People v. Quevedo CA1/1

── People v. Quevedo CA1/1 ── Court: California Court of Appeal Date: June 08, 2026 Category: General Filed 6/8/26 P. v. Quevedo CA1/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115. IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION ONE THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, A171294 v. ISRAEL QUEVEDO, (San Mateo County Super. Ct. No. 23-SF-009891-A) Defendant and Appellant. Defendant Israel Quevedo appeals his conviction for arson of forest land. (Pen. Code,1 § 451, subd. (c).) He argues there is insufficient evidence proving he burned forest land as that term is defined by section 450, subdivision (b). We agree and, accordingly, we reverse the arson conviction and remand for a full resentencing.2 1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code. 2 As a result of our disposition, we need not address Quevedo’s other arguments for reversal, which are based on alleged instructional errors. 1  I. BACKGROUND Quevedo was charged by information with felony arson of forest land3 (§ 451, subd. (c); count 1) and misdemeanor possession of methamphetamine (Health & Saf. Code, § 11377, subd. (a); count 2), with a probation enhancement (§ 1203, subd. (k)) alleged as to count 1. During the jury trial, a witness testified that in June 2023, he was driving slowly on El Camino Real in San Mateo when he saw Quevedo “starting a fire on the grass northbound.” There was a “grassy area” to the left of the sidewalk, then there was the sidewalk, and on the other side of the sidewalk there was another piece of grass. The grassy area was dry with “a bunch of debris, grass or weeds.” He saw Quevedo kneel down and throw a branch on the fire, which had flames about two feet high and one foot wide. The witness continued driving then pulled into a driveway a block and a half away, where he watched Quevedo and called 911. He could see smoke about 10 feet high but did not see flames from that distance. As the witness was on the phone with the 911 dispatcher, Quevedo walked up El Camino Real towards him. Quevedo stopped in front of the witness’s truck and threw a big asphalt piece of rock into the street. Quevedo then crossed the street and went into a gas station. Another witness was jogging on El Camino Real and saw “some shrubbery . . . smoldering on the ground.” The smoldering was on the sidewalk’s “grassy area,” with “shrubs around.” The man he had seen kneeling down over the area had walked away before the jogger got to the 3 The information charged Quevedo with arson of a structure or forest land, but Quevedo states that the trial court, without objection, amended the accusation to charge only arson of forest land. 2 site. The jogger called 911 and a person came from across the street and doused the area with a water bottle. A San Mateo police officer described the location as a residential area, with housing on both sides of El Camino Real, which is a busy street. There was no fire or flames burning when he arrived at the site. The officer saw three burn marks, which he knew were burn marks because they were the only spots where there was no grass and he could see burn mark residue— black char or ash. He described the area where the burn marks were located as a “line of grass” and commented on “the burnt grass” at the scene. Several