People v. Horton CA3

I. BACKGROUND

On August 2, 2023, a police officer performed a registration check on defendant’s vehicle and found that the registration was expired. While speaking with defendant in the stopped vehicle, the officer observed signs of drug intoxication. Defendant performed unsatisfactorily on his field sobriety tests and was arrested. On October 1, 2023, a victim reported that his vehicle had its windows broken and one of its tires slashed. A bike and a scooter were taken from the vehicle. The following day, an officer found defendant in possession of the stolen bike. Defendant admitted to stealing the bike and scooter and further admitted that he had assisted in numerous other burglaries as part of a theft ring. That same day, a different victim who had had items stolen from his vehicle identified defendant as the culprit. The People charged defendant in four separate cases. In case no. 23CF04051 and case no. 23CF04747, the People charged defendant with second degree vehicular burglary (Pen. Code,1 § 459) and vandalism (§ 594, subd. (a)) as to the different victims. In case no. 23CF04748, the People charged defendant with vandalism (§ 594, subd. (a)). In case no. 23CM04749, the…