People v. Jose C. (In re Jose C.)

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In re JOSE C., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law.

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. JOSE C., Defendant and Appellant.

A165110

California Court of Appeals, First District, Third Division

April 3, 2023

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

Contra Costa County Super. Ct. No. J1900972

TUCHER, P.J.

Jose C appeals a restitution order entered against him after he was adjudged a ward of the juvenile court for committing murder. (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 602; statutory references are to this code unless otherwise indicated.) Jose contends the order, which requires him to pay $16,850 to the family of his surviving victim, includes some economic losses that are not compensable and some that are not proven by sufficient evidence. We affirm the order.

BACKGROUND ^[1]

I. Facts Giving Rise to the Wardship Petition

On the evening of November 5, 2019, Antioch police received a report of a shooting incident involving two juvenile victims, David M. and Alicia V. Subsequently, officers were directed to Kaiser Hospital, where David had transported Alicia. Alicia suffered a gunshot wound to the back of her head and was soon pronounced dead. David was admitted for treatment of a gunshot wound to his shoulder. At the hospital entrance police found David's car, with five bullet holes in the rear passenger side of the vehicle. At the crime scene, officers recovered four spent shell casings scattered in the area. Before interviewing David at the hospital, the officers also determined there were two prior cases involving these victims. One involved a fight between Alicia and another juvenile, Jade M. The other involved an incident when David had been followed home and confronted by an individual.

David reported that earlier that day, Alicia received a Snapchat message from someone who went by the name" 'Juju,'" asking to buy a marijuana "pre-roll" valued at approximately $10. Juju was an acquaintance of Jade, who used to be close friends with Alicia before they had a fight. David told the officers that the fight happened because Jade accused David of cheating on Alicia and that Jade had once arranged for someone to follow David home. David reported that he drove Alicia to a meeting location selected by Juju, where two males were standing in the street. David thought he recognized one of them as Jose, the person who had previously followed him home at Jade's behest. The other guy, Juju, approached the passenger side of David's car and tried to open the door behind Alicia, which was locked. Juju said he wanted the pre-roll, and David asked for money. Juju did not say anything more, but he had a gun. When David heard the gun click, he drove away, but as he did so, Juju shot Alicia.

David provided a physical description of both assailants and reported that he and Jose had been in a class together the previous year, when they attended the same high school. Regarding the prior incident, Jose and another person had followed David from the school to David's home. When Jose got out of the other car, David asked if Jose was going to "jump" him, and Jose responded by asking the same question of David. Then the driver of the other car picked Jose up and they drove away.

Police interviewed Alicia's older brother and guardian, Eric A. He reported that their mother had died the previous month and Alicia was selling marijuana to help the family financially. When asked if Alicia had complained about feeling unsafe or being followed, Eric immediately referenced the fight with Jade. In the aftermath of the fight, a suspicious vehicle parked outside their home on several occasions and Alicia received threatening messages from associates of Jade. Eric said the girls had fought because Jade was" 'talking shit'" about David.

The day after the shooting, detectives assigned to the case were contacted by the school resources officer at Freedom High School, where Jose and Jade were students. The officer reported that a teacher saw Jose and his brother the previous day near the crime scene shortly before Alicia and David were shot. When detectives arrived at the school, they interviewed Jade because another teacher reported that she was overcome with emotion and had information about the shooting. Jade described Jose as a close friend who wanted to be more than that. Early that morning, Jose had contacted Jade by text and said he thought Alicia could be dead, and, as the conversation continued, Jose provided more details. He said that he and Juju had planned to rob David, but when Juju asked to see pills, David refused. And when Juju pulled a gun, David drove away, which caused Juju's arm to get caught in the open window. Jose responded by pulling out his gun and shooting through the rear window of David's car.

Officers interviewed two of Jose's teachers. The teacher who had seen Jose near the crime scene had known Jose since Jose was in middle school. He reported that Jose was respectful but had been in fights with other students and associated himself with the Norteño street gang. When the teacher talked with Jose earlier that day, Jose referenced the fact that the two had seen each other the previous day, and said he had been on his way to give someone a haircut. But the previous day, Jose had told the teacher he was on his way home to his grandmother's house, which the teacher remembered because Jose's home was actually in the opposite direction. Another of Jose's teachers reported that Jose had told him that the shooting happened outside his grandmother's home and that Jose was afraid he would be blamed because he had to grab his gun.

Jose was located at the school, taken into custody, and interviewed at the police station. Meanwhile David selected Jose's picture from a photo lineup. Detectives also obtained a warrant for Jose's phone, which they unlocked using a password commonly used by individuals who associate themselves with the Norteño gang. The phone contained incriminating text messages and location information, indicating that Jose and Juju planned to commit an armed robbery, and showing that Jose's phone was in the vicinity when Alicia and David were shot.

During his police interview, Jose acknowledged understanding his rights and said he would talk, but claimed to know nothing about the shooting because he was not there. As the interview progressed, Jose changed his story and made incriminating statements. He admitted that he knew Alicia's boyfriend was David and that he had been to David's house, explaining that he went there because David had "been doing some 'foul stuff,' and had put hands on . . . Jade." Jose described how he had followed David home one day and warned him not to put his hands on women.

After repeatedly stating that he was not involved in the incident, Jose eventually admitted that he was there. When asked what" 'caused [him] to act,'" Jose responded that David" 'reached,'" but he continued to deny being the shooter. He said that it was his idea to buy marijuana from Alicia, and after he saw David" 'reach,'" there were six or seven gunshots. Jose denied shooting but would not identify Juju as the shooter, claiming not to know. However, at a later point in the interview, Jose said he was angry with Juju for shooting an innocent person. Jose stated he did not know the whereabouts of the gun, but later added," '[t]he gun is mine not his.' "

While Jose was being interviewed, police conducted surveillance at Jose's home and stopped two cars as they left the residence. In the trunk of one car driven by Jose's older brother Roberto, police found approximately 15 firearms. In the second car driven by Jose's grandmother, police found approximately $120,000 cash. Officers interviewed Roberto, who reported that he had driven home after he heard from another brother that Jose was being arrested but had not done anything. Roberto said he had not had time to learn the details, and explained that he was moving firearms out of his home to prepare for a construction project. Roberto confirmed that Jose had a friend named Juju and said he had heard that Juju's family were Norteño gang members. Roberto admitted that he had friends who were Norteño and acknowledged that Jose's high school believed the family was associated with that gang, but he denied the association.

On November 7, 2019, Jade was reinterviewed after her mother contacted the police. Jade reported that Jose told her that he knew that when he shot his gun through the car's rear window he hit Alicia, but he said he was only trying to help Juju. Jose told Jade that Juju and Jose's brother had run away afterwards, but he calmly returned to his grandmother's home and hid the gun in an air vent. During a subsequent search, police found a vent in Jose's bedroom that was partially unscrewed, a chair under the vent, and a screwdriver on the dresser.

On November 8, 2019, a detective followed up with David about the statement David gave on the night of the shooting. David clarified that Jose was standing behind the car on the passenger side. David did not see Jose with a gun, but he saw Juju pull out a gun. He did not see where Juju's gun was pointed and did not know if Juju shot the gun because as soon as he saw it, he drove off.

II. The Wardship Proceedings

The Contra Costa County District Attorney filed a petition alleging Jose came within the juvenile court's wardship jurisdiction due to his commission of two felony offenses murder with malice aforethought (Pen. Code, § 187, subd. (a)), and attempted second degree robbery (id. at §§ 211 & 212.5, subd. (c)). The petition contained enhancement allegations for felony murder (id. at § 190.2, subd. (a)(17)) and use of a firearm causing great bodily injury (id. at §§ 12022.53, 246, 12034, subds. (c)-(d)). The same day the...