People v. Rodriguez CA2/8

INTRODUCTION

This appeal arises from a capital murder case. Appellant Heriberto Rodriguez contends the trial court improperly instructed the jury and erred in imposing victim restitution on dismissed counts. We find no error and affirm.

FACTS

The Crimes Reviewed in accord with the usual standard of review (see, e.g., People v. Brown (2014) 59 Cal.4th 86, 105-106), the evidence presented at Rodriguez’s trial established the following facts. Count 1 (Murder) On November 16, 2005, Rodriguez and Christian Perez beat Chadwick Cochran to death in a communal dining area in the Los Angeles County Men’s Central Jail. All three were jail inmates at the time. During the course of the 30-minute attack, Rodriguez and Perez repeatedly beat Cochran with food trays, knocked him to the floor, punched and kicked him, and jumped onto him from benches in a manner which an inmate witness described as being like professional wrestling. Rodriguez and Perez also invited other inmates to join in the beating, which a handful did. When Cochran became unconscious a number of times during the attack, Rodriguez and Perez got glasses of water and splashed the water into Cochran’s face to bring him back to…