People v. Anderson CA2/4

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedSeptember 25, 2020
DocketB293736
StatusUnpublished

This text of People v. Anderson CA2/4 (People v. Anderson CA2/4) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Anderson CA2/4, (Cal. Ct. App. 2020).

Opinion

Filed 9/25/20 P. v. Anderson CA2/4 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FOUR

THE PEOPLE, B293736 (Los Angeles County Plaintiff and Respondent, Super. Ct. No. MA072499)

v.

LENORE NICOLAS ANDERSON,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Stephen I. Goorvitch, Judge. Affirmed as Modified. Myra Sun, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Xavier Becerra, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey, Assistant Attorney General, Steven D. Matthews, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, and Ryan M. Smith, Deputy Attorney General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. Defendant Lenore Nicolas Anderson appeals from a judgment of conviction. By information, he was initially charged with battery causing serious bodily injury (§ 243, subd. (d), count 1),1 and vandalism over $400 (§ 594, subd. (a), count 2). During trial, the court granted the prosecution’s motion to amend the information to add a count 3, assault by means of force likely to cause great bodily injury (§ 245, subd. (a)(4)). The jury found defendant guilty of the amended assault charge in count 3. On count 1, the jury found defendant guilty of the lesser- included offense of misdemeanor simple battery (§ 242), and on count 2, the jury found defendant guilty as charged. In a bifurcated proceeding, the trial court found that defendant had suffered a prior strike under the Three Strikes law (§§ 667, subds. (b)–(j), 1170.12, subds. (a)–(d)), a prior serious felony conviction (§ 667, subd. (a)(1)), and two prior prison terms (§ 667.5, subd. (b)). The court sentenced defendant to an overall term of 10 years four months imprisonment, comprised of the upper term of four years on count 3, doubled for the prior strike, plus a consecutive term of one year four months on count 2, and one year for one prior prison term enhancement (the court did not impose a sentence on the second enhancement, and noted that it would strike the second enhancement if its failure to impose the enhancement were incorrect as a matter of law). On appeal, defendant contends the trial court erred when it granted the People’s motion to add count 3, when it denied his motion

1 Unspecified references to statutes are to the Penal Code.

2 for acquittal (§ 1118.1) on that charge, and when it denied his motion for a new trial (§ 1181, subd. (6)). We find no error. He also contends the trial court abused its discretion and violated his right to due process by denying him good-time and work-time pre- sentence custody credits (§ 4019). We agree (as the People concede) that the court abused its discretion by withholding 82 days of work-time custody credit. But we disagree with defendant’s contention that the court violated his right to due process in denying him good-time credit. Thus, we modify the judgment to add 82 days of work-time credit to the 329 actual days of pre-sentence custody previously awarded, for a total of 411 days of custody credit. Finally, we strike the prior prison term enhancements (§ 667.5, subd. (b)) pursuant to recently enacted Senate Bill No. 136. As modified, we affirm the judgment.

BACKGROUND2 On October 13, 2017, defendant approached his neighbor, Eduardo Carranza, while Carranza was inside his garage. After telling Carranza that he wanted to fight, defendant punched Carranza in the face. Carranza fell to the ground; not knowing why defendant wanted to fight, he told defendant to leave. Defendant walked away.

2 We limit our recitation of the facts to those matters necessary to a determination of the issues raised in this appeal. We do not address the facts supporting defendant’s conviction on count 2 for vandalism over $400.

3 Two days later, defendant again approached Carranza at his home. Carranza testified that defendant called out his name as he was about to get into a car where his wife, Cynthia Hernandez, and their three children had been waiting. Defendant approached Carranza, extended his right hand, and said that he wanted to apologize. When Carranza extended his hand to reciprocate, defendant grabbed Carranza’s hand, pulled Carranza toward him, and punched Carranza “hard” in the forehead. Carranza put his hands up to protect himself while defendant used both fists to punch Carranza on his nose, mouth, cheek, and both side of his head. Hernandez testified that she got out of the car and tried to pull defendant from Carranza, who had fallen to the ground, because she feared that defendant “was just going to beat him up until he couldn’t get up any more.” Her attempt was unsuccessful, and defendant continued punching Carranza. Carranza’s step-daughter, Lizette, testified that she watched from the car as defendant pinned Carranza to the ground and continued “beating” him. Lizette called 911 and told an operator that her father was being attacked and was “bleeding a lot.” According to Hernandez, defendant stopped his attack when he heard the police had been called. Both Lizette and Hernandez estimated that defendant’s attack lasted two or three minutes. Carranza estimated he had been punched 15 times.

4 When the paramedics arrived, they took photographs of Carranza’s injuries.3 The photographs were displayed for the jury, and Carranza identified a “boomerang-shaped, red area” above his left eyebrow, a gash underneath his lip, and abrasions on his left shoulder and arm. Carranza testified that he continued to experience swelling and pain in his face, head, and knee, and had blurry vision in one of his eyes. Defendant did not testify in his defense.

DISCUSSION I. Aggravated Assault Charge in Count 3 A. Relevant Proceedings Following testimony from Carranza, Hernandez, and Lizette during its case-in-chief, the prosecution moved under section 1009 to amend the information to add count 3 charging assault by means of force likely to inflict great bodily injury (§ 245, subd. (a)(4)). Defense counsel objected to the amendment on the ground that defendant’s conduct did not constitute means of force likely to cause great bodily injury. Counsel also argued the additional count would prejudice defendant because the battery with serious bodily injury charge on count 1 required the jury to determine that serious bodily injury was actually inflicted, whereas the added aggravated assault charge

3 Carranza refused to go to the hospital because he could not afford a medical bill.

5 required the jury to conclude only that defendant’s use of force was likely to cause great bodily injury. The court granted the motion to amend, finding the evidence presented at the preliminary hearing, as well as at trial, was sufficient for a jury to find defendant guilty of violating section 245, subdivision (a)(4). The court reasoned that the amendment would not prejudice defendant, because the new charge was based on the same incident giving rise to the charge of battery with serious bodily injury in count 1, and defendant would be able to further cross-examine Carranza, Hernandez, or Lizette by recalling them, or by calling them as adverse witnesses during defendant’s case. When the prosecution rested, defense counsel moved to dismiss count 3 under section 1118.1 on the same grounds it had argued during the prosecution’s motion to amend. The court denied the motion.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
People v. Anderson CA2/4, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-anderson-ca24-calctapp-2020.