P. v. Alonzo
A jury convicted Doreen Banke Alonzo of the following five crimes committed against 69-year-old Andres Spiegl at his tow truck business/residence in Salton City: (1) kidnapping to commit robbery (count 1: Pen. Code, §§ 209, subd. (b)(1), 211) (undesignated statutory references will be to the Penal Code unless otherwise specified); (2) first degree robbery (count 2: § 211); (3) elder abuse with infliction of great bodily injury (count 3: § 368, subd. (b)(1), hereafter § 368(b)(1), (2)); (4) first degree burglary (count 4: § 459); and (5) conspiracy to commit first degree robbery and first degree burglary (§§ 182, subd. (a)(1), 211, 459).[1] With respect to the count 3 elder abuse conviction, the jury found true an enhancement allegation that the victim was 69 years old and suffered great bodily injury (§§ 368, subd. (b)(2) & 12022.7). With respect to the count 5 conspiracy conviction, the jury found that at least one member of the conspiracy[2] committed at least one of the following overt acts: Alonzo called a tow truck driver; the driver, Spiegl, was tied up; and money and property were taken from Spiegl.
At the sentencing hearing, the court first denied Alonzo's motion for new trial, which was based on her claim (discussed more fully, post) that the jury had committed misconduct during deliberations. The court found that any jury misconduct was harmless. The court then sentenced her to an aggregate prison term of life without the possibility of parole plus eight years.
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