The People v. Williams

Filed 8/8/

CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

THE PEOPLE,

F062575

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. VCF222476A) v.

DANNY VICTOR WILLIAMS, OPINION

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Tulare County. Brett R. Alldredge, Judge. Nuttall Coleman & Wilson; Law Office of Roger D. Wilson and Roger D. Wilson for Defendant and Appellant. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Michael P. Farrell, Assistant Attorney General, Julie A. Hokans and John A. Bachman, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. -ooOoo- Section 386 of the Penal Code proscribes the unlawful construction or maintenance of a fire protection system in a manner which threatens the safety of any occupant or user of a structure in the event of a fire. Since no reported case has ever

1. addressed this crime, we must interpret the statute as a matter of first impression. Our opinion holds that Penal Code section 386 requires proof of the defendant‟s specific intent to either (1) install a fire protection…

I concur in the reversal of the Penal Code 1 section 386 counts and the related conspiracy conviction. I also concur in the affirmance of the remaining convictions but do so with significant misgivings and concern over the number of meritless counts brought to trial. (See U.S. v. Smith (5th Cir., Aug. 11, 1993, No. 92-1612) 1993 WL 346875 .)

Quantity of Charges

Initially, the People filed a complaint against defendant alleging civil violations of Business and Professions Code sections 17200 and 17500. Eventually, the prosecution pursued criminal charges. Defendant was indicted on 112 counts. The prosecution dismissed 11 counts after presenting its case-in-chief at trial. The trial court dismissed 24 counts on a defense motion. The jury acquitted defendant on 22 counts. We now reverse and dismiss 27 counts. In their long trek from indictment to appeal, only two felony counts survived.

The.disposition of 84 counts in defendant’s favor raises the question of whether the remaining counts “may stand despite the taint introduced by . . . unfounded counts . . . .” (U.S. v. Smith, supra, 1993 WL 346875 at p. *5 .) My concern relates to the due process implications of the prospect…

Section 386 of the Penal Code proscribes the unlawful construction or maintenance of a fire protection system in a manner which threatens the safety of any occupant or user of a structure in the event of a fire. Since no reported case has ever addressed this crime, we must interpret the statute as a matter of first impression. Our opinion holds that Penal Code section 386 requires proof of the defendant’s specific intent to either (1) install a fire protection system which is known to be inoperable or (2) impair the effective operation of a fire protection system. We further hold the word “impair,” as used in the statute, means to make worse or diminish in some material respect.

Appellant, Danny Victor Williams, was convicted by a jury on 26 counts of violating Penal Code section 386 and one count of conspiracy to violate section 386. He was also found guilty of grand theft (Pen. Code, § 487, subd. (a)), 1 diversion of construction funds (§ 484b), and 26 misdemeanor charges for violating an assortment of regulations of the State Fire Marshal. The jury returned a true finding of an enhancement allegation pursuant to section 12022.6, subdivision (a)(1), for victims’ losses…