People v. Henderson

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. HERMIN MARTIN TRUJILLO HENDERSON, Defendant and Appellant.

2d Crim. No. B291522

COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION SIX

December 17, 2019

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

(Super. Ct. No. 2016018638)

(Ventura County)

Hermin Martin Trujillo Henderson appeals a judgment following conviction of felony fleeing the scene of an accident that resulted in death (count 1), and misdemeanor destruction or concealment of evidence (count 2). (Veh. Code, § 20001, subd. (b)(2); Pen. Code, § 135.)

This appeal concerns Henderson's tragic and fatal traffic collision with Jonathan H., a juvenile bicyclist, just before midnight on February 18, 2016, in an agricultural area in Ventura County. The 14-year-old victim suffered extreme trauma and died immediately. A nearby surveillance camera captured the collision between the flatbed tow truck that Henderson was driving and the victim. Henderson did not stop at the scene of the accident, and on the following day he pressure-washed the tow truck and removed its damaged license plate.

Henderson now raises issues regarding the legal theory applied by the trial court and the sufficiency of evidence to support the knowledge element of his conviction. We reject his contentions, direct that the trial court prepare an amended abstract of judgment to reflect the assessments imposed at sentencing, and otherwise affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Henderson owned "Double R Towing," a tow truck business located in Ventura. In the late evening of February 18, 2016, he was driving one of his large flatbed tow trucks when he struck Jonathan H. at the intersection of Telegraph Road and Saticoy Avenue in Ventura.

Ventura Police Sergeant Michael Brown responded to the accident. He found the body of Jonathan H. approximately 100 feet from the area of impact. The juvenile was wearing dark-colored clothing, including a black windbreaker, a white T-shirt, dark jeans, and black non-reflective sneakers. He also wore ear-buds and his cellular telephone was in use. Brown found a black bicycle frame approximately 221 feet from the area of impact and other bicycle parts scattered nearby. The bicycle did not have a headlight. The intersection was remote and surrounded by agricultural fields.

Based upon the evidence at the scene and a surveillance video-recording obtained from a neighboring warehouse, Brown concluded that Henderson's tow truck collided with Jonathan H. at 11:57 p.m. He described the accident as "both of them appeared to be coming in the intersection at the same time." Thetow truck was a flatbed truck with a loud engine. The long bed of the truck could transport a full-length car or a pickup truck.

At the time of the collision, Henderson faced a green traffic signal and Jonathan H. was crossing the intersection against a red traffic signal. Henderson was driving at 58 miles per hour and Jonathan was cycling at 16 to 17 miles per hour. At approximately 62 feet after impact, Henderson activated his brake lights for three seconds. The lights then deactivated and Henderson continued driving eastbound on Telegraph Road. Brown opined that Henderson applied the truck brakes because he heard "something." Brown added that the brake lights deactivated "in the ballpark of where the bike was coming out of the back side of the truck."

The video-recording also reflects that another vehicle does not enter the intersection until approximately two minutes after the accident, or one and one-half miles behind Henderson's truck. This vehicle straddled Jonathan H.'s body and continued through the intersection. Soon after, two additional vehicles entered the intersection and stopped. These drivers saw Jonathan H.'s body and called for emergency assistance.

As part of his investigation, Brown and a police cadet recreated the accident. When Brown approached the intersection in the tow truck, he could barely see the cadet-bicyclist. According to the video-recording, Jonathan H. leaned his body to the left just before impact, and thus his height would be even lower. Brown concluded that the parties could not see each other until two seconds prior to the collision. He also estimated that the driver of the tow truck could not see objects behind the truck until the objects were 20 to 40 feet distant.

Henderson's towing company held a towing service contract with the city of Ventura. Consequently, Henderson was friendlywith many law enforcement officers. In later conversations with police officers, Henderson acknowledged that he was driving the tow truck during the night of the collision.

At 4:30 p.m. on February 19, 2016, Henderson telephoned Ventura Police Commander Thomas Higgins and asked to speak with him. Higgins and Brown drove to Henderson's tow lot and Higgins spoke with Henderson in a conversation recorded by Higgins's body camera. Henderson stated that he was driving the previous evening to assist another police officer jump-start his vehicle. While passing through the intersection, he felt "a thump" and suspected he may have struck a dog or small animal. Henderson stated, "It was more like a bump, like something went across either the rear-end or the . . . undercarriage or the tanks in the back. And I didn't think nothing of it . . . ." He then continued driving toward Oxnard.

Henderson invited Higgins to inspect the bumper of the tow truck. Higgins did so but did not observe any fresh damage. Brown noticed, however, that the front license plate had been replaced with the rear license plate. Henderson stated that he did not see a bicyclist or pedestrian in the intersection and did not think that he had struck someone.

Henderson stated that he learned of the accident several hours before he called Higgins the afternoon of February 19, 2016. He explained that a driver-employee, Sonny Rios, informed him that the victim was a 14-year-old boy and Rios's relative. Rios said that the collision involved a white flatbed truck and that there was a witness to the accident. Henderson then telephoned his attorney after speaking with Rios.

On February 22, 2016, Brown interviewed Henderson in the presence of his attorney. Henderson stated that he thought he had struck a dog or a pothole in the intersection while drivingto jump-start an officer's vehicle. He heard a thump but no other noise. Henderson then looked in his side-view mirror (the truck did not have a rear-view mirror) and saw a vehicle approximately 100 to 200 yards behind him. He decided to watch that vehicle to decide if an object lay in the roadway. When the vehicle proceeded through the intersection, Henderson assumed "it's nothing."

The next morning, Henderson cleaned and inspected the tow truck, as well as a second tow truck. He explained to Brown that he had California Highway Patrol inspections scheduled for the two trucks in one month's time. Henderson claimed that he applied a pressure washer to the underside of the two trucks to inspect for air leaks.

Henderson stated that on the morning of February 19, 2016, Rios telephoned him and informed him that Rios's relative, Jonathan H., had been killed in a traffic accident. Henderson informed Brown that he then realized that he had been involved in a collision. He telephoned his attorney and then changed the bent or crinkled front license plate of the tow truck by replacing it with the rear license plate which lacked registration tags. Henderson later retrieved the damaged license plate and gave it to law enforcement.

During another police interview held on May 3, 2016, Henderson informed Brown that he learned of the accident shortly before noon on February 19, 2016. He stated that Rios informed him of the accident and that he telephoned his attorney before noon that day.

Cellular telephone records established telephone calls between Henderson and Rios at the time of the collision, at 5:27 a.m. the following morning, and calls nearly every hourthroughout February 19, 2016. Henderson's attorney telephoned him at 10:22 a.m. on February 19, 2016.

In the late evening of February 19, 2016, Brown examined Henderson's tow truck. He found the underside of the driver's side of the truck clean and the metal bare; the section underneath the passenger side was dirty and greasy. The exterior of the truck appeared to have been recently cleaned. Brown opined that the truck had been pressured-washed. A surveillance video from an equipment storage yard reflected that Henderson drove into the yard that afternoon and left approximately 90 minutes later. The truck was dripping water when Henderson left the yard.

Following a court trial, the court found Henderson guilty of felony fleeing the scene of an accident that resulted in death (count 1), and misdemeanor destruction or concealment of evidence (count 2). (Veh. Code, § 20001, subd. (b)(2); Pen. Code, § 135.) It sentenced Henderson to a two-year prison term for count 1 and a 30-day sentence to be served concurrently for count 2. The court also imposed a $300 restitution fine, a $300 parole revocation restitution fine (suspended), a $80 court operations assessment, and a $60 court facilities assessment. (Pen. Code, §§ 1202.4, subd. (b), 1202.45, 1465.8, subd. (a); Gov. Code, § 70373.)

Henderson appeals and contends that: 1) the trial court erred by convicting him with an improper legal theory, and 2) insufficient evidence exists that he knew or reasonably should have known that he was involved in an injury or fatal accident at the time. Henderson asserts that these errors constitute prejudicial federal and state constitutional error in violation of due process of law.

DISCUSSION

I.

Henderson...