In re Alexandra U. CA2/2

Filed 4/26/16 In re Alexandra U. CA2/2 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 TWO

In re ALEXANDRA U., a Person Coming B267264 Under the Juvenile Court Law. (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. DK11283)

LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES,

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

PEDRO U.,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Victor H. Greenberg, Judge. Affirmed. Jesse F. Rodriguez, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Mary C. Wickham, County Counsel, R. Keith Davis, Acting Assistant County Counsel, William D. Thetford, Principal Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent. ___________________________________________________

Pedro U. challenges some—but not all—of the jurisdictional findings made by the juvenile court in this dependency case. (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 300.)1 Piecemeal review of the sustained findings is unnecessary: jurisdiction must be upheld because appellant is an offending parent under each of the five counts. The court’s disposition order, based on all of the evidence, was well within its discretion. We affirm. FACTS Seven-year-old Alexandra U. was detained from her father, Pedro U. (Father) in May 2015, after she reported that he caressed her vagina over her pajamas, while they shared a bed. She has overnight weekend visits with Father, but otherwise lives with her mother, Mayra B. (Mother). The parents separated in 2011 due to Father’s domestic violence against Mother while he was intoxicated. The Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) filed a petition on behalf of Alexandra. When interviewed by a DCFS social worker, Alexandra recalled that before her parents separated, “[t]hey fought all the time.” Mostly, the fights consisted of “yelling at each other.” On one occasion, she heard “my mom crying and stuff falling.” She entered the living room, saw the parents pushing each other, and Father “kicked my mom on her legs.” The altercation ended when the parents realized that Alexandra was watching them. After that incident, Alexandra and Mother went to live with a relative and the parents’ relationship ended. Mother stated that Father became verbally abusive when she was pregnant with Alexandra. After the child was born, Father began drinking more and more, and the parents yelled at each other in Alexandra’s presence. While intoxicated, Father assaulted Mother, pressing her neck to prevent her from breathing and threatening to knock out her teeth. On another occasion, Father put his foot on Mother’s throat, so that she could not move or breathe. Mother fled Father for good after a police officer warned her that if she stayed with Father and the fighting continued, she would lose custody of Alexandra.