People v. Dixon CA2/8

Filed 7/2/15 P. v. Dixon CA2/8 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 EIGHT

THE PEOPLE, B255903

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. NA092258) v.

JEFFERY LEE DIXON,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Arthur H. Jean, Jr., Judge. Affirmed.

Thomas T. Ono, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Gerald A. Engler, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Jason C. Tran and Taylor Nguyen, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

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A jury rejected defendant and appellant Jeffery Lee Dixon’s heat of passion, self- defense and imperfect self-defense claims and found him guilty of second degree murder, with a finding that he personally used a deadly weapon –– a belt and an electrical cord –– to cause the victim’s death. (Pen. Code, §§ 187, subd. (a); 12022, subd. (b)(1).)1 The trial court found Dixon had two prior strike convictions, a prior serious felony conviction, and two prior convictions with a prison term. (§§ 667, subds. (b)-(i); 1170.12, subds. (a)- (d); 667, subd. (a)(1); and 667.5, subd. (b).) The trial court sentenced Dixon to serve a total aggregate term in state prison of 51 years to life. We affirm. FACTS The Discovery of the Victim’s Body On May 1, 2012, Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) officers responded to a triplex residential building on Ellis Street in Long Beach after an anonymous 9-1-1 call. Dixon lived in one of the apartments at the property. A Chrysler PT Cruiser registered to Monique Burton was parked near the property. Over the course of ensuing events, LBPD Detective Mark McGuire obtained a search warrant, and officers broke through the front door of Dixon’s apartment. Inside the apartment the officers found the body of a deceased woman, later identified as Burton.2 Officers also found a set of car keys and a disassembled cell phone on the kitchen counter. There were cleaning products and construction tools in the kitchen. There was also a broken dinner tray, blood evidence, blood-stained clothing in two trash bags, a broken belt, and a broken electrical cord inside the apartment. Dixon was not present at that scene.