The People v. Cheng CA2/8

Filed 8/27/13 P. v. Cheng CA2/8 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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, B244588

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. GA084187) v.

HAU HONG CHENG,

Defendant and Appellant.

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

Paul R. Kraus, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

No appearance for Plaintiff and Respondent.

_______________________

Defendant Hau Hong Cheng appeals from his convictions of battery upon a custodial officer and misdemeanor simple battery. Following our independent review of the record pursuant to People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436, 441 (Wende), we affirm.

FACTS

A. The People’s Case

Viewed in accordance with the usual rules on appeal (People v. Zamudio (2008) 43 Cal.4th 327, 357-358), the evidence established that at 10:30 a.m. on August 26, 2011, Justine Lun was shopping at a Dollar Tree store in Pasadena when defendant, a stranger to Lun, bumped into her and blew cigarette smoke into her face. Lun moved to a different aisle and continued shopping. Moments later, defendant said something in Chinese as he forcefully grabbed Lun’s left wrist and tried to pull her towards him, causing Lun to lose her balance, although she did not fall and was able to pull away. She did not report the incident to anyone, but as she was leaving the store Lun encountered her cousin, Joseph Mar, and told him about it. Mar called 911. Lun recounted the incident to the police and then left. A few minutes later, the police asked her to go to a nearby location where she saw defendant sitting on the curb surrounded by police officers. Lun identified defendant as the person who had accosted her in the Dollar Tree store. Mar did not know that his cousin Lun was shopping in the store while he and his co-worker, Anthony Quan, were on a break sitting in front of the store. When Mar noticed defendant enter the store smoking a cigarette, he told Quan to go in and see if defendant was still smoking. Mar saw defendant leave the store about five minutes later. After learning what had happened to his cousin, Mar went outside to confront defendant. Mar exchanged words with defendant in Cantonese and followed him as he walked around the parking lot, into a restaurant and then out again. When defendant got into a car, Mar noted the license plate number and called 911.