P. v. Garcia











Filed 10/7/10 P. v. Garcia CA2/1

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>NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS

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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 This opinion has not been certified for
publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115 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
ONE




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THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. MARCO GARCIA, Defendant and Appellant.

B218364 (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. NA080279)

APPEAL from
a judgment of the Superior Court
of Los Angeles
County. John David
Lord, Judge. Affirmed.

Tracy A.
Rogers, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

No
appearance for Plaintiff and Respondent.









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An information filed December 29, 2008, charged appellant
Marco Garcia in count 1 with grand theft
of an automobile (Pen. Code, § 487, subd. (d)(1), and in count 2 with the
unlawful taking or driving of a vehicle (Veh. Code, § 10851, subd. (a)). The trial
court heard appellant's discovery motion under Pitchess v. Superior Court (1974) 11 Cal.3d 531, seeking disclosure
of items bearing on the issues of truth and veracity in the personnel record of
the arresting police officers. The court
granted the motion with respect to three items in the personnel record of one of the officers,
while otherwise denying the motion.

The case
was called for trial before a jury on June
11, 2009. The evidence at
trial indicates that after Maria Ramirez reported to police that her car had
been stolen on the afternoon of November
20, 2009, she later reported that she had located the car in the
neighborhood, and had seen appellant Garcia and his girlfriend getting out of
it.

Ramirez had
not given Garcia permission to use her car at any time. She had let Garcia stay in a room in her home
for about a month, but she was in the process of evicting him for failing to
pay promised rent and because she suspected him of taking some items from her
home. Officer Rodriguez arrested Garcia
and advised him of his rights under Miranda
v. Arizona (1966) 384 U.S.
436 [86 S. Ct. 1602; 16 L.Ed.2d 694]), after which
Garcia admitted taking the vehicle without permission, using a shaved key that
the arresting officers found in his pocket.

Garcia's testimony and that of his supporting
witnesses was that he had not driven Ramirez's car the day he was arrested, but
that in the past he had driven the car with Ramirez's permission, to run
errands and to pick Ramirez's children up from school. He denied having told Officer Rodriguez
anything different.

On June 17, 2009, the jury returned verdicts of not guilty as
to count 1, and of guilty as to count 2.
On July 8, 2009, the trial court denied Garcia's motion to reduce the
conviction to a misdemeanor, and sentenced Garcia to the high term of three
years in state prison â€