People v. Morris CA2/3

Filed 12/22/15 P. v. Morris CA2/3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 THREE

THE PEOPLE, B262913

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. NA089804) v.

MICHAEL MORRIS,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Richard R. Romero, Judge. Affirmed. Heather Manolakas, 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, Assistant Attorney General, Noah P. Hill and Scott A. Taryle, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

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Following his resentencing, defendant and appellant Michael Morris appeals the imposition of a three-year great bodily injury enhancement term. Morris was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon, with a true finding that he personally inflicted great bodily injury on the victim. We affirmed his conviction in People v. Morris (Aug. 20, 2014, B246086) nonpub. opn. [Klein, P. J., Kitching, J. & Aldrich, J.] [hereafter, Morris I],1 but remanded for resentencing. In this second appeal, Morris contends the trial court should not have imposed the three-year great bodily injury enhancement term when it resentenced him. The judgment is affirmed. BACKGROUND The following statement of facts is taken from our decision in Morris I. 1. The prosecution’s evidence. On the night of August 6, 2011, Robert Hall’s former girlfriend, Brenda Browning, arrived at Hall’s apartment in Torrance. Browning was acting erratically and Hall concluded that she was drunk. She demanded money, but Hall refused. Browning left, but then returned an hour later with defendant Morris, her new boyfriend. Browning went into Hall’s apartment and took some of his belongings. Meanwhile, Morris attacked Hall with a six-to-eight-inch knife in one hand and a wooden stick in the other. Morris described the wooden stick as something like either a 2 x 4 or an axe handle. Morris tried to hit Hall over the head with the stick. Hall protected his head by throwing up his left arm defensively, but Morris hit him on the arm with the stick, splitting open Hall’s skin three to four inches. Morris also hit Hall several times on the neck and back before Hall lost consciousness. He fell onto his apartment stoop, landing on one of the flower pots near his front door. The flower pot shattered and one of the resulting pottery shards lacerated Hall’s back.