People v. King CA3

Filed 8/31/16 P. v. King CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 (Sacramento) ----

THE PEOPLE, C079389

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. 14F07789)

v.

TRISTIN DANTE KING,

Defendant and Appellant.

Defendant Tristin Dante King was charged with corporal injury on his spouse (the victim) over a period of a month and one-half and with criminal threats. A jury found him guilty of the corporal injury charge but acquitted him of the criminal threats. The court sentenced him to 11 years in prison. On appeal, defendant raises contentions relating to the admission as propensity evidence of two prior acts of domestic violence and the court’s failure to give and trial counsel’s failure to ask for a unanimity instruction on the corporal injury charge. Disagreeing with defendant’s contentions, we affirm.

1

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND A Charged Corporal Injury On A Spouse Defendant and the victim are married and have two boys, who at the time of trial were six and eight. They all lived in the same apartment complex as many members of the victim’s family. From the beginning of October 2014 to November 17, 2014, defendant’s sister (who lived in the unit next door) would hear defendant calling the victim a “bitch, a ho, slut,” and telling her she was a bad mother and that their sons were slow and would never amount to anything. The victim’s sister would also hear the victim screaming, “stop, get off me,” and “something hitting up against the wall.” When her sister confronted her about what she had heard, the victim sometimes “would deny everything,” but at other times the victim would show her the wounds defendant had inflicted, including nail marks on the victim’s neck and bruises on her back and face. The domestic violence culminated on November 17, 2014. The victim’s mother (who also lived next door) heard the victim make a “loud yelp,” say “no,” and then heard water running. A few hours later, she saw the victim in tears with fresh bruising on her face. The victim told her sisters that defendant “hit her again and to call the police to get help because she couldn’t get out of the house.” The victim’s mother decided it was time to call 911. When police arrived, the victim hopped out of the window. Police found her hiding in some bushes near her mother’s patio. The victim was wearing a lot of face makeup to conceal bumps on her forehead, scratches on her face and neck, and bruising on her face. The victim told police she was injured when she jumped out of the window. The victim testified to the same at trial.