People v. Ochoa CA4/1

── People v. Ochoa CA4/1 ── Court: California Court of Appeal Date: April 15, 2026 Category: General Filed 4/15/26 P. v. Ochoa CA4/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115. COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION ONE STATE OF CALIFORNIA THE PEOPLE, D085612 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. SCE419089) v. ABEL ALFREDO RIVERA OCHOA, Defendant and Appellant. APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of San Diego County, Daniel G. Lamborn, Judge. Affirmed. Courtney D. Reed, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Charles C. Ragland, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Arlene A. Sevidal, Assistant Attorney General, Christopher P. Beesley and Evan Stele, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. Abel Alfredo Rivera Ochoa appeals the trial court’s victim restitution order alleging the court lacked a factual basis for the restitution amount ordered and failed to account for an insurance payment paid to the victim. Finding sufficient evidence to support the court’s order and no windfall to the victim, we affirm. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND M.A. sells baked goods to his customers using a 2005 GMC Savana 3500 cargo van. On or about February 21, 2023, Rivera Ochoa crashed into M.A.’s cargo van, totaling the van and destroying the baked goods inside. Rivera Ochoa pleaded guilty to vandalism (Pen. Code,1 § 594, subds. (a) & (b)(1)) and reckless driving (Veh. Code, § 23103, subd. (a)). M.A. submitted a restitution request, claiming his estimated losses were $15,000 for his van, $8,000 for the baked goods, $985 for towing, $1,600 for a U-Haul rental, and $3,000 for lost wages. M.A. provided his purchase receipt for the baked goods, which totaled $7,779.76, and multiple towing and U-Haul receipts to confirm those losses. Additionally, M.A. provided a Kelley Blue Book estimated value for a 2007 GMC Savana 3500 Cargo Extended Van 3D with 100,000 miles. The Kelley Blue Book estimate was $8,995 to $11,832. Approximately two years after the collision, the court held a restitution hearing. At the hearing, M.A.’s restitution request was admitted as evidence. M.A. testified the estimates available online were not correct because they did not account for a cargo box on his van that made it like “a big truck with a box.” M.A. purchased his van one year before the collision for $15,000. He estimated the van’s mileage was around 150,000 miles at the time of the collision, and, while no evidence was elicited to determine how many miles had been added since he purchased the van, M.A. did not believe the vehicle 1 Further undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code. 2 had depreciated in value in the time he owned it. The prosecutor asked M.A. whether his van had certain features, and M.A. agreed that it had some features but not others. The prosecutor asserted the van’s features increased its Kelley Blue Book estimated value to between $9,791 to $12,486. But Rivera Ochoa’s counsel also asked M.A. to confirm if his vehicle had various “made-up, fake car parts,” such as a “gradual velocity shaft,” to which he replied, “Yes.” M.A. also testified to his other losses. M.A. purchased the baked goods for $7,779.76 before they all were destroyed in the collision. He did not get paid any income when he could not make his deliveries on the day of the collision, and due t