People v. Battle CA5

Filed 7/21/15 P. v. Battle CA5

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

THE PEOPLE, F068190 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. F13900064) v.

MICHAEL BATTLE, OPINION Defendant and Appellant.

THE COURT* APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Fresno County. Wayne R. Ellison, Judge. Kyle D. Smith, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Michael P. Farrell, Assistant Attorney General, Carlos A. Martinez and Caely E. Fallini, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. -ooOoo-

* Before Poochigian, Acting P. J., Detjen, J. and Peña, J.

INTRODUCTION Appellant Michael Battle challenges his convictions for arson of property of another and misdemeanor tampering with a fire alarm apparatus on the grounds of instructional error. He also challenges his sentence, contending the trial court improperly punished him for opting to go to trial instead of accepting a plea. We find no merit in either of his contentions and affirm the judgment. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL SUMMARY Trial Testimony On November 11, 2012, Nicole Navarro lived in an apartment with her two children. That morning she heard a loud knocking at her door. When Navarro did not answer, she heard a loud noise and saw Battle was inside her apartment. Battle asked Navarro who was in the apartment. Navarro ran into her children’s bedroom and shut the door, but Battle pushed it open. Navarro and her children ran out of their apartment and over to her mother’s nearby apartment. Navarro stayed at her mother’s apartment for no more than 30 minutes and then returned to her own apartment, accompanied by her mother. She saw Battle running down the stairs from her apartment saying, “ha, ha, ha, you bitches.” Navarro ran after Battle, but he entered a waiting car and drove away. Navarro noticed smoke coming out of her apartment and went upstairs to her apartment. The front door was damaged, the faucets were running, and the apartment was “thrashed.” Her belongings were scattered about and her couch had been moved. A fire was still smoking and some of the clothes in her closet had been burned. Navarro did not want to testify at Battle’s trial and officers were sent to her residence to bring her to court. She had an on-and-off romantic relationship with Battle, during which he regularly came over to her apartment and spent the night, but they had broken up about two months before November 11, 2012.