People v. Fruits CA3

BACKGROUND

The first amended information charged Fruits with arson of a structure and forest land. (Pen. Code, § 451, subd. (c).)1 It further alleged that he had three prior strikes and prior serious or violent felony convictions. (§§ 667, subd. (a)(1), 1170.12.)

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.

1 Law enforcement was alerted to a man setting vegetation on fire along the Sacramento River. When they arrived, they noticed a fire in some bushes. They saw Fruits watching the fire but not making any effort to put it out, despite the presence of both water and a shovel nearby. A witness identified Fruits as the person who was using a torch to set the fires. At a preliminary hearing, Fruits’s competency was called into question. After receiving reports from three mental health professionals, the trial court found him competent. Also during pretrial proceedings, the court denied Fruits’s motion to obtain information from the investigating officer’s personnel files. The matter went to trial, but the jury was unable to reach a verdict. The trial court declared a mistrial after finding that the jury was deadlocked. After the mistrial and prior to the hearing on…