People v. Witherspoon CA6

Filed 7/7/25 P. v. Witherspoon CA6 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SIXTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

THE PEOPLE, H051671 (Monterey County Plaintiff and Respondent, Super. Ct. No. 23CR003892)

v.

CHRISTOPHER JOHN WITHERSPOON,

Defendant and Appellant.

Christopher John Witherspoon appeals from his sentence after pleading open to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and being sentenced to six years in prison. Witherspoon argues on appeal that the trial court abused its sentencing discretion by failing to “consider alternatives to incarceration” and using the “least restrictive means available” in the disposition of his case, as required by Penal Code section 17.2.1 We conclude the issue is not forfeited, but that on a silent record, Witherspoon cannot affirmatively show error. We affirm the judgment. I. BACKGROUND

In July 2023, the Monterey County District Attorney charged Witherspoon with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated (§ 191.5, subd. (a); count 1), driving under the influence of alcohol and causing injury (Veh. Code, § 23153, subd. (a);

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.

count 2), and driving with a blood alcohol content of above 0.08 percent and causing injury (Veh. Code, § 23153, subd. (b); count 3). In connection with counts 2 and 3, the information further alleged that Witherspoon had an excessive blood alcohol content of 0.15 percent or greater and personally inflicted great bodily injury. The information alleged one circumstance in aggravation under California Rules of Court, rule 4.421(a)(1): That the charged offenses “involved great violence, great bodily harm, threat of great bodily harm, or other acts disclosing a high degree of cruelty, viciousness, or callousness.”2 A. Relevant Facts3

Witherspoon, then a member of the United States Navy, went to a bar on a military base, where he ran into fellow servicemember, A.T. A.T. noted that Witherspoon appeared intoxicated, and when they left the bar together, she saw him drive away in his car. Witherspoon and A.T. arranged to meet later that night at another bar. When they met the second time, A.T. noticed Witherspoon’s intoxication level was “heightened from her last interaction with him.” A.T. tried to drive Witherspoon home but he was too drunk to tell her where he lived. After two failed attempts to find his home, A.T. dropped Witherspoon at his car but told him to sleep there and not to drive. Witherspoon assured A.T. he would not drive. Soon after A.T. left him, witnesses observed Witherspoon drive the wrong way down a one-way street and crash into two parked cars. Witherspoon did not stop after the collisions but continued onto a freeway where, still driving in the wrong direction, he crashed head-on into a car driven by Luis Hernandez. Hernandez died at the scene.