P. v. Jones
Defendant Raven Jones, Jr., was part of a group of young men who committed three residential burglaries on an October night in Folsom. They were caught attempting to break into a fourth house. When police arrived, defendant was in the front passenger seat of codefendant Perry Aquino’s car, which was parked in front of the house. Aquino was on the porch. Another man, Jeffrey Santos-Green, was alleged to have been part of the group. He was found about a mile away, walking through a parking lot in the rain, and was believed to have jumped the back fence when defendant and Aquino were arrested. Property taken during the three burglaries was found in Aquino’s car. Defendant and Aquino were convicted by jury of three counts of first degree burglary and one count of attempted first degree burglary. The trial court sentenced each man to state prison for an aggregate term of five years and four months.[1]
On appeal, defendant asserts: (1) there was insufficient evidence to prove that he either directly perpetrated or aided and abetted the commission of the burglaries and attempted burglary; and (2) the trial court prejudicially erred in declining his request to instruct the jury with certain language from CALJIC No. 3.01 on aiding and abetting. We disagree. As we explain, the record contains substantial evidence defendant aided and abetted the commission of the crimes. We also conclude the jury was appropriately instructed with CALCRIM No. 401 on aiding and abetting. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment.
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