P. v. Cruz CA2/4
APPEAL from a Judgment of the Superior Court of California. Lauren Weis-Birnstein, Judge. Affirmed.
Lenore de Vita, under appointment by the Court of Appeal for Defendant and Appellant.
Rob Bonta, Attorney General of California, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Noah P. Hill, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, Heidi Salerno, Deputy Attorney General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
Appellant Brian Cruz appeals his convictions for carjacking, burglary, false imprisonment, assault, reckless driving, and hit-and-run driving. At trial, Cruz repeatedly asserted he was incompetent to stand trial under Penal Code section 1368. Cruz pled not guilty by reason of insanity (NGI) and waived jury trial. After a two-phase bench trial (guilt and sanity), the court found Cruz did not meet his burden of establishing he was NGI, and found him guilty of all but two of the charged offenses.
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