¶] If you find that the defendant acted in `self-defense' or `defense of others,' then you must find the enhancement of Discharging a Firearm Causing Injury or death to be not true." CALCRIM No. 965 reiterated that the People had the burden to prove Iraheta did not act in self-defense in regard to the section 246 charge.