1

Filed 8/31/17 (unmodified opn. attached) Order modifying published opinion filed 8/25/17 CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION TWO

I n re CHARLES G., a Person coming under the Juvenile Court Law

.

___________________________________ THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,

v. CHARLES G., Defendant and Appellant. No. A149593
(Contra Costa County Super. Ct. No. J1501141)

ORDER MODIFYING OPINION [NO CHANGE IN JUDGMENT]

THE COURT:
It is ordered that the published opinion filed herein on August 25, 2017, be
modified as follows: Beginning on the first line of page 3, the phrase, “ We reject Charles’s claim for a simple reason passed over by the parties:” is modified to delete “passed o ver by the parties

. ” T he phrase sh all read, “We reject Charles’s claim for a simple reason:”. There is no change in the judgment.

Dated: ________________________, P.J.2

Trial Court: Contra Costa County Superior Court
Trial Judge: Hon. John T. Laettner

Counsel:
Jamie M. Weyand, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.
Xavier Becerra, Attorney General, Gerald A. Engler, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Jeffrey M. Laurence, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Eri c D. Share, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, Joan Killeen and Amit Kurlekar, Deputy Attorneys General for Plaintiff and Respondent.1

Filed 8/25/17 (unmodified version) CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION TWO

In re CHARLES G., a Person coming under the Juvenile Court Law

.

___________________________________ THE P EOPLE , Plaintiff and Respondent,

v. CHARLES G., Defendant and Appellant. No. A149593
(Contra Costa County Super. Ct. No. J1501141)

Charles G. appeals from the juvenile court’s jurisdictional order in a Welfare and Institutions section 602 proceeding

. C harles argues that we should reverse the court’s finding that he carried a concealed firearm in violation of Penal Code section 25400 1 as unlawful because that statute is preempted by a more specific statute that targets minors
, section 29610, which the co urt also found he violated. Charles also argues there was insufficient evidence to support the juvenile court’s finding that he wi llfully resisted, delayed, or obstructed a peace officer in th at officer’s discharge of his dut ies in violation
of section 14 8. We disagree that section 29610 preempts section 25400 . We conclude the statutes prohibit different conduct and affirm the juvenile court’s finding s that Charles violated
both statutes . We agree with Charles that there was insufficient evidence that h e violated
section 148 and therefore reverse this part of the court’s ruling

.

1 All stat utory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated.2 BACKGROUND
In December 2015 , t he Contra Costa County District Attorney filed a petition alleging Charles committed a felony violation of section 29610 for possession of a
firear m by a minor ; a felony violation of section 25400 , subdivision (a)(2) for having a
concealed firearm on his person ; and a misdemeanor violation of section 148
, subdivision (a)(1) for resisting, obstructing or delaying a peace officer in that officer’s perf ormance of his duties

. In August 2016, the juvenile court commenced a hearing regarding Charles ’s motion to suppress evidence under Welfare and Institutions Code section 700.1 and regarding jurisdiction

. T he court denied the section 700.1 motion and su stained all three

counts , but subsequently granted Charles ’s motion to reduce the two firearm felony
violations to misdemeanors

. At a subsequent disposition hearing, the court committed
Charles to Orin Allen Youth Rehabilitation Facility for a six

- month r egular program.
Charles subsequently filed a timely notice of appeal.
DIS CUSSION
I.
Section 29610 D oes Not Preempt Section 25400 , Subdivision (a)(2 )

. Charles first argues the juvenile court i mproperly found he violated both
section 25400 , subdivision (a)(2) , which prohibits a person from carrying a concealed firearm, and section 29610 , which prohibits a minor from possessing a firearm capable of
concealment on his or her person

. He contends the juvenile court should have found he
violated section 2961 0 only because it is the more specific statute and, therefore, preempts section 25400, subdivision (a)(2). 2 The People agree with Charles that the statutes involve the same conduct, but argue that section 29610 does not preempt
section 25400 because it do es not prescribe lesser punishment. We do not further

2 Charles did not first present this argument in the juvenile court. Nonetheless, we consid er it here because it is of a pure ly legal nature. Charles may “raise for the first time on appeal a pure question of law which is presented by undisputed facts.” ( Hale v. Morgan (1978) 22 Cal.3d 388, 394.)3

consider the parties’ debate on this issue. W e reject Charles ’s claim for a simple reason passed over by the parties: a violation of section 29610 is not necessarily or commonly a violation of sectio n 25400, subdivision (a)(2) and, therefore, section 29610 does not preempt section 25400, subdivision (a)(2)

. A. General Legal Standards “ ‘Questions of statutory interpretation are, of course, pure matters of law upon which we may exercise our independent judgment.’ ” ( In re Tobacco II Cases (2009)
46 Cal.4th 298, 311 .) “[I]f a general statute includes the same conduct as a special statute, the court infers that the Legislature intended that conduct to be prosecuted exclusively under the special statute.” ( People v. Murphy (2011) 52 Cal.4th 81, 86 ( Murphy ) .) This “ Williamson rule
, ” first formulated in In re Williamson (1954) 43 Cal.2d 651, 654 ( Williamson ) , is a rule of judicial interpretation that is designed to “ ‘ascertain and carry out legislative in tent. The fact that the Legislature has enacted a specific statute covering much the same ground as a more general law is a powerful indication that the Legislature intended the specific provision alone to apply. ’ ” ( Murphy , at p. 86.)
The Williamson r ule is triggered “when ‘it appears from the statutory context that a violation of the special statute will necessarily or commonly result in a violation of the general statute.’ ” ( Murphy
, supra , 52 Cal.4th at p. 86. ) On the other hand, we do not

assume the Legislature intended to preclude prosecution under the general statute if it “contains an element that is not contained in the special statute, and that element would not commonly occur in the context of a violation of the special statute .” ( Id. at p. 87.)
B. Analysis
Charles argues that “[l]ike the Murphy defendant, [he] was prosecuted under two statutes prohibiting similar conduct

— the carrying of concealed firearms.” This is patently untrue; the plain language of the two statute s makes clear the y pr ohibit distinctly
different conduct. S ection 29610
, states: “A minor shall not possess a pistol, revolver, or
other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person.” (Italics added.) In other words, section 29610 only prohibits a minor ’s possession of a firearm , and the firearm need not be actually concealed

.4

On the other hand, section 25400, subdivision (a)(2)
, states in relevant part : “A person is guilty of carrying a concealed firearm when the person . . . [c]arries concealed upon the person a ny pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person.” (Italics added.) Thus, while s ection 29610 involves a minor ’s possession of
a firearm that is capable of being concealed
, se ction 25400, subdivision (a)(2) requires
that a person carr y and conceal the firearm. 3
The different conduct prohibited by the two statutes distinguishes the present
circumstances from those discussed in Murphy

. There, the defendant caused a stolen vehicle report to be filed with law enforcement ba sed on her false report that her car had
been stolen. ( Murphy
, supra , 52 Cal.4th at p. 85.) She was later convicted of a felony
violation of section 115, which prohibits the filing of a false “ instrument ” with the State

. ( Murphy , at p. 85.) On appeal, she argued her prosecution under section 115 was precluded by two more specific statutes, including Vehicle Code section 10501, subdivision (a), which prohibits the filing of a false vehicle theft report with law
enforcement. ( Murphy , at p. 85. ) The ap pellate court concluded that section 115 was a more general statute, as it applied “to a broader range of documents that may be filed in any public office” than did
Vehicle Code section 10501. ( Murphy
, supra , 52 Cal.4th at p. 88.) The main issue was
whet her a violation of Vehicle Code section 10501, the more specific statute, which prohibited the filing of a false “report
, ” would necessarily or commonly violate section 115, the more general statute, which prohibited the filing of a false “instrument

. ” ( M urphy , at p. 89.) The court concluded that regardless of the precise definition and formality of an “instrument,” the filing of a false vehicle theft report in violation of Vehicle Code section 10501 would commonly result in a violation of Penal Code

sect ion 115. Accordingly, the court, applying the Williamson rule, infer red that “ the

3 Consistent with this additional concealment requirement, another subdivision of section 25400
, subdivision (b)
, states that a person’s carrying of a firearm openly in a belt holster is not a violation of section 25400 ’s prohibition against carrying a concealed f irearm

.5

Legislature, in specifying that such conduct constitutes a misdemeanor, intended to create an exception to the felony punishment specified in the more general statute.” ( Mu rphy , at pp. 94

– 95.) Here, it is not necessarily the case that section 29610 is the specific statute and section 25400, subdivision (a) the general one . Each addresses specific subject matter, as indicated by the headings under which it is placed in the Penal Code

. 4 S ection 29610 is
contained in a Penal Code article and chapter about a specific subject, i

. e., minors ’ possession of handguns . It is within Division 9, entitled “Special Firearm Rules Relating to Particular Persons,” which is within Title 4 (“Firearms”) of Part 6 (“Control of Deadly Weapons”) of the Penal Code. Title 4 also contains section 25400. Se ction 25400 also is
in a division devoted to a more specific subject
, “ C arrying F irearms ,” and within a chapter and article that are about carr ying a concealed firearm. Nonetheless, assuming for the sake of argument that , as Charles argues,
section 29610 is the more specific statute, the conduct prohibited by that statute and the conduct prohibited by section 25400 are not the same . T he “poss ession” of a firearm by
a minor that is prohibited by section 29610 could result in a violation of the prohibition against a person carrying a concealed firearm contained in section 25400,
subdivision (a)(2) , but we cannot say it would commonly do so

. Thi s is in part because possession is far broader than car rying

. To “possess” a firearm means “having ‘ “ ‘actual control, care and management of’ ” ’ ” the firearm. ( People v. Hurtado (1996)
47 Cal.App.4th 805, 810, fn. 4, quoting approvingly People v. Mij ares (1971) 6 Cal.3d 415, 420; see also People v. Martin (2001) 25 Cal.4th 1180, 1186 [quoting Mijares ].)
Possession may be actual or constructive. ( People v. Peñ a ( 1999) 74 Cal.App.4th 1078,
1083

– 1 084.) It does not require that a person be armed or tha t the weapon to be within a person’s immediate vicinity . ( Id . at p. 1084 [possession “does not mean the weapon must

4 “ ‘The policy sought to be implemented [by a statute] s h ould be respected [citation], and to this end, titles of acts, headnotes, and chapter and section headings may properly be considered in determining legislative intent.’ ” ( People v. Romanowski (2017) 2 Cal.5th 903, 912, quoting Bowland v. Municipal Cour t (1976) 18 Cal.3d 479, 489.)6

be carried on the defendant’s person”]; People v. Osuna (2014) 225 Cal.App.4th 1020,
1 030 [“firearm can be under a person’s dominion and co ntrol without it being available for use”; “possessing a firearm does not necessarily constitute being armed with a firearm”].) R ather, it encompasses having a weapon in one’s bedroom or home or
another location under his or her control
, even when the in dividual is not present at the
location . (See, e.g., In re Carleisha P . (2006) 144 Cal.App.4th 912, 915, 918 [weapon and ammunition found in juvenile’s bedroom]; In re Ricardo A. (1995) 32 Cal.App.4th 1190, 1192 [same]; In re Jeremy G. (1998) 65 Cal.App.4 th 553, 554

– 5 55 [weapons and ammunition found at minor’s residence]; In re Arcenio V . (2006) 141 Cal.App.4th 613, 615 [guns found in side utility cabinet ]; In re Christopher K . (2001) 91 Cal.App.4th 853, 855 [pistol in nightstand drawer in motel room].) To “carry,” on the other hand
, as required by section 25400, requires something more specific

. As noted by one court, it means “ ‘to convey, or transport . . . ;’ and ‘to transfer from one place . . . to another.’ ” ( People v. Overturf (1976) 64 Cal.App.3d Supp. 1, 6, quo ting Webster’s New Internat. Dict., Second Edition, p. 412 .) 5 Notably, the Overturf court compared “carrying” to “having,” the latter relating to “an ‘act o r state of possessing ,’ ” and concluded that there
was “a distinct difference in th e two concepts.” ( Ibid

. , italics added. ) Another important difference in the conduct required by the two statutes concerns
concealment. P ossession under s ection 29610 does not require concealment, whereas carrying under section 25 400 does . To be sure, possession charges may be based on an
act that would also constitute carrying, but the crime of possession reaches a considerably broader range of conduct than that of carrying a concealed weapon. Not only do sections 29610 and 25400 address different c onduct , subdivision (a) address different purposes. In People v. Harrison (1969) 1 Cal.App.3d 115 ( Harrison ),
the court consider ed whether, under section 654, an individual could be punished both for

5 More recently, “carry” has been defined as “to take or support from one place to another; convey; transport,” “to wear, hold, or have around one,” or “to contain or be capable of containing; hold.” ( < http://www.dictiona ry.com/browse/carry [as of August 24 , 2017 > ].)7

violating a statute that prohibited ex

- felons from “pos sessing” a firearm and for simultaneously violating a statute that prohibited “carrying” a loaded firearm in a vehicle or on a public street . ( Harrison , at pp. 121

– 122.) In analyzing that issue, the court focused on the difference in the conduct proscrib ed by the two statutes and the different purposes served by them. Former section 12021 applied to “a person previously convicted of a felony and who own [ ed ] or ha [ d ] custody, control or possession of a concealable firearm, loaded or unloaded and whether i n a vehicle or not.” 6 ( Harrison , at p. 122 .) Former section 12031 applied “to any person and to any firearm, concealable or not, but only if it [was] loaded and he carrie[d] it either on his person or in a vehicle. Neither ownership, possession, custody or control is a statutory element in the unlawful carrying of a loaded firearm in a vehicle.” ( I bi d .) Regarding the purposes of the two
statutes, t he Harrison court observed: “[Former sections 12021 and 12031] strike at different things. One is the ha zard of permitting ex

- felons to have concealable firearms, loaded or unloaded; the risk to public safety derives from the type of person involved. The other strikes at the hazard arising when any person carries a loaded firearm in public. Here, the mere fact the weapon is loaded is hazardous, irrespective of the person (except those persons specifically exempted) carrying it.” ( Ibid .) 7

6 A successor statute to section 12021, section 29800, which similarly prohibits a person convicted of a felony from owning, purchasing, receiving or possessing a firearm, is in Division 9 of Title 4 of Pa rt 6 of the Penal Code, the same division as section 29610, which division is entitled, “ S pecial F irearm R ules R elating to P articular P ersons .”

7 See also People v. Blakely (2014) 225 Cal.App.4th 1042, 1057, distinguishing “mere possession” of a firearm from being armed or using a firearm for purposes of eligibility for resentencing under Proposition 36, noting: “ ‘ [T]he threat presented by a firearm increases in direct proportion to its accessibility. Obviously, a firearm that is available for use as a weapon creates the ve ry real danger it will be used.’ [Citation.] The same cannot necessarily be said about a firearm that is merely under the dominion and control of a person previously convicted of a felony. For instance, a firearm passed down throu gh family members and currently kept in a safe deposit box by a convicted felon would be under his or her dominion and control, but would present little or no real danger. ”8

Our Supreme Court later disapproved of Harrison ’s holding that section 654 did not preclude punishments under both of two statutes the defendant violated by the same act. ( People v. Jones (2012) 54 Cal.4th 350, 360 ( Jones ) ; see Harrison , supra , 1 Cal.App.3d at p p

. 11 8

– 119 [ indicating the punishments in that case were based on one act, defendant’s having a revolver in a vehicle that police found protruding from a seat during a traffic stop].) However, the Supreme Court did not reject th e Harrison court’s
conclusion that carrying and pos sessing a firearm are two distinct crimes

. Specifically, i n weighing the arguments fo r and against prohibiting double punishment under section 654, the Supreme Court stated , “ Additionally, former section 12021 criminalized possessing the firearm, while former section[] . . . 12031 criminalized carrying it. But under the
facts of this case , the possession and the carrying were the same act, not two separate acts.” ( Jones , at p. 359 .) Notably, in both Jones and Harrison , the defendants were
convicted of both crimes of possession and crimes of carrying , and in neither did the
court i mply th e conviction on both counts posed a conflict in the statutes or any other problem. (See Jones , at pp. 352, 353

– 360; Harrison , at pp. 117

– 118, 121

– 122.)
Mo reover, it appears fairly common for defendants to be convicted of both carrying and possession char ges in other contexts. (See, e.g., People v. Reed (2006) 38 Cal.4th 1224, 1230 [approving multiple conviction s of defendant on three separate weapons offenses arising out of same conduct: “possessing a firearm by a felon, carrying a concealed firearm, an d carrying a loaded firearm in a public space”]; People v. Padilla (2002)
98 Cal.App.4th 127, 131, 137

– 139 [affirming convictions of poss ession of firearm by
convicted f

elon and carrying concealed firearm in vehicle].) These cases reflect that possessio n under section 29610 and carrying under
section 25400, subdivision (a)(2) are separate offenses, that the two sections serve different purposes and that where an adult defendant violates both statutes even by the same act or course of conduct, he may be c onvicted of both violations

. 8 Under these

8 Charles also argues that the reasoning of another “special statute preemption” case involving sections 29610 and 25400, In re M.G. (2014) 228 Cal.App.4th 1268, “squarely applies here.” The case is inapposite and does not merit further discussion for9

circumstances, we cannot conclude that the Legislature necessarily or even likely
intended by enacting section 29610 to preclude prosecution of a juvenile under
section 25400, subdivision (a)(2). ( See Murphy
, sup ra , 52 Cal.4th at p. 87.)
Therefore , t he juvenile court did not err in finding Charles violated both statutes. In light of this conclusion, we do not address the other arguments by the parties regarding whether section 29610 is a special statute that p reempts section 25400.
II.
There I s Not Substantial Evidence That Charles Violated Section 148.
Charles also argues that the juvenile court erred in finding that he violated
section 148 by willfully resisting , delaying or obstructing a peace officer in the officer’s performance of his dut ies

. Specifically, Charles contends there is not su bstantial
evidence that he “clearly knew that [Officer] Berkley sought to detain him.” We agree.
A. The Proceedings Below
We summarize the pertinent evidence presented, and the juvenile court’s ruling made, in the course of the August 2016 contested jurisdictional hearing

.

1. Officer England’s Account Michael England , a police officer with the City of Oakley, testified that he was on duty in full uniform at approximately 3:2 2 p.m. on August 4, 2015 , in the area of the parking lot of the Oakley Main Street police station

. There, a man named Guillermo flagged him down and told him that a woman had approached hi m and said her home had just been burglarized. Guillermo dr o ve her up the street so she could retrieve her property. When Guillermo approached an intersection on Main Street, the woman got out of the car
, pointed to two individuals in the city park and said they had burglarized
her. Guillermo then drove to the Main Str eet police station. Guillermo, as he was talking

to England , p ointed out two individuals walking on a Main Street sidewalk and said they

a simple reason: it resolved a sentencing issue regarding the application of sectio ns 29610 and 25400, subdivision (c)(4), both of which dealt with “possession” (and not subdivision (a)(2), the provision at issue here). ( In re M.G. , at pp. 1275

– 1278.) The difference between a person carrying a concealed weapon and a minor possessing a firearm was not at issue in the case. ( Ibid .)10

were the individuals the woman had pointed out . The two individuals were wearing gray shirts, da rk

- colored jeans and backpacks , and were not doing anything out of the ordinary. England identified Charles as one of the m

. England further testified that he radioed to other Oak ley p olice o fficer s about the
incident. He then drove to within 30 yards of the two individuals in a marked patrol car
, at which time the two ran into a r estaurant. England then heard on his radio that another
officer had apprehended one of the individual s near the r estaurant. England drov e across Main Street to the restaurant, where Oak ley Police Officer Logan Cartwright handed him a green backpack with a revolver in it. England also testified that t he Main Street police station had a large parking lot in
front of it and wa s located across the street from a shopping center that contain ed the

rest aurant, a grocery store, and various other stores and restaurants. The re was a parking
lot area for customers a round th e se stores

.

2. Officer Berkley’s Account When England made his radio call
, Oak ley Police Officer Curtis Berkley was on duty, in unifor m, inside the Main Street police station . Berkley looked out the window and saw two individuals slowly jog across Main Street , one of whom he identified at the hearing as Charles

. T he other individual had on a blue backpack. Berkley drove his police car across the street towards the r estaurant there . He saw the other individual was
detained
, but Charles was not. Berkley drove around to the rear of the grocery store next
to the r estaurant. He saw Charles
, without his backpack, look at him and jump over a fence. Other officers later detained Charles

.

3. Officer Cartwright’s Account
Oak ley Police Officer Logan Cartwright testified that he was on duty on August 4, 2015. He was dispatched to the shopping center across from the Main Street police
station to assist in a residential burglary investigation , where he observed that Charles
and an other individual were detained. Based on what officers told him, h e searched the parking lot area for a green backpack with cartoon characters on it. He found a green ba ckpack with Ninja Turtles on it in bushes by a dumpster in the parking lot area behind11

the r estaurant. A

. 22

- caliber revolver
, some paperwork and clothing were in the backpack

. Cartwright gave the backpack and its contents to England.

4. The Juvenile Court ’s Ruling The juvenile court found the evidence showed beyond a reasonable doubt that
Charles had committed the acts alleged in all three petition counts

—he had been in possession of a firearm as a minor , carried a concealed firearm on his person, and
will fully resisted, delayed or obstructed a peace officer in the performance of the officer’s
duties . Regarding the last count, the court found that Charles did not flee from England,
but did knowingly flee from Berkley because he turned, saw Berkley and then jumped
over the fence by the grocery store

. 9

B. Relevant Legal Standards
To establish a person has willfully resisted, delayed or obstructed a peace officer in the performance of the officer’s duties, the People must prove (1) the person willfully

res isted, delayed , or obstructed a peace officer; (2) when the officer was engaged in the

p erformance of his or her duties; and (3) the person knew or reasonably should have known that the other person was a peace officer engaged in the performance of his or her duties. (§ 148, subd. (a)(1); In re Muhammed C. (2002) 95 Cal.App.4th 1325, 1329 ( Muhammed C .).) P hysical resistance, hiding, or running away from a police officer , as well as refusing an officer’s repeated requests, can constitute a violation of sec tion 148. ( Muhammed C.
, at p p . 1329

– 13 30.) We review the juvenile court’s decision for substantial evidence of evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that Charles violated section 148. (See People v. Jennings (2010) 50 Cal.4th 616, 638.) “Reasonable doub t is . . . ‘ . . . is not a mere possible doubt;

9 The court also rejected Charles’s contention that he was unlawfully detained, ruling that Guillermo’s information, Charles’s fleeing and his discarding of the backpack provided sufficient reason to detain him. Charles argues the court erred, and that his flight from Berkley was not a basis for arresting him under section 148 because Berkley lacked reasonable suspicion to detain him at the time. We do not further address this argument in light of our concl usion that there was not substantial evidence that Charles violated section 148

.12

because everything relating to human affairs is open to some possible or imaginary doubt. It is that state of the case, which, after the entire comparison and consideration of all the evidence, leaves the m inds of jurors in that condition that they cannot say they feel an abiding conviction of the truth of the charge. ’ ” (§ 1096.)
“Substantial evidence” means “ ‘ evidence that “ reasonably inspires confid ence and is of ‘solid value. ’ ” ’ ” ( People v. Marsha ll (1997) 15 Cal.4th 1, 34 .) “ In reviewing a claim for sufficiency of the evidence, we must determine whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could
have found the essential elements of the crime

. . . beyond a reasonable doubt. We review the entire record in the light most favorable to the judgment below to determine
whether it discloses sufficient evidence

— that is, evidence that is reasonable, credible,
and of solid value

— supporting t he decision, and not whether the evidence proves guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. [Citation.] We neither reweigh the evidence nor reevaluate the credibility of witnesses. [Citation.] We presume in support of the judgment the existence of every fact the jury reasonably could deduce from the evidence. [Citation.] If the circumstances reasonably justify the findings made by the trier of fact, reversal of the judgment is not warranted simply because the circumstances might also reasonably be
reconciled wi th a contrary finding. ” ( People v. Jennings
, supra , 50 Cal.4th at p p . 638

– 6 39.)
C. Analysis The parties appropriately focus their attention on whether there is sufficient
evidence to establish the first element of a section 148 violation

— that Charles wi llfully resisted, delayed, or obstructed a peace officer in the performance of th at officer’s duties and, specifically, whether , as the juvenile court found, Charles resisted Berkley’s effort to
detain him. T he inquiry centers on Berkley’s testimony . He testified that he drove his police car past where the other individual was being detained by a restaurant to the parking lot behind the grocery store next door, where he saw Charles look at him and jump over a fence. There was other testimony that Charles was seen earlier wearing a13

green backpack and that a green backpack was recovered from a dumpster in the parking
lot area behind the restauran t, inside of which was a .22

- caliber revolver. The parties interpret this evidence very differently. Charles asserts that Berkley’s testimony is devoid of substantial evidence of evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that
Charles had reason to believe Berkley sought to detain him. The People argue that Charles ’s claim has no merit because “[n]umerous officers

res ponded to Officer England’s report regarding the burglary suspects ,” and Charles ’s “flight from the officers and abandonment of his backpack demonstrates his knowledge that they sought to detain him,” as does his climbing over a fence when Berkley, dressed in a police uniform, spotted him. According to the People, Charles ’s “actions clearly demonstrate his awareness that the officer sought to detain him. Officer Berkley was not required to issue verbal commands to [ Charles ] in the course of the pursuit. In these circumstances, [ Charles ’s] conduct evidence d defiance in the face of the officers’ readily apparent desire to talk to him. The record thus establishes that [ Charles ] knew o r should have known that Officer Berkley was a peace officer engaged in th e performance of his duties. ( Muhammed C.
, supra , 95 Cal.App.4th at pp. 1329

– 1330.) Because a rational factfinder could conclude that each of the elements of section 148 had been met here, [ Charles ’s] adjudication should be affirmed.” We agree with Cha rles

. Although the People contend that Berkley was “chasing”
Charles in the parking lot and that Charles jumped over the fence “to escape apprehension,” they cite no evidence to support these specific contentions
, and we have not found any in the record. N othing in the record suggest s that Berkley “chased” Charles, said anything to Charles , such as order ing Charles to stop, or flashed his lights, sounded a horn or siren, drove particularly fast or close to Charles or otherwise acted so

as to indicate he w anted to detain Charles

. It can be reasonably inferred from the record that Charles abandoned a green backpack with a loaded firearm in it behind a dumpster by the restaurant and som etime later jumped over a fence behind the grocery store when he saw Be rkley in his police car

. This evidence is not substantial evidence of evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that14

Charles willfully resisted Berkley’s efforts to stop him. A person who seeks to evade police detection does n ot violate section 148 unless he or she also “willfully resist [ ed ] , delay [ ed ] , or obstruct [ ed ] a peace officer.” (§ 148, subd. (a)(1).) Though Charles ’s actions may have be en suspicious in nature, t he juvenile court c ould not reasonably infer from Charles’s abandonment of his backpack tha t he knew t he police were after him. His conduct is just as consistent with a general desire to avoid detection. Individuals in the vicinity of police, including those in possession of potentially incriminating items on their person, are free to go about their business until they understand police are intending to stop them. Charles did not violate section 148 by jog ging across the street, abandon ing his backpack or jump ing a fence to avoid the police un less he knew, or reasonably should have known, the police were pursuing him. The burden was on the People to establish this was the case in the juvenile court below. It did not do so.
T here is evidence that Charles’s companion was detained outside the restaurant. However, there is no evidence from wh ich it can reasonably be inferred that Charles was
with th at individual when detention occurred, knew about it or knew police were in the vicinity of the restaurant for the purpose of detain ing Charles. Charles and his companion were seen together going i nto the restaurant; they could have just as easily split up as stayed together after that point and it is speculation to suggest they did one or
the other. There is other evidence to consider in determining whether substantial evidence supports the juve nile court’s ruling. Specifically, earlier in the incident, another officer, England
, drove his police car within 30 yards of Charles and his companion when they either ran (England’s account) or slowly jogged (Berkley’s account) in to the restaurant.
The juvenile court correctly concluded this was insufficient evidence to support a
section 148 violation. We conclude that n o rational fact finder could conclude beyond a
reasonable doubt from this evidence that Charles knew England wanted to stop him
, parti cularly when all were in the vicinity of a police station
, where one would expect to

see police cars

.15

Under these circumstances, the paucity of evidence that Berkley took direct action to stop Charles by the fence behind the grocery store is fatal. Thi s is far different from
th e evidence offered in Muhammed C

. , relied on by the People. There, the police arrested defendant for willfully delaying the officers’ performance of their duties when defendant continued to speak to a suspect in the back seat of a police car after police ordered him away. ( Muhammed C.
, supra , 95 Cal.App.4th at p. 1329.) Such direct police action is lacking in the present case. In short, t h ere is not substantial evidence of evidence beyond a reasonable doubt
that Charles knew po lice wanted to stop him and therefore, we must reverse the court’s sustaining of the petition allegation that Charles violated section 148, subdivision (a)(1)

. DISPOSITION We reverse the juvenile court’s ruling that Charles violated section 148,
subdivis ion (a)(1). The court’s jurisdictional ruling i s otherwise affirmed. The court’s disposition order is vacated and this matter remanded to the juvenile court for a new disposition order that is consistent with this opinion

.

STEWAR T, J.

We concur.

KLINE, P.J.

RICHMAN, J.

In re Charles G. (A149593)16

Trial Court: Contra Costa County Superior Court
Trial Judge: Hon. John T. Laettner

Counsel:
Jamie M. Weyand, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defe ndant and Appellant.
Xavier Becerra, Attorney General, Gerald A. Engler, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Jeffrey M. Laurence, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Eric D. Share, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, Joan Killeen and Amit Kurlekar, Deputy A ttorneys General for Plaintiff and Respondent.