People v. Gonzales

Appellant Celestino Mendoza Gonzales was convicted of voluntary manslaughter for shooting his neighbor. In the published portion of this opinion, we consider Gonzales’s contention the judge erred in using Gonzales’s conduct subsequent to the charged offense to aggravate the sentence. In the unpublished portion of the opinion, we consider his remaining assignments of error, namely, insufficiency of evidence to support the verdict; the judge’s refusal to instruct on involuntary manslaughter and on the right to protect one’s property from trespassers and intruders; denial of Gonzales’s motion to have the jury view the scene of the crime; admission of evidence of a gun Gonzales formerly owned; and failure to consider mitigating circumstances in imposing sentence. We find no prejudicial errors and affirm the judgment.

I

II.

A.-E.*

F. Sentencing: Use of Subsequent Conduct

The judge placed considerable emphasis, in imposing the upper term, on Gonzales’s 1984 conviction for firing three shots from a revolver at a gas station attendant (who was fortunately protected by bulletproof glass). (1) Gonzales contends it was improper to use this incident as an aggravating factor,…