People v. BeaumasterPeople v. Beaumaster
Opinion
Defendant Chapman (also known as Moore) was charged with nine felony counts. Defendant Beaumaster was charged with the same first seven felony counts as Chapman, and was also charged with two prior felony convictions. The counts are as follows, with each count except V, VII and IX also alleging that defendants committed the respective offense while armed with a .38 caliber revolver (a violation of Pen. Code, §§ 3024 and 12022):
Count I: Kidnaping for the purpose of robbery (a violation of Pen. Code, § 209); additionally alleging that the victim suffered bodily harm;
Count II: Oral copulation (a violation of Pen. Code, § 288a);
Count III: Robbery (a violation of Pen. Code, § 211);
Count IV: Assault with intent to commit murder (a violation of Pen. Code, § 217);
Count V; Assault with a deadly weapon upon a peace officer (a violation of Pen. Code, § 245, subd. (b));
Count VI: Assault with intent to commit murder (a violation of Pen. Code, § 217);
Count VII: Assault with a deadly weapon upon a peace officer (a violation of Pen. Code, § 245, subd. (b));
Count VIII: Assault with intent to commit murder (a violation of Pen. Code, § 217);
Count IX: Assault with a deadly weapon upon a peace officer (a violation of Pen. Code, § 245, subd. (b)).
Defendants pleaded not guilty, and they personally and all counsel waived trial by jury. Beaumaster denied the prior felony convictions, and his motion under Penal Code section 995 was denied. Defendants were found guilty as charged in counts I, 1 II, HI, TV, and VI, and not guilty of the other counts. Defendants were found to be armed at the time of commission of the offenses and under circumstances to bring them within Penal Code sections 3024 and 12022 for counts H, IV and VI, but not within those sections for counts I and III. Chapman was found to be armed when arrested, while Beaumaster was found not to be armed when arrested. One of Beaumaster’s prior felony convictions was found to be true. His motion for a new trial was denied. Probation was denied both defendants. Counts H, III, IV and VI were ordered merged into count I. Defendants were sentenced to state prison for the term of their natural lives, with possibility of parole, on count I, and for the term prescribed by law as to the merged counts. Beaumaster’s sentence was ordered to run concurrently with any existing federal sentence. Chapman’s sentence was ordered to run concurrently with any sentence theretofore imposed by any other court.
On the evening of May 27, 1969, Mrs. J. went to a laundromat near her home to do her laundry. While she was in the laundromat and alone, Chapman walked in, looked around, and picked up Mrs. J.’s purse from a table where she had placed it. He asked if it was hers. She told him it was, and Chapman asked her to come with him. She hesitated, and Chapman pulled out a gun and pointed it at her, causing her to fear for her life. He directed Mrs. J. to a vehicle parked directly in front of the laundromat. When she asked him why he was taking her, he said, “Be quiet, or I’ll blow your head off.” Mrs. J. then got in the vehicle, which
Both defendants appeal from the judgment of conviction. Beaumaster contends: (1) there is insufficient evidence of conspiracy or aiding and abetting to sustain his conviction for assault with intent to commit murder; (2) the evidence is insufficient to sustain his conviction of kidnaping for the purpose of robbery; (3) he could not be convicted of both kidnaping and oral copulation since they were both a part of the same course of
Beaumaster’s first two contentions are based on insufficiency of the evidence. An appellate court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the prevailing party, and presume in support of the judgment the existence of every fact the trier could reasonably deduce from the evidence.
(People
v.
Reilly,
Beaumaster’s second contention is that it was unreasonable to find that the kidnaping was for the purpose of robbery. Defendant argues that the robbery was completed before Mrs. J. was forced to leave the laundromat, and therefore the kidnaping was not for the purpose of robbery. While it is true that Chapman had the victim’s purse in his possession at the time the abduction took place, it was Beaumaster who made the inquiry of the victim as to how much money she had and asked about the rings and jewelry. This was at the inception of the asportation. Robbery, unlike burglary, is not confined to a fixed locus, but is frequently spread over a considerable distance and varying periods of time.
(People
v.
Ketchel,
Before we can reach a conclusion on the conviction of the charge of kidnaping for the purpose of robbery, we must first decide if the critera established in
People
v.
Daniels,
Whether a defendant is a “kidnaper” under
Daniels, Mutch,
and
Timmons
will normally be a question of fact to be determined in light of the totality of the circumstances of the particular case. (See
People
v.
Mutch, supra,
at p. 400, Justice Sullivan’s concurring opinion; see also
People
v.
Moreland,
In the instant case, the determination of whether defendants’ conduct is proscribed by Penal Code section 209 becomes an evaluation process conducted in light of the facts and prior decisions. This process of evaluation requires that the trial court look at the actual events (1) to see if the asportation of the victim was done merely to effecuate or facilitate the commission of the dominant crime without a substantial increase in the risk of harm
(People
v.
Daniels, supra,
at pp. 1130-1131;
People
v.
Moore, supra,
at p. 671); (2) to examine the intent and objective of the defendant in effecting the movement of his victim
(People
v.
Dacy,
As has been reasoned in
People
v.
Mutch, supra,
The conviction and sentencing for both the robbery and the kidnaping for purposes of robbery, though two separate and distinct crimes under the circumstances of this case (see
In re Wright,
Beaumaster’s final contention is that the kidnaping and the sexual assault were a part of the same course of conduct and he should therefore have been convicted of only one offense. We cannot agree. We have determined that the conviction for kidnaping for the purpose of robbery must be affirmed; certainly, the added development of the sexual violation is not fused into that crime. To determine whether several criminal acts constitute a single course of conduct, the court must look to the intent and objective of the defendant in committing the acts.
(In re Ward,
In defendant Beaumaster’s case, the judgment of conviction is affirmed as to counts I, II, III, IV and VI, but the sentence as to count HI is eliminated.
Defendant Chapman contends Eat the trial judge should have been disqualified because the judge was present when Chapman tried to enter a guilty plea. On this fact, defendant claims Eat Ee judge was prejudiced and could not be impartial at the trial. At Ee outset we note that unless a timely objection is made to Ee assignment of the trial judge or to his hearing the case, the issue cannot be raised for the first time on appeal. (See
People
v.
Garn,
Chapman next contends that his counsel was incompetent because he did not move to disqualify Ee judge on Ee grounds discussed
supra,
and Eerefore he did not receive a fair trial. There are, no doubt, an infinite number of reasons why counsel would not avail themselves of Ee opportunity to disqualify a judge. The failure to do so is wiEin the competence of counsel, and does not show ineffective counsel. Defendant cites several cases (i.e.,
People
v.
Ibarra,
The analyses and conclusion reached supra as to defendant Beaumaster are equally applicable to defendant Chapman with respect to the application of Penal Code section 654.
In defendant Chapman’s case, the judgment of conviction is affirmed as to counts I, II, III, IV, and VI, but the sentence as to count III is eliminated.
Kaus, P. J., and Reppy, J., concurred.
Notes
The court at first found that the victim had suffered bodily harm, but later retracted this part of its finding.
These acts all transpired while the car was being driven. Mrs. J was forced into the car near Magnolia and Laurel Canyon, and defendants were stopped near Ben and Elkwood.
We do not deem it necessary to discuss defendant’s liability on the theory of aiding and abetting, although we believe there was sufficient evidence to sustain a conviction on this theory also. (See
People
v.
Durham,
Penal Code section 207, in pertinent part, defines kidnaping as follows: ’“Every person who forcibly steals, takes or arrests any person in this State and carries him into another country, state, or county or into another part of the same county ... is guilty of kidnaping.”
This section, in pertinent part, provides: “A person is guilty of kidnaping if he unlawfully removes another from his place of residence or business or a substantial distance from the vicinity where he is found or if he unlawfully confines another for a substantial period in a place of isolation. . . .”
This section, as amended, in pertinent part states: “Any person who . . . kidnaps or carries away any individual to commit robbery, or any person who aids or abets any such act, is guilty of a felony and upon conviction thereof shall suffer death or shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for life without possibility of parole, at the discretion of the jury trying the same, in cases in which the person or persons subjected to such kidnaping suffers or suffer bodily harm or shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for life with possibility of parole in cases where such person or persons do not suffer bodily harm."
The New York court in
People
v.
Miles,
In Daniels, supra (at pp. 1137-1139), the court refers to this section in most complimentary terms.
Penal Code section 208: “Kidnaping is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison not less than one nor more than twenty-five years.”
Penal Code section 654, in pertinent part, provides: “An act or omission which is made punishable in different ways by different provisions of this code may be punished under either of such provisions, but in no case can it be punished under more than one; an acquittal or conviction and sentence under either one bars a prosecution for the same act or omission under any other. . . .”