Filed 5/27/21 P. v. Vang CA5 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115. IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT THE PEOPLE, F077581 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Fresno Super. Ct. No. F16905542) v. THONG VANG, OPINION Defendant and Appellant. APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Fresno County. Timothy A. Kams, Judge. Han N. Tran, Rebecca P. Jones, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Xavier Becerra and Rob Bonta, Attorneys General, Gerald A. Engler and Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorneys General, Michael P. Farrell, Assistant Attorney General, Daniel B. Bernstein and Tia M. Coronado, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. -ooOoo- INTRODUCTION On the morning of September 3, 2016, appellant and defendant Thong Vang entered the public lobby of the Fresno County Main Jail while armed with a concealed .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun. He was on parole and had recently been released from prison after serving a lengthy term for committing multiple rapes. The jail lobby was busy with people who were checking in to visit inmates. Defendant stood by the metal detector and refused to move when requested by the correctional officer on duty in the lobby, who then called for assistance. Correctional Officer Juanita Davila responded and asked defendant to move away from the metal detector. Defendant refused and pulled a gun. After a brief struggle, defendant fired a single gunshot into Davila’s chin that shattered her jaw. Correctional Officer Toamalama Scanlan, who also responded to the lobby, tried to discharge his Taser at defendant. Defendant shot Scanlan in the head. Both Davila and Scanlan survived, but Scanlan suffered a traumatic brain injury and was left in a persistent vegetative state. Numerous officers from the Fresno County Sheriff’s Department and Fresno Police Department responded to the lobby and took defendant into custody at gunpoint. Defendant was charged and convicted of the attempted murders of Officers Davila and Scanlan, with other offenses and firearm enhancements, and five prior strike convictions. Defendant testified at trial and asserted he acted in self-defense because he believed the officers were going to harm him. He was sentenced to an aggregate term of life in prison with the possibility of parole, plus 50 years to life for the firearm enhancements, and consecutive terms of 20 years for prior serious felony conviction enhancements. On appeal, defendant contends the prosecutor committed prejudicial misconduct in two instances: by cross-examining defendant about his prior juvenile adjudication that the court had previously excluded, and improperly appealing to the sympathies of the jury in closing argument. Next, defendant argues the court failed to fully advise him of the 2. sentencing consequences when he admitted the prior conviction allegations, and his admissions …
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