People v. Hart CA6

Opinion

Filed 8/27/26 P. v. Hart CA6 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SIXTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

THE PEOPLE, H053258 (Monterey County Plaintiff and Respondent, Super. Ct. No. 23CR003804)

v.

KEVIN DURRAN HART,

Defendant and Appellant.

Defendant Kevin Durran Hart appeals a judgment entered after a jury found him guilty of first degree murder (Pen. Code,1 § 187, subd. (a), 189). Appointed appellate counsel for Hart filed a brief asking this court to review the record to determine whether there are any arguable issues. (See People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436 (Wende).) Hart was advised of the right to file a supplemental brief but has not filed any brief. Finding no arguable error that would result in a disposition more favorable to Hart, we affirm the judgment.

1 All further unspecified statutory references are to the Penal Code. I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND A. Charges On January 24, 2024, the Monterey County District Attorney filed an information alleging that on May 5, 2023,2 Hart committed a deliberate and premeditated murder (§§ 187, subd. (a), 189; count 1) and misdemeanor resisting, obstructing, or delaying a peace officer (§ 148, subd. (a)(1), count 2). The information additionally alleged as to count 1 that Hart personally used a dangerous or deadly weapon (a glass tabletop) in the commission of the charged offense (§ 12022, subd. (b)(1)). B. Pretrial Proceedings On January 26, 2024, Hart entered pleas of not guilty by reason of insanity to counts 1 and 2. A few weeks later, Hart withdrew those pleas. On September 4, 2024, Hart’s defense counsel expressed doubt about Hart’s mental competency pursuant to section 1368. The trial court suspended the proceedings and referred Hart for an examination by a psychologist pursuant to section 1369. On September 18, 2024, upon consideration of a psychologist’s report opining that Hart is competent, the trial court found Hart competent to stand trial. In March 2025, the prosecutor indicated that he intended to proceed to trial solely on a theory of first degree felony murder occurring during the commission of a burglary and mayhem. On March 17, 2025, upon the prosecutor’s request, the trial court struck the word “ ‘premeditation’ ” from count 1 of the information. Additionally, the court granted the prosecutor’s motion to dismiss count 2, which eliminated the potential for evidence or argument regarding alleged 2 Unless otherwise indicated, all dates were in 2023.

2 police misconduct during Hart’s arrest. The court also heard argument and ruled on the parties’ in limine motions. C. March 2025 Trial At trial, the parties stipulated to the following: “On May 2nd, 2023, at approximately 7:20 [a.m.], Kevin Hart was transported via ambulance to the emergency department at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula due to seizure activity. Mr. Hart was treated at Community Hospital. He presented as somnolent, abnormally drowsy[,] and disoriented. [¶] While in the emergency department, Mr. Hart was given medications that are used to treat seizure disorders. [¶] Mr. Hart was discharged from the Community Hospital at 1:22 [p.m.] on May 2nd, 2023.” The prosecution’s evidence established the following: Around 4:00 p.m. on May 5, Seaside Police Department Officers David Dillon and Isaiah Madolora responded to an incident at victim Jackie Robinson’s residence.3 When the police arrived, Hart’s mother was outside the residence. The officers saw blood on the outside of Robinson’s front door. They knocked on the door. Hart eventually opened the door. He immediately dropped to his knees. He had blood on his hands and clothes, and a blank stare and confused look on his face. The officers heard labored breathing inside the apartment and found Robinson lying on the floor with “a lot of blood around her.” Emergency medical personnel eventually took Robinson to the hospital. The police officers arrested Hart and “read him his Miranda rights.” Hart told Officer Madolora that Robinson had been on the phone with Hart’s mother and “started lying to [his] mom,” so Hart “slapped [Robinson] for what she said. Straight up.” Hart then “[k]ept hitting [Robinson], kept 3 Robinson was the mother of Hart’s girlfriend.

3 hitting her.” Hart also hit Robinson with a table. In addition, Hart said to Officer Madolora, “Just take me somewhere and shoot me it’s cool. I already know.” Officer Madolora testified that Hart did not appear to be intoxicated. Later that night, Detectives Gabriel Suarez and Jacob Sweyd interviewed Hart at the police station. The detectives provided Miranda warnings, and Hart agreed to talk to the detectives. Hart stated that he had been staying over with his girlfriend at Robinson’s home. After his girlfriend left the home due to an unrelated medical issue, Hart “ended up finding out [his] stepdad” “was fucking with [] four of these girls he got in there [sic].” Hart spoke to his stepfather outside the residence (before Hart attacked Robinson). Hart believed his stepfather had a pistol and would have choked Hart from behind if Hart had gotten into the front passenger seat of Hart’s mother’s car. Hart explained to the detectives that he “tore [Robinson’s] face off” because he was “mad” at his girlfriend and wanted to talk to her to find out “ ‘[w]hat the hell is going on.’ ” Hart believed his girlfriend had had sex with another man. He wanted to get back at his girlfriend, but she was not then present. Hart explained, “So it was kind of like, I’m, I’m going to [do] the best next thing. And I hurt [Robinson]. So she was there and [] that’s what I swear it was. But I didn’t mean to do that, though. I didn’t. I [] was mad. I was mad. I was mad. And all that anger came out, you know what I mean.” Hart added about his girlfriend, “[s]he’s not there. So . . . I’ll get your mama. You gonna learn. You gonna definitely learn your lesson here.” Hart stated that he got “hold” of Robinson’s face, pulled about “150 times,” and stopped when his hands got tired. He also hit Robinson, including with a tabletop. While hitting Robinson, Hart heard someone at the door. He opened the door but did not see anyone, so he continued hitting Robinson.

4 During the police interview, Detective Suarez offered Hart an opportunity to write a note to Robinson. Hart declined saying Robinson was “not gonna be able to see” a note because he had pulled out one of her eyes and tried to pull out the other. Robinson died the next day (May 6). Forensic pathologist Dr. Venus Azar concluded that Robinson died from strangulation and blunt force head trauma. Dr. Azar explained, inter alia, that Robinson’s left eye was torn out, her right eye was damaged, and her left jawbone and right cheekbone were fractured. Robinson’s lips had extensive lacerations, her right ear was partially torn off, and her face was lacerated in several places. The evidence of manual strangulation included contusions to Robinson’s neck muscles, an injury at the base of her tongue, fractures to her hyoid bone and larynx horns, and injuries to the vessels that supply blood to her brain. The combination of strangulation and brain swelling caused Robinson to suffer several strokes. At the close of the prosecution’s evidence, the trial court denied Hart’s motion for judgment of acquittal under section 1118.1. Hart’s mother, stepfather, and a psychiatrist (Dr. Manuel Saint Martin) testified in Hart’s defense.4 Hart’s mother testified that Hart had been in a relationship with his girlfriend for about 12 years. Hart began having seizures in 2009. When he had a seizure, he became agitated, urinated on himself, and sometimes had convulsions. Hart’s demeanor would also swing rapidly between emotional extremes. On May 5, Hart’s mother and stepfather arrived at Robinson’s home, as planned, to pick up Hart. Hart’s mother noticed that Hart had the “blank 4 Hart elected not to testify.

5 stare” that he would sometimes have “when he was having a seizure.” Hart also “was very agitated” and wanted to fight his stepfather. Hart’s mother “had to grab [Hart] up in his chest and tell him that he wasn’t gonna fight [her] husband, and that [she] was his mother and that [she] wasn’t gonna have that.” Hart’s mother asked Robinson to call the police and told her husband to leave the area. Hart’s agitation subsequently subsided “a little bit” and he sat down on a curb. Hart’s mother left to check on her husband. When Hart’s mother returned to Robinson’s home, she saw the front door slam shut. Hart’s mother went to the door and tried to open it, but it was locked. She heard Robinson screaming inside. Hart’s mother then saw a postman nearby and asked him to call the police. Hart’s stepfather testified that he had known Hart (who was then 47 years old) for 37 years. Hart began having seizures about 15 years earlier. After that, Hart’s behavior changed. “[H]e was a whole lot more agitated. Very easily agitated. He slept a whole lot. He wouldn’t eat.” When having a seizure, Hart exhibited a blank stare, agitation, and irritation. These behaviors varied in length; Hart sometimes exhibited the behaviors for hours or even a few days. Hart once punched his stepfather. On May 5, Hart’s stepfather (and mother) arrived outside Robinson’s home and saw Hart walking a dog. Hart had “that blank stare” and was agitated. As they loaded Hart’s belongings into the car, Hart objected to sitting in the front passenger seat. Hart also “came at [his stepfather] and his mother grabbed him.” Hart’s stepfather walked away, leaving Hart with his mother and Robinson. Dr. Saint Martin testified as an expert in clinical psychiatry and neurology. Dr. Saint Martin conducted a clinical evaluation of Hart and 6 evaluated an MRI of Hart’s brain. Dr. Saint Martin concluded that Hart has brain damage in the right cerebellum, which has caused both a “partial seizure disorder and psychosis.” Dr. Saint Martin explained that a partial seizure affects “only some of the person’s functioning.” Although a person’s eyes may be open and they may still be “in contact” with their environment during the seizure, “their brain is not processing information and they may have unusual behavior.” The person “typically will have an absence of a facial expression and they appear to be staring out into space.” Dr. Saint Martin explained that “psychosis is when the individual is not in touch with reality.” Psychosis typically manifests as information processing deficits, disordered perception, hallucinations, or paranoia. There are three stages to a seizure: the “aura” or build-up to a seizure, the seizure itself, and the “postictal” or post-seizure phase. With a partial seizure, it is difficult to “tell just by looking when one stage ends and the next one begins.” Generally, the aura lasts between a few minutes and a few hours; the seizure is relatively short; and the postictal stage can last between a few hours and two weeks. During the postictal stage, a person has not yet returned to normal “baseline” functioning. If a person suffers from psychosis, their psychotic symptoms may be exacerbated during the postictal stage. Dr. Saint Martin explained that there is very low correlation between a seizure disorder and violence. In cases where a person engages in violent behavior, it most often occurs in the postictal stage. On cross-examination, Dr. Saint Martin acknowledged that a person with “brain damage could just think their girlfriend’s cheating on them and become filled with rage” unrelated to “any kind of brain malfunction.” Dr.

7 Saint Martin further agreed that “someone who has seizures can also at some point have a violent outburst that’s not associated with a seizure in any way.” After the close of evidence, the trial court instructed the jurors on, inter alia, first degree felony murder (CALCRIM No. 540A), mayhem (CALCRIM No. 801), burglary (CALCRIM No. 1700), assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury (CALCRIM No. 875), and mental impairment as related to specific intent (CALCRIM No. 3428). In his closing argument, the prosecutor argued, inter alia, that Hart committed burglary when he entered Robinson’s home intending to seriously hurt Robinson. The prosecutor further noted that he had “made a point [of] showing the blood on the outside of the door” and argued that “even if for some reason . . . [the jurors] were to believe that when [Hart] went in he hadn’t decided [to seriously hurt Robinson], that he came up with that decision while in the house, if he leaves and goes back in to complete the job, that entry at that point is the burglary.” Hart’s defense counsel made no objections during the prosecutor’s closing arguments. The defense argued to the jurors that Hart did not commit burglary because he entered Robinson’s home in retreat from his stepfather and did not intend to commit an assault when entering. The defense further argued that Hart did not commit mayhem because he did not have the specific intent to maim Robinson prior to the attack. During jury deliberations, the jurors asked for a readback of Dr. Saint Martin’s testimony and whether burglary required “full body crossing of the threshold of the door” or just “partial-body crossing.” (Underscoring & capitalization omitted.) The court provided the requested readback and instructed the jurors further as follows: “Under the law of burglary, a person 8 enters a building if some part of his or her body penetrates the area inside the building’s outer boundary.” On March 28, 2025, the jury found Hart guilty of first degree murder and found the deadly weapon enhancement allegation proven. D. Sentencing On May 7, 2025, the trial court sentenced Hart to a term of 25 years to life in prison for first degree murder (count 1) consecutive to a one-year term for the deadly weapon enhancement. The court awarded 734 actual days of custody credits and 0 days of good/time work time credits, for a total of 734 days. The court imposed a restitution fine of $300, a parole revocation restitution fine of $300, suspended, a $40 court operations assessment, and a $30 court facility assessment. The court ordered Hart to pay $13,269.08 in victim restitution. That same day, Hart timely appealed the judgment of conviction. II. DISCUSSION We have reviewed the record under Wende, supra, 25 Cal.3d 436 and People v. Kelly (2006) 40 Cal.4th 106. Having undertaken an examination of the entire record, we find no arguable error that would result in a disposition more favorable to Hart. We therefore affirm the judgment. III. DISPOSITION The judgment is affirmed.

9 ______________________________________ Danner, J.

WE CONCUR:

____________________________________ Greenwood, P. J.

____________________________________ Grover, J.

H053258 People v. Hart