People v. Patterson CA3

Filed 1/27/21 P. v. Patterson CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 (Shasta) ----

THE PEOPLE, C089658

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. 17F0231)

v.

ROBERT BLAKE PATTERSON,

Defendant and Appellant.

A jury found defendant Robert Blake Patterson guilty of infliction of corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant (Pen. Code, § 273.5, subd. (a)).1 The trial court sentenced him to a term of three years in state prison. Additionally, the court imposed the mandatory court operations and conviction assessments and a restitution fine. On appeal, defendant contends: (1) insufficient evidence supports his conviction; and (2) the

1 Further undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.

1

imposition of the court assessments and restitution fine violates his constitutional rights because there was no determination of his ability to pay them. We conclude substantial evidence supports the conviction and reject defendant’s challenge to the mandatory court assessments and restitution fine. The judgment is affirmed. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Following a report of domestic violence against his wife, defendant was charged in count 1 with inflicting corporal injury upon a spouse (§ 273.5, subd. (a)), and in count 2 with making criminal threats (§ 422). A. The Prosecution Case On the night of January 13, 2017, M.M. and defendant were at a restaurant when M.M. saw him chatting with another woman on his phone. She asked defendant about it, and he claimed he was just chatting with a friend. Defendant then grew angry and suddenly left the restaurant, leaving M.M. behind. M.M. followed him to their car. They stopped at a store on the way home. There, M.M. saw defendant ask another woman for her phone number. She asked him what he was doing, and he responded, “Fuck you, Bitch. I do whatever I want.” M.M. returned to the car. Defendant then returned to the car and began pulling M.M.’s hair and striking her in the face. Defendant repeated, “I do whatever the fuck I want.” He began driving but continued attempting to strike her, using his free hand to drive the car through red lights. When they arrived at the house, defendant exited the car, opened M.M.’s door on the other side, and dragged her by her hair across the grass into the house. Once inside, he continued to strike and kick her, choked her, and threatened her life if she did not leave immediately. M.M. screamed when defendant kicked her in the ankle with such force that she thought it was broken. While defendant momentarily stopped to go outside, M.M. went upstairs twice to ask a housemate, C.C., to call 911. The second time, she was frenzied, “flailed herself” onto the end of C.C.’s bed, and she was having difficulty standing. C.C. saw that M.M. was “afraid, fearful, and needed and wanted the