People v. Leyva CA3

Filed 9/22/14 P. v. Leyva CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

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IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (San Joaquin) ----

THE PEOPLE, C073522

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. SF120204A)

v.

RAOUL LEYVA,

Defendant and Appellant.

On April 22, 2012, defendant Raoul Leyva went to the home of his friend Jamison Smith, knocked on the door, and asked to talk. Smith, who sold methamphetamine to defendant, recognized his sense of urgency. Defendant told Smith he had hit his girlfriend, Brandy Arreola, and she was unconscious. Defendant told Smith he hit Arreola with a two or three punch combination and kicked her. Realizing what he had done, defendant then tried to revive Arreola. Defendant snapped and attacked Arreola after he found out she cheated on him while he

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was incarcerated. She had been unconscious for four days by the time defendant called on Smith. Defendant was cleaning her up and keeping her hydrated, but he knew her condition was deteriorating. Defendant asked Smith to help move Arreola somewhere. Smith said he did not want to get involved and suggested several methods for delivering her to a hospital without implicating defendant. He told defendant several times to take her to a doctor. The encounter with defendant stayed in Smith’s mind for the rest of the night and into the next day. He asked some friends for advice; they told him to do the right thing as Arreola needed his help right now. Defendant returned the following day at 6:30 p.m. and asked Smith to help move Arreola as her condition had worsened. Smith lent defendant a bicycle and they rode to a run-down apartment complex. Upon their arrival, defendant entered an apartment and started attending to Arreola. Smith saw she looked bad, as if she were dead. Arreola had no clothes on, and was covered only with a small sheet or blanket. Defendant told Smith he had run out of Arreola’s clothes as she kept soiling herself. Smith told defendant he knew someone down the street who had a wheelchair they could use to move Arreola. Smith went to a nearby house, where he called 911 on his cell phone. Smith returned and told defendant he called 911. Defendant asked Smith why he did that and complained it would come back to him. He urged Smith to come with him; they rode their bicycles around the corner just as the fire truck and police arrived. Police arrived at the apartment at 11:02 p.m. on April 23, 2012, finding Arreola lying on her back on the floor. Her arms occasionally twitched and were bent to her chest, with her hands clenched into fists. Arreola’s eyes rolled back into her head as she appeared to have convulsions. She had extreme bruising to the face, neck, extremities, and body. Her pupils were uneven and not reactive, her blood pressure was extremely