People v. Tokhunts

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 7, 2025
DocketB330660
StatusPublished

This text of People v. Tokhunts (People v. Tokhunts) 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. Tokhunts, (Cal. Ct. App. 2025).

Opinion

Filed 11/7/25 CERTIFIED FOR PARTIAL PUBLICATION ∗

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

THE PEOPLE, B330660

Plaintiff and Respondent, Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. PA096368 v.

MUSHEG TOKHUNTS,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Michael Terrell, Judge. Affirmed.

Kevin Smith, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey, Assistant Attorney General, Wyatt E. Bloomfield and William H. Shin, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. _________________________

∗ Under California Rules of Court, rules 8.1105 and 8.1110, this opinion is certified for publication with the exception of parts 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the Discussion section. A jury convicted Musheg Tokhunts of felony child abuse, misdemeanor battery on a spouse, and felony battery with serious bodily injury. The evidence at trial showed Tokhunts grabbed and pulled his four-year-old son out of his mother’s arms, causing the child to suffer a broken elbow. The court sentenced Tokhunts to six years in prison, which included an upper term on the child abuse count. On appeal, Tokhunts argues the trial court erred by sustaining the prosecutor’s objection to one of his peremptory challenges, declining to admit evidence under a hearsay exception, failing to instruct the jury on lesser included offenses, relying on an aggravating circumstance not found true by a jury, and declining to award him custody credit for time served in another case. In the published portion of the opinion, we hold it is not structural error for a trial court erroneously to sustain a prosecutor’s objection to a single peremptory challenge. Assuming the court erred here, we conclude the error was harmless and does not require reversal. We reject Tokhunts’s remaining arguments in the unpublished portion of the opinion. We affirm the judgment. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND The People charged Tokhunts with felony child abuse under circumstances likely to cause great bodily injury (Pen. Code, § 273a, subd. (a)), 1 misdemeanor battery of a spouse (§ 243, subd. (e)(1)), and felony battery with serious bodily injury (§ 243, subd. (d)). The People alleged Tokhunts’s son, Daniel, was the victim of the child abuse and battery with serious bodily injury.

1 Unless otherwise noted, undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.

2 On all three counts, the People alleged an aggravating circumstance that Tokhunts has prior convictions that are numerous and of increasing seriousness. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 4.421(b)(2).) On the felony counts, the People also alleged an aggravating circumstance that the victim was particularly vulnerable. (Id., rule 4.421(a)(3).) 1. The People’s evidence The case went to trial. The People presented testimony from Tokhunts’s spouse, Narine. Narine testified that she and Tokhunts had been married for five years, but they were in the process of getting divorced. They shared custody of their child, Daniel. a. Uncharged incidents Narine testified to several incidents of uncharged domestic violence that took place in early 2021, when Daniel was four years old. The incidents seemed to stem from Tokhunts’s delusional belief that Narine was having an affair. During one incident, Narine woke up in the middle of the night to Tokhunts pressing a BB gun to her cheek. 2 Tokhunts asked Narine, “ ‘Who is your boyfriend? Tell me the name.’ ” Narine thought the gun was real, and she was worried Tokhunts would harm her. She eventually calmed herself down, pushed the gun away from her face, and told Tokhunts she was not cheating on him. A few days later, Tokhunts again accused Narine of cheating on him. Tokhunts started shooting the ceiling and walls inside the house with a BB rifle. Tokhunts grabbed Daniel—

2 Narine referred to Tokhunts’s guns as “BB” guns, while Tokhunts referred to them as “airsoft” guns.

3 who was sleeping upstairs—and took him to a hotel, where they spent the night. Another time, Tokhunts took Daniel to a pool during the day and refused to bring him home afterwards. Narine was upset and went to her cousin’s house. Tokhunts showed up at the cousin’s house later that night, and he brought Daniel with him. Narine thought Tokhunts was under the influence of drugs. Tokhunts started yelling from outside the house, threatening to shoot Narine’s “boyfriend” and anyone connected to him. He sent Narine a text message warning that her relatives might be shot in the head if her boyfriend was in the house. Tokhunts eventually drove away with Daniel. Daniel was seated in the front passenger seat of the car and was not wearing a seat belt. Tokhunts brought Daniel home the next day. Tokhunts took Daniel to a hotel a few days later. While they were gone, Narine discovered a security camera hidden in her closet. Tokhunts started yelling at Narine through the camera. He called her offensive names and yelled for her “boyfriend” to leave the house. Tokhunts then remotely activated the house’s alarm system. Tokhunts returned to the family home with Daniel the next day, March 1, 2021. He was angry and told Narine she did not deserve to be a mother. Tokhunts threw glass picture frames and shot a BB gun at the ceiling. Narine left the house with Daniel and went to stay with relatives. The relatives helped Narine get an emergency restraining order against Tokhunts. Tokhunts moved out of the family home that same day. A few days later, Narine filed a request for another restraining order.

4 b. The charged incident The events that led to the charges took place at the family home on March 12, 2021. Narine’s mother, Lala, was visiting at the time. Narine, Lala, and Daniel were sitting on a couch watching television when Narine noticed Tokhunts’s car pull up outside. Tokhunts walked into the house through a door he had broken the day before. He was angry and asked Narine, “ ‘Why are you lying about the restraining order?’ ” Daniel was seated between Narine and Lala. Narine wrapped her arms around the child, hugging his body. Lala told Tokhunts to calm down, and he took a seat on the opposite side of the couch. Tokhunts told Daniel to come to him, but Daniel refused and said, “I don’t want to go.” Tokhunts asked Narine, “ ‘What did you do to my son that he doesn’t want to come to me?’ ” Tokhunts stood up, grabbed Daniel’s hand, and started to pull the child towards him. Tokhunts pulled hard, and Narine let go of Daniel so he would not be hurt. Tokhunts started walking away while holding Daniel. Narine followed behind them, begging Tokhunts to leave Daniel with her. Tokhunts pushed Narine “hard,” and she fell backwards. Tokhunts left the house with Daniel and got into the driver’s seat of his car. Tokhunts put Daniel on his lap and drove away. Narine called 911. About three hours later, a police officer called Narine and told her Daniel was in the hospital with a broken arm. Narine went to the hospital, and she found Daniel crying with a cast on his arm. The doctor who treated Daniel testified that the child suffered a non-displaced fractured elbow. According to the

5 doctor, Tokhunts said he grabbed and pulled Daniel by the arm to get him to leave his mother’s house. The doctor asked Daniel what happened to his arm, and Daniel said, “ ‘he pulled me,’ ” referring to Tokhunts. Tokhunts was acting strangely at the hospital, and the doctor believed he was under the influence of methamphetamines. 2. The defense evidence Tokhunts testified in his own defense. He denied engaging in any domestic violence or substance abuse while he was living with Narine and Daniel. According to Tokhunts, he discovered in late February 2021 that Narine was having an affair.

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People v. Tokhunts, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-tokhunts-calctapp-2025.