P. v. Hubbard
Filed 3/7/13 P. v. Hubbard CA2/2
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 This opinion has not been certified for
publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115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
TWO
THE PEOPLE,
Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
PATRICK DOUGLAS HUBBARD,
Defendant and Appellant.
B238652
(Los Angeles
County
Super. Ct.
No. BA376416)
THE
COURT:
Appellant
Patrick Douglas Hubbard (Hubbard) appeals from the judgment entered following
his conviction of first degree murder
in violation of Penal Code sections 187, subdivision (a), and 189.
to life for murder, which it doubled pursuant to section 667, subdivision
(e)(1), plus five years pursuant to section 667, subdivision (a), for a total
term of 55 years to life.
Hubbard was
accused of stabbing a man in the course of a
On November 25, 2000,
Michael Williams (Williams) saw a Hispanic male, later determined to be
Fernando Padilla Garcia (Garcia), come out of a salon located in a strip
mall. Garcia was then pulled back inside
by an African-American male. A few
seconds later, Garcia staggered out and fell to his knees.
The African-American male followed
Garcia outside and hovered over him. He
had a wallet and knife in his hands and was going through Garcia’s
pockets. Williams, who had come within
15 feet, turned and walked away. As he
walked away, he heard what sounded like a knife going into a human body. Garcia has been stabbed 29 times; four of the
wounds were fatal and caused death within minutes.
Williams called the police and
within minutes of their arrival, he provided a description of the suspect and
described what he had seen.
Investigating Officer Michael Pelletier found blood and signs of a
struggle inside the salon. A crack
cocaine pipe was found on the floor near the bathroom, along with a partially
smoked Newport brand cigarette and
a pack of Newport cigarettes.
Criminalist Elizabeth Swanson
swabbed blood in the bathroom and the floor at the front of the salon. She also took swabs from the crack pipe. DNA analyst Christine Sanders (Sanders) developed a DNA profile from the cigarette
butt in March 2001. In November 2001,
she developed a DNA profile for the crack pipe found at the scene. It was identical to the profile developed
from the cigarette butt. Sanders also
developed a DNA profile for Garcia and excluded his DNA from both the cigarette
and pipe.
The case went unsolved for many
years. Then, on August 31, 2010, detectives George Shamlyan and
Jeff Allen interviewed Hubbard at Georgia State Prison and obtained a buccal
sample from him for DNA testing. Hubbard
told the detectives that he did not frequent Hollywood
as he lived in South Central. He also
said that he did not know Garcia, did not recognize Garcia’s photograph, and
did not recall having ever been in Garcia’s salon.
Criminalist Patricia Zdanowski (Zdanowski) swabbed the
fingernail clippings that had been collected from Garcia, as well as a bracelet
and a hat that were found at the scene, for DNA. She submitted the swabs to Bode Technology
(Bode), together with reference samples from Garcia, on October 7, 2011.
Zdanowski also submitted Hubbard’s reference sample to Bode, as well as
the DNA profile from the cigarette butt that Sanders had developed in
2001.
Vanessa Covert (Covert), a DNA
analyst for Bode, testified that she received, analyzed, and compared the
items. The profile from the cigarette
butt matched Hubbard’s DNA profile. The
DNA swabs on the floor and bathroom matched Garcia’s DNA. The swab from the right fingernail had two
contributors, the major contributor being Garcia. Covert could not exclude Hubbard from the
minor profile of the fingernail clippings.
Latent fingerprints lifted at the
scene from inside the bathroom door matched an exemplar obtained from Hubbard.
On December 6, 2010, Williams identified Hubbard in court as
the assailant. Two and a half weeks
later, on December 27, 2010,
he returned to court for a conditional examination and identified Hubbard as
the assailant. He again identified
Hubbard at trial.
Counsel was
appointed to represent Hubbard in connection with this appeal. After examination of the record, counsel
filed an “Opening Brief†in which no
arguable issues were raised. On November 15, 2012, we advised
Hubbard that he had 30 days within which to personally submit any contentions
or issues for us to consider. No
response has been received to date.
After
reviewing the entire record, we conclude that it provides a factual basis to
support the conviction. Williams
testified that he saw and heard the stabbing; he provided the police with a
description of the suspect; he saw the knife in the suspect’s hand; and he
identified Hubbard at trial. Testimony
was also given by criminalists and DNA analysts, who determined that Hubbard’s
DNA profile matched the DNA profile from a cigarette butt recovered at the
scene of the crime.
We are
satisfied that Hubbard’s attorney has fully complied with her responsibilities
and that no arguable issues exist. (
441.)
The
judgment is affirmed.
NOT TO
BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS.
name="_ftn1" title="">* BOREN, P. J., Ashmann-Gerst, J., Chavez,
J.
name="_ftn2" title="">[1] All
further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated.
