People v. Mundi

1

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. HARBHAJAN SINGH MUNDI, Defendant and Appellant.

F084785

California Court of Appeals, Fifth District

October 31, 2024

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Tulare County, No VCF368642 Melinda Myrle Reed, Judge.

The Law Office of Anthony P. Capozzi and Anthony P. Capozzi for Defendant and Appellant.

Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Michael P. Farrell, Assistant Attorney General, Louis M. Vasquez, Lewis A. Martinez and Amanda D Cary, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

OPINION

PENA Acting P. J.

INTRODUCTION

In 2021, a jury convicted defendant Harbhajan Singh Mundi of first degree murder (Pen. Code, § 187, subd. (a); count 1) of his landlord, and mayhem (§ 203; count 3) and assault with a firearm (§ 245, subd. (a)(2); count 4) of the landlord's son, and found true multiple enhancement allegations. (Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.) In a separate phase of trial, the jury found defendant was sane at the time he committed the crimes.

On appeal, defendant asserts insufficient evidence supports each of his convictions, and he challenges the jury's finding that he was sane at the time of the commission of the crimes.

We affirm.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

In July 2018, Nizam Rajabali (Nizam), his son Jahan Rajabali (J.R.) and others met with defendant to negotiate the transfer of defendant's lease related to a property owned by Nizam. At some point, defendant pulled out a loaded firearm and started to shoot. J.R. managed to wrestle the gun away from defendant, but Nizam, J.R. and defendant were all shot during the incident. Shortly thereafter, defendant hit Nizam in the head with a hammer. Nizam ultimately died from the injuries he sustained.

In connection with the incident, defendant was charged with first degree murder of Nizam (§ 187; count 1), premeditated attempted murder of J.R. (§§ 664, 187; count 2), mayhem as to J.R. (§ 203; count 3), and assault with a firearm as to J.R. (§ 245, subd. (a)(2); count 4).^[1] It was further alleged defendant personally used and intentionally discharged a firearm causing great bodily injury or death (§ 12022.53, subds. (b), (c) & (d)) during the commission of counts 1, 2, and 3, he personally used a firearm during the commission of count 4 (§ 12022.5, subd (a)), and he personally inflicted great bodily injury during the commission of counts 2, 3 and 4 (§12022.7, subd. (a)).^[2]

Defendant entered a not guilty plea to the charges, and later, a joint and/or alternative plea to not guilty by reason of insanity. In light of his not guilty by reason of insanity plea, the court, in accordance with section 1027, appointed two approved mental health professionals-Drs. Trisha Busby and Doriann Hughes-to evaluate defendant in connection with this issue and to provide their evaluations to the court and counsel.

Prosecution Evidence

The July 24, 2018, Shooting

Defendant leased a convenience store in Farmersville, California that was owned by Nizam and his wife. On July 24, 2018, Nizam, his wife, and their son, J.R., traveled from their home in Southern California to meet with defendant at the store regarding renegotiating and transferring the lease. Gurpreet Singh, the prospective buyer who was also a family friend of defendant and was dating defendant's daughter, testified he had called Nizam and set up the meeting two weeks earlier.

At trial, J.R. testified he and his parents arrived at the convenience store at around 10:00 a.m. Defendant greeted them with a smile. Defendant's wife, Gurjant Mundi (Gurjant) testified defendant was happy that morning because the store was going to be sold.

They went to the back room of the store where there were several other people, including Gurpreet Singh, Singh's father and two of his friends. Gurjant was working at the counter in the front of the store while the meeting started in the back room. Everyone was talking for about 10 minutes about transferring the lease when defendant motioned for Nizam to follow him out of the back room and into the store. Gurjant testified she overheard defendant and Nizam talking; defendant was telling Nizam about his health issues and Nizam said he could kick defendant out of the store at any time because he was the owner. Gurjant testified they were arguing over the amount for the lease- Nizam wanted more money and they did not have more money to give.^[3]

According to J.R., defendant and Nizam returned to the back room approximately three to five minutes later. J.R. testified he saw defendant walking behind Nizam, holding a gun pointed at the back of Nizam's head. He stated defendant's finger was on the trigger. J.R. was approximately three to five feet away. He "pounced" on defendant and tried to get the gun away. As soon as J.R. got to defendant, he heard shots going off and Nizam fell to the floor. Defendant "kept shooting and shooting." After the shots, J.R. managed to get the gun away from defendant.^[4] J.R. testified he hit defendant with the gun a few times before pointing the gun at defendant and trying to fire it, but there were no bullets left.

At trial, Gurpreet Singh testified he was not paying attention when Nizam and defendant walked back into the room because he was talking to Nizam's wife; he did not see a gun at that point. Singh heard J.R. say, "No, Harry. No, Harry," referring to defendant. And then he saw J.R. and another person run, and "that's when everything took place." Singh testified he saw J.R. and defendant's hands "pulling each other" and "shots were being fired." Everyone was "confused"; "nobody knew what happened." Singh testified he did not know who fired the gun; "both of them were holding each other's hand," and he did not see where the gun was pointed before it started shooting.

However, Kristine Barklow, who had been a detective with the City of Farmersville Police Department at the time of the incident, later testified Singh told her he heard the shots being fired before defendant and J.R. were wrestling for the gun. Singh did not tell her he saw J.R. running towards the defendant, grabbing the gun, and then hearing gunshots after they started wrestling for the gun. Singh's father testified he did not know if J.R. got the gun from defendant before the shots were fired or after, when there were no more bullets, but he saw the gun in J.R.'s hands.

Thereafter, everyone ran towards defendant and pushed him out of the room. J.R. followed but he noticed his foot was bleeding profusely, causing him to slip. He had been shot twice; once in the neck and once in his right foot. J.R. testified regarding his injuries and related medical treatment. His neck had to be bandaged and he had to have multiple surgeries on his foot. Doctors removed the bullets and "put metal stuff in [his] foot." After the shooting, J.R. could no longer "sustain any physical activity" for long periods of time because his foot would start swelling or hurting. As a result, the injury to his foot "[p]retty significantly" affected his ability to do activities he used to frequently engage in, such as basketball, hiking, and biking; he no longer enjoyed them.

After the shooting, J.R. called 911 and reported "he shot my dad and me."^[5] He tried to capture defendant; defendant was fighting him. According to Gurpreet Singh, Nizam's wife was holding onto J.R. and Singh got hold of defendant and took him outside the room because they were fighting. Singh yelled at defendant. Defendant told Singh he was scared.

As the police arrived, defendant ran behind the store counter and then to the back room. Gurpreet Singh ran after him. Singh explained he saw defendant run back and he knew Nizam was alone in the back room. Singh testified that when he went into the back room, defendant was on the floor. Singh and his father helped pick up defendant and Singh saw a hammer, so he grabbed it. Singh walked out of the back room with the hammer, showed it to the police, and then threw it aside. He denied seeing defendant strike Nizam with the hammer.

Officer Barklow testified she was dispatched to the store at 1:05 p.m. on July 24, 2018, in response to a 911 call regarding a possible gunshot wound victim at the location. When Barklow arrived, there were several people at the front door, and it was chaotic. She saw J.R. with the gun and ordered him to drop it; he complied. People were shouting that defendant was the perpetrator. Defendant ran to the back room and Barklow followed. Nizam had been shot in the abdomen. The People introduced the footage from Barklow's body camera taken that day.

Later that day, Barklow and a second detective conducted a recorded interview with defendant at the hospital after reading him his rights. The video and a transcript of the interview were admitted at trial. During the interview, Barklow asked defendant what happened that day. In response, defendant began detailing his history with the store. He stated he operated his business for 15 years. Initially, in 2003 defendant and Moyses Ramos leased the business. Defendant stated he and Ramos invested money into the business and Nizam, the landlord, "was not investing a single penny." In 2008, they told Nizam they were going to have to spend around $120,000 to get new gas pumps and Nizam said he would not increase the rent and he would renew the lease in 2013. But in 2013, when it was time to renew the lease, Nizam raised the rent. Defendant stated, "[H]e was just sucking our blood." Defendant bought out Ramos's stake in the business, and then construction started outside the store and business became very slow. Nizam "g[a]ve no relief," and defendant became depressed and...