The People v. Grant

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent

v.DEXTER JAMES GRANT, JR., Defendant and Appellant.

C062286

No. P07CRF0187

COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT

Filed: October 29, 2010

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

This is a highly unusual case involving defendant's failure to register as a sex offender.

Defendant Dexter James Grant, Jr., appeals his conviction of failure to register as a sex offender after an address change. (Former Pen. Code, § 290, subd. (a)(1)(A).)¹ Defendantcontends (1) the trial court erroneously admitted into evidence defendant's admission in Alameda County that he violated his probation due to the same failure to register for which he was tried in this case, (2) his right to a fair trial was underminedby the admission of evidence regarding the circumstances of his conviction for lewd and lascivious touching of a 15-year-old, (3) evidence of his motive to avoid properly registering as a sex offender was improperly admitted into evidence, (4) the trial court erred in failing to instruct sua sponte that defendant's failure to register was excused by his reliance on the advice of his probation officer regarding when he had to register an address, (5) insufficient evidence supports his conviction, and (6) the cumulative effect of the errors he alleges denied him the right to a fair trial.

We reject defendant's contentions and affirm the judgment.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Prosecution

The El Dorado County District Attorney filed an information alleging that defendant failed to properly register as a sex offender between June 18, 2006, and April 17, 2007.² Defendant pled not guilty, and the matter was tried to a jury.

At trial, the prosecution adduced evidence showing that, in 2004, defendant pled no contest to lewd and lascivious touching of a 15-year-old (§ 288, subd. (c)(1)). The conviction required defendant to register as a sex offender. Following his 2004conviction, defendant was supervised by Chantell Curl, who served as his probation officer in Oakland, California.

Defendant met with Curl on a monthly basis from 2005 through 2007. During that time, Curl became perplexed. Whenever defendant met with her, he was always dressed in trendy clothing, smelled good, and arrived in very nice cars-such as a late-model Cadillac sedan. However, defendant repeatedly registered as a transient, always professing to be homeless. The other transients supervised by Curl typically appeared in soiled, tattered clothing and lacked any kind of a car.

Defendant told Curl that he earned $8,000 a month by handling payroll at his father's construction-glass company, but denied having any residence that he needed to register. He explained he was "a clean homeless person that stays with my friends." At one point, defendant told Curl that his uncle told him that he did not need to register an address as long as he did not "stay at a specific place for more than 48 hours.... "

Curl informed defendant that he was required to register any place at which he was living. The probation officer asked what parts of town he was staying around, and defendant responded he was a transient "in the Oakland Telegraph area." Likewise, defendant listed his address as "transient-Telegraph Ave" on his registration forms from May 2006 to April 2007.

On April 17, 2007, defendant filled out his registration form to indicate that he had neither an address nor an occupation. As part of his form, defendant initialed hisacknowledgment that: "Upon coming into, or when changing my residence address within a city and/or county in which I am residing, I must register or re-register in person within five (5) working days as a sex offender with the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction over my residence. [¶] If I change my registered address to a new address, either within the same jurisdiction or anywhere inside or outside the state, I must inform the last registering agency or agencies in person within five (5) working days before I leave. If I do not know my new residence address, I must later notify, by registered or certified mail, the last registering agency or agencies of the new address or transient location within five (5) working days of moving to the new address or location. [¶] If I am registered at a residence address and become a transient or if I am registered as a transient and move to a residence, I shall have five (5) working days within which to register with the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction over the new address or transient location. [¶] If I have no residence address, I must register in the jurisdiction where I am physically present as a transient within five (5) working days of becoming transient. Thereafter, I must update my registration information no less than once every 30 days with the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction over the place where I am physically present as a transient."

After defendant's meeting with Curl on April 17, 2007, several Oakland police officers clandestinely followed defendant's Cadillac to a gated community in El Dorado Hills.

Upon entering the gated community, defendant "began sort of erratic driving, which would be similar to counter-surveillance driving." Defendant eventually stopped at a community mailbox before using a key to retrieve mail from a box. Defendant then "stood there and watched the neighborhood."

The police officers got out of their cars and detained defendant pursuant to his probation conditions. Judy Wilson, a passenger in defendant's car, was arrested on separate charges.

Defendant's wallet contained $800 in cash. The car he had been driving contained the keys to a house located in the gated community at 4841 Village Green Drive and to two safes found at that address. Also inside the car was mail addressed to the Village Green house and an envelope containing $3,000 in cash.

Using defendant's key, the police officers unlocked the door to the Village Green house. Photographs of defendant were found throughout the house-especially around the fireplace mantle in the living room. The officers found an unrecorded deed to the Village Green house indicating transfer of ownership from Elisa Jaramillo³ to defendant.

The walk-in closet in the master bedroom contained men's clothing-including a belt with "KP" inscribed on the buckle. "KP" is defendant's moniker, and the house yielded a photograph showing defendant wearing the belt. Defendant's name was alsofound on the following items in the master bedroom: a box of checks, a furniture receipt, a Brinks alarm installation receipt, and a California Highway Patrol citation. Another wallet belonging to defendant was found inside a dresser drawer. Elsewhere in the house, police officers found a letter signed by defendant as president and CEO of DR Entertainment. A photo album was found containing photos of women posing alongside defendant.

At no time between April 2006 and April 2007 did defendant register as a sex offender in El Dorado County.

In Alameda County Superior Court on June 20, 2007, defendant admitted violating his probation by failing to properly register as a sex offender on April 17, 2007. Immediately following his release from jail, defendant registered his address as 4841 Village Green Drive in El Dorado Hills.

As we have noted, an information was filed in El Dorado County alleging that defendant failed to properly register as a sex offender between June 18, 2006, and April 17, 2007.

Neighbors of the Village Green house testified that they saw defendant move into the house in June 2006. They often saw defendant at the house, and observed the house to be the frequent site of parties attended by guests in very expensive cars and scantily clad, young women bearing suitcases. One neighbor saw defendant at the house on a weekly basis for three to four days at a time. Another neighbor believed that the Village Green house was used for a prostitution ring.

Defense

Defendant testified on his own behalf, acknowledging his convictions of sections 266 (pimping) and 288, subdivision (c) (lewd and lascivious touching of a 15-year-old). Following conviction of lewd and lascivious touching, defendant reported to Curl as his probation officer. Curl urged him to register an address. When defendant did not register an address, Curl asked: "Where are you keeping all your clothes and where do you reside?" Defendant answered that he had clothes at the residences of his father, brother, mother, girlfriend, a friend named Rachel Alvarez, and in his car. Defendant acknowledged that Curl "was really on me about getting a place."

Defendant explained that he ran "six different businesses," which included helping his father run Gold State Glazier in Sacramento, D & R Entertainment, an investment company that bought and fixed houses, and SP Entertainment. In 2007, defendant's work on parties alone netted him $130,000 by featuring music and political celebrities. However, defendant "didn't have a residence" in 2006 or 2007. He "had no need for a residence because you are at a night-club four days a week, work on construction in the daytime, and doing odd jobs on the weekend. What place do you need?"

As to the Village Green house, defendant denied owning it or living in it. Instead, defendant's connection to the house was limited to helping his friend, Elisa Jaramillo, move in and fix up the house. Defendant and Jaramillo were "real estateadventurers" who planned to fix up Jaramillo's three houses (including the Village Green house) and sell them for a profit.

In the Village Green house, defendant put up only a single picture, a large framed photograph of himself with his father. Defendant hung the photograph for...