People v. Villa CA2/6

Filed 7/2/14 P. v. Villa CA2/6 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 SIX

THE PEOPLE, 2d Crim. No. B250180 (Super. Ct. No. 2013000955) Plaintiff and Respondent, (Ventura County)

v.

HECTOR VALENTIN VILLA,

Defendant and Appellant.

Hector Valentin Villa appeals from the judgment following his conviction by jury of second degree robbery (Pen. Code,1 § 211) and two counts of battery on the mother of his child (§ 243, subd. (e)(1)). The trial court sentenced appellant to three years in state prison, and issued a protective order prohibiting his having contact with the victim of the robbery. Appellant contends the court erred in limiting his counsel's "formulation of reasonable doubt" in closing argument thereby lowering the prosecution's burden of proof. He also contends, and respondent concedes, the court erred in issuing the protective order. We strike the protective order but otherwise affirm the judgment.

1 All statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise stated.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND January 9, 2013, Robbery On January 9, 2013, Fidel Santiago was selling flowers on Ventura Avenue. Appellant rode a bike toward Santiago, threw it down and grabbed a bunch of flowers from his hand. When Santiago resisted, appellant knocked him down and struck him in the mouth, forehead and cheek. Appellant took a white cell phone from Santiago's pants pocket. When Santiago said he would call the police, appellant replied, "If you do, it will be worse for you," which frightened Santiago. Nonetheless, Santiago called for help, then grabbed the wheel of appellant's bike. Appellant was able to ride away. Santiago's mouth and nose were bleeding. A witness called the police. Several hours later police officers detained appellant. Officer Jorge Rodriguez asked him if he had a white cell phone. Appellant first responded that he gave a white cell phone to his girlfriend, Christina Ramirez. He subsequently said someone else gave it to her. Later that night Santiago identified appellant as his assailant. The police recovered Santiago's cell phone from Ramirez. October 21, 2012, and January 9, 2013, Batteries Appellant and Ramirez had a contentious relationship. On April 4, 2012, and August 20, 2012, Ramirez contacted the Ventura Police Department to report that appellant had punched her. She showed the police her injuries (bruised or red areas) on each occasion. She hit appellant during each incident, but did not disclose that to the police. No charges were filed against appellant. On October 21, 2012, while fighting with Ramirez, appellant struck her several times with his hands and covered her face with blankets to muffle her screams. Following the attack, Ramirez complained that the left side of her head hurt. At trial, Officer David Ruggerio testified that Ramirez had bruises on her shoulders, back, and one of her hands. On January 9, 2013, Ramirez and appellant agreed to meet at a liquor store. Ramirez, who had recently given birth to their daughter, arrived before appellant. Upon his arrival he slapped or punched Ramirez in the face.