People v. Cervantes CA2/8

Filed 3/11/25 P. v. Cervantes CA2/8 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 EIGHT

THE PEOPLE, B332390

Plaintiff and Respondent, Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. MA082752-01 v.

ROSEMARY CERVANTES,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Kathleen Blanchard, Judge. Affirmed.

Alice Newman and Tanya Dellaca, 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, Kenneth C. Byrne and Allison H. Chung, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

_______________________

Rosemary Cervantes, convicted of two driving under the influence charges with associated enhancements, appeals her sentence, contending the trial court should have imposed only one sentence enhancement. We affirm the judgment. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND While driving on March 1, 2022, Cervantes attempted to pass other vehicles on the right by driving on the dirt shoulder of a road. She accelerated on the shoulder and lost control of her car, colliding head on with a car with two occupants, Heraceli and Jenny Meza. The Mezas were hospitalized for multiple days due to their injuries. Heraceli Meza suffered multiple broken bones and internal damage, and she required two surgeries to repair her leg and ankle. She was initially unable to walk and used a wheelchair and walker for months. Jenny Meza sustained a back injury that confined her to bed for three months. When speaking with the police, Cervantes admitted she had been speeding and claimed she lost control of her car when she swerved onto the shoulder to avoid a car approaching rapidly behind her. Cervantes told police she had consumed two beers before she drove her car. She had bloodshot eyes, her breath smelled of alcohol, and she spoke quickly with slurred speech. Various field sobriety tests suggested Cervantes was intoxicated, and a portable preliminary alcohol screening device measured her blood alcohol levels at .114 percent and .107 percent. Later breathalyzer tests measured her blood alcohol content at .11 percent. When arrested, Cervantes became angry. The arresting officer told her to put her palms together as if she were praying, and she refused. The officer demonstrated how to arrange her hands, and she responded, “I just fucking told you I’m not fucking