P. v. Lopez


Filed 6/1/11 P. v. Lopez CA2/4


NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FOUR

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. DARRELL LEE LOPEZ, Defendant and Appellant.

B225333 (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. KA088216)

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, David C. Brougham, Judge. Affirmed.
Murray A. Rosenberg, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.
Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Pamela C. Hamanaka, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Zee Rodriguez and Erika D. Jackson, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

Appellant Darrell Lee Lopez contends the court abused its discretion in revoking his pro per status and in excluding under Evidence Code section 352 the testimony of a witness he intended to call to impeach a prosecution witness on a collateral matter. Finding no abuse of discretion, we affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
A. Information
Appellant was charged by information with two counts of resisting an executive officer (Pen. Code, § 69) and one count of assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury (Pen. Code, § 245, subd. (a)(1)).[1] It was further alleged that appellant had suffered three prior convictions -- in 1998, 2000, and 2004 -- within the meaning of section 667.5, subdivision (b), and section 1203, subdivision (e)(4).

B. Evidence at Trial
On the evening of September 20, 2009, appellant went into a bar called Friar Tuck's. He began behaving oddly, lifting up his shirt, asking the bartender, Anden Smith, to lift up hers, and bouncing off the ropes of the stage area. He asked for a drink, but the bartender refused to serve him. Sami Marzougui, the manager of the bar, asked him to leave, which he briefly did, after challenging Marzougui, who was escorting him out, to fight. Appellant returned almost immediately, swung his fist at Marzougui and pushed him, knocking over several tables in the process. The two men wrestled briefly. Two patrons, John Himes and Matt Carriero, stepped in to assist Marzougui. The three of them held appellant on the ground while Smith called 911. While being held down, appellant bit Himes's hand hard, breaking the skin and causing a great deal of bleeding.
Pomona Police Officers Shaun Diamond and Lena Becker responded to the 911 call. When the officers arrived, appellant's nose was swollen and red and he had blood on his shirt and around his mouth.[2] The officers took him to a nearby hospital. Appellant was reluctant to allow medical personnel to examine him and refused to answer their questions. He was loud and verbally aggressive. A physician, Dr. Ivan Schatz, examined the abrasions on appellant's forehead and nose and cleared him medically to be booked.
Appellant was taken to jail. Officer Diamond and a jail attendant, Warren Clukey, placed appellant in the strip search cell and attempted to conduct a strip search. Appellant did not remove his clothing when instructed. Officer Diamond and Clukey were able to remove his shirts. When asked to remove his pants, appellant refused, expressing concern that the two men were planning to sexually assault him. Officer Diamond and Clukey, assisted by another jail attendant, Morgan Mallory, managed to pull his pants off.[3] But when instructed to remove his underwear, appellant stated: â€