People v. Sanchez CA3

Filed 3/4/15 P. v. Sanchez CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (El Dorado) ----

THE PEOPLE, C073130

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. P12CRF0500)

v.

JESUS LOPEZ SANCHEZ,

Defendant and Appellant.

A jury found defendant Jesus Lopez Sanchez guilty of inflicting corporal injury on a cohabitant. (Pen. Code, § 273.5, subd. (a).1) Defendant also admitted a prior strike offense within the meaning of the three strikes law. (Pen. Code, §§ 667, subds. (b)-(i), 1170.12.) Following an unsuccessful motion to strike that conviction pursuant to People v. Superior Court (Romero) (1996) 13 Cal.4th 497 (Romero), the trial court sentenced defendant to six years in prison.

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code in effect at the time of the charged offense.

1

On appeal, defendant contends the trial court abused its discretion by declining to strike his prior conviction under Romero. We conclude, to the contrary, that the trial court did not abuse its discretion. We affirm. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Trial Evidence Police responding to a domestic violence call to an apartment complex on the night of July 2, 2012, met several residents outside. A neighbor told officers she heard an argument and saw defendant grab his live-in girlfriend, Alysia Acosta, by her shirt and by her hair, hit her in the face and back, and throw her to the ground. Then she heard Acosta say, “ ‘My arm is broken.’ ” That same neighbor testified at trial that defendant mistakenly believed another man had grabbed Acosta inappropriately and when Acosta tried to stop defendant from confronting the man, he assaulted her. The neighbor saw defendant grab Acosta by her collar, strike her, and pull her toward their residence, telling her to “[g]et back in the house. Get back in the house.” Acosta screamed to the neighbor to get her children. After defendant and Acosta were inside, the neighbor heard defendant yell, “B-i-t-c-h, get out of my house. I don’t want you anymore.” The neighbor’s teenage son told officers he heard Acosta yelling and saw defendant “throwing” Acosta around, and pushing her to the ground. Officers who arrived at the scene saw Acosta holding her arm in pain. Acosta later learned her elbow was broken. When an officer asked defendant how Acosta was injured, defendant said he and Acosta tripped over a bush near their apartment. Acosta spoke little to police at the scene. At the hospital, Acosta said she hurt her arm when she tripped over the apartment threshold after defendant tried to guide her toward the open door. A few days later, Acosta contacted police and told them she hurt