People v. Yuriar CA2/1


Filed 6/30/21 P. v. Yuriar CA2/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION ONE THE PEOPLE, B306024 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. KA121893) v. JOSE GERARDO YURIAR, Defendant and Appellant. APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Laura F. Priver, Judge. Affirmed. Erica Gambale, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Matthew Rodriguez, Acting Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey, Assistant Attorney General, Paul M. Roadarmel, Jr. and Stephanie A. Miyoshi, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. ____________________________ Defendant Jose Gerardo Yuriar challenges his conviction for assault with a deadly weapon. His principal argument is that the trial court erred in excluding evidence that the victim and an eyewitness requested a form to apply for an immigration visa available only to victims of certain crimes and certain family members of those victims, and requiring certification from a certifying agency, which includes a prosecutor. Defendant asserted the evidence was relevant to demonstrate the victim’s and eyewitness’s motive to shade their respective testimony to please the prosecutor. The trial court excluded the evidence under Evidence Code section 352. We conclude the trial court did not abuse its discretion in excluding the evidence because the inference of motive was weak and the admission of the evidence would have been unduly prejudicial given the prospect of juror bias against undocumented immigrants. We also reject defendant’s challenge based on the sufficiency of the evidence to the jury’s true finding of the great bodily injury enhancement. Finally, we reject defendant’s argument that the trial court erred in instructing the jury that defendant’s flight may be evidence of consciousness of guilt. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment. BACKGROUND We set forth here background facts and a general description of the proceedings below. We describe additional facts and proceedings relevant to the issues addressed in our Discussion. A jury convicted defendant of assault with a deadly weapon and found true a great bodily injury enhancement. (Pen. Code, §§ 245, subd. (a)(1) & 12022.7, subd. (a).) The jury acquitted defendant of two counts of committing criminal threats. 2 Defendant admitted that he suffered a prior conviction for second degree robbery. The trial court found the prior robbery conviction true and that the robbery conviction fell within Penal Code sections 1170.12; 667, subdivision (a); and 667, subdivision (b). The trial court sentenced defendant to prison for nine years, which included three years for the great bodily injury enhancement. On August 28, 2019, defendant approached the truck where Estrada and his father Mendez, were sleeping.1 The truck was …

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Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals