People v. Watt CA2/8

Filed 4/3/25 P. v. Watt CA2/8 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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, B336414

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BA509348) v.

ANDREW JOHN WATT,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Kim L. Nguyen, Judge. Affirmed.

Cynthia L. Barnes, 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, Jason Tran and Charles Chung, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

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Defendant and appellant Andrew John Watt’s sole contention on appeal is that the trial court erred in ordering restitution to reimburse the victim for lost wages. Defendant says the victim received full pay through her employee benefits for the time she lost from work and therefore had not shown any actual lost wages. We affirm the restitution order. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL SUMMARY In August 2023, defendant pled guilty to one count of driving under the influence (DUI) causing injury within 10 years of a separate DUI offense (Veh. Code, § 23153, subd. (a)). Pursuant to the plea agreement, the court suspended imposition of sentence and placed defendant on three years formal probation according to various terms and conditions. The court also ordered defendant to serve 90 days in county jail with credit for two days served. On January 10, 2024, the court held a restitution hearing. Rubi Barragan, the victim who was struck by defendant while he was driving under the influence, testified to the damages she suffered as a result of the accident, including damage to her car, medical injuries and lost wages. Ms. Barragan testified she missed approximately two weeks from her job at Spectrum in El Segundo where she had been an office worker at the time of the accident. She was paid for the lost time, but she had to use 11 days of vacation time, three days of sick leave, and one personal day. The value of her lost wages for that time period equaled $4,078.85. At the time of the hearing, she was working for a new employer. The court rejected defendant’s argument that because of her employee benefits, the victim had not suffered any actual lost wages. The court found the amount of victim restitution established by the People on behalf of Ms. Barragan was reasonable and appropriate, and ordered defendant to pay total restitution in the amount of $5,838.86.