People v. Torres, B347614

A jury convicted Torres of felony evasion of a peace officer and misdemeanor DUI, and found true an aggravating circumstance that the evasion involved a threat of great bodily harm. 1
Torres led officers on a 15-to-20-minute, 17.2-mile pursuit across four cities at high speed, through stop signs and red lights, with headlights off and on the wrong side of the road. 2
Officers eventually backed off and tracked Torres by helicopter because his driving was too dangerous for close pursuit. 3
The trial court imposed the upper term of three years on the felony evasion count based on the jury’s aggravating-factor finding. 4
Torres appealed, arguing the aggravating circumstance was an element of felony evasion and was not supported by substantial evidence. 5

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Is threat of great bodily harm an element of felony evasion? 6	The People argued it is not an element and may aggravate sentencing.	Torres argued it is inherent in willful or wanton disregard.	No; felony evasion can be committed without such a threat. 7
Did substantial evidence support the great-bodily-harm aggravator? 8	The People argued Torres’s high-speed, reckless pursuit endangered others.	Torres argued no evidence showed actual danger to pedestrians or motorists.	Yes; the jury could find the conduct distinctively worse than ordinary felony evasion. 9

People v. Virgil, 51 Cal.4th 1210 (Cal. 2011) (standard of review requires evidence viewed in the light most favorable to the judgment 10)
People v. Flores, 75 Cal.App.5th 495 (Ct. App. 2022) (section 1170 permits upper terms only on aggravating circumstances found true beyond a reasonable doubt 11)
People v. Black, 41 Cal.4th 799 (Cal. 2007) (a single jury-found aggravating circumstance makes a defendant eligible for the upper term 12)
People v. Clark, 12 Cal.App.4th 663 (Ct. App. 1992) (an element of the offense cannot be used as an aggravating circumstance 13)
People v. Laughlin, 137 Cal.App.4th 1020 (Ct. App. 2006) (section 2800.2 broadly defines willful or wanton disregard 14)
People v. Howard, 34 Cal.4th 1129 (Cal. 2005) (felony evasion’s willful-or-wanton-disregard element is broad and not inherently dangerous 15)
Chavez Zepeda v. Superior Court, 97 Cal.App.5th 65 (Ct. App. 2023) (an aggravator must make the offense distinctively worse than the ordinary commission 16)
People v. Mendez-Torres, 113 Cal.App.5th 1007 (Ct. App. 2025) (substantial-evidence review presumes every fact the trier could reasonably deduce 17)
People v. Cuevas, 12 Cal.4th 252 (Cal. 1995) (substantial-evidence review considers the whole record, not isolated bits of evidence 18)
People v. Ortiz, 208 Cal.App.4th 1354 (Ct. App. 2012) (risk to officers and the public can support aggravation findings 19)