People v. Vasquez CA2/1

Filed 12/22/25 P. v. Vasquez CA2/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 ONE

THE PEOPLE, B340021

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. KA132627) v.

BENJAMIN GARCIA VASQUEZ,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Rogelio Delgado, Judge. Reversed and remanded with directions. Richard B. Lennon, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Charles C. Ragland, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey, Assistant Attorney General, Idan Ivri and Nima Razfar, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

The trial court denied defendant Benjamin Garcia Vasquez’s motion for mental health diversion pursuant to Penal Code1 section 1001.36, and sentenced him to three years imprisonment following his no contest plea to battery with injury on a peace officer. Vasquez claims, the Attorney General agrees, and we concur that the trial court misapplied section 1001.36’s statutory criteria when denying him diversion. We conditionally vacate Vasquez’s no contest plea and sentence, and remand for the trial court to reconsider the motion for mental health diversion under the applicable criteria. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND As Vasquez pleaded no contest, we summarize his offense conduct from evidence presented at the preliminary hearing. On March 27, 2023, a tenant observed Vasquez sitting next to trash bins she kept on the side of her residence; the tenant’s relative told her Vasquez had defecated next to the trash cans. Vasquez refused to leave the property when asked and hurled a brick- sized metal object at the landowner. When a deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department responded, Vasquez struck the deputy in the face with a ball of wire, and again on the top of the head, before being subdued. Vasquez’s actions caused abrasions to the deputy’s face and knuckles. At the time he battered the deputy, Vasquez was on probation for a 2021 conviction for assault with a deadly weapon (§ 245, subd. (c)). The court held a probation revocation hearing along with the preliminary hearing and revoked Vasquez’s probation.