People v. Flores CA4/1

Filed 1/22/25 P. v. Flores 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NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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, D082656

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v. (Super. Ct. No. SCD290664)

JORGE HUMBERTO FLORES,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of San Diego County, Albert T. Harutunian III, Judge. Affirmed. Marta I. Stanton, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters and Charles C. Ragland, Assistant Attorneys General, A. Natasha Cortina and Liz Sulaiman, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. A jury convicted Jorge Humberto Flores of battery with serious bodily

injury (Pen. Code,1 § 243, subd. (d); count 1) and assault by means likely to

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.

produce great bodily injury against victim N.M. (§ 245, subd. (a)(4); count 3) and of the same charges against victim L.Z. (counts 2 and 4). It found true great bodily injury enhancement allegations as to each count under section 1192.7, subdivision (c)(8) and, as to the two assault counts, 12022.7, subdivision (a). Flores admitted he suffered a strike prior conviction (§§ 245, subd. (a), 1192.7, subd. (c)(24), 667, subds. (b)-(i), 1170.12, 668). The court sentenced Flores to seven years in state prison: two years on the count 4 assault conviction of L.Z. (principal term) and three years for its section 12022.7, subdivision (a) enhancement, plus one year on the assault conviction of N.M., and another year on the remaining section 12022.7, subdivision (a) enhancement. The court stayed the sentence on the other counts and enhancements under section 654. Flores contends: (1) there was insufficient evidence he used force likely to produce great bodily injury as to the count 3 conviction involving N.M.; and (2) under section 1385, the court erroneously failed to dismiss the two section 12022.7, subdivision (a) enhancements. We affirm. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND In March 2021, shortly after N.M. left a downtown San Diego restaurant and bar, a man later identified as Flores ran up to her and punched her in the face with a closed fist. When her friend, L.Z., ran toward her, Flores also punched her face with a closed fist. N.M. was taken to the emergency room, where she received three stitches on her lower lip. Approximately one third of her tooth was chipped off, requiring a filling to restore it. The entire bottom half of her face and her jaw was dislocated. She testified that even at the time of trial, “every time I try to eat, try to talk, I have—there’s a crack in my jaw.”