People v. Hinchliff CA4/1

Filed 5/5/21 P. v. Hinchliff CA4/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

THE PEOPLE, D077108

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v. (Super. Ct. No. SCE82399)

GABRIEL HINCHLIFF,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of San Diego County, Carlos O. Armour, Judge. Affirmed. Matthew R. Garcia, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Xavier Becerra, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Julie L. Garland, Assistant Attorney General, Arlene A. Sevidal and Ksenia Gracheva, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

I INTRODUCTION Defendant Gabriel Hinchliff appeals a judgment of conviction entered after a jury found him guilty of one count of making a criminal threat (Pen.

Code, § 422; count 1)1 and one count of resisting an executive officer (§ 69; count 2). He contends he was denied effective assistance of counsel because his trial counsel did not request pretrial mental health diversion for him. We reject the defendant’s contention and affirm the judgment. II BACKGROUND A On June 26, 2018, two sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of a man sleeping at the base of a stairwell. The deputies found the defendant passed out and curled in a ball with his pants down. They roused the defendant awake and observed that he exhibited signs of intoxication such as slurred speech, aggression, red and watery eyes, and an odor of alcohol emanating from his person. The deputies began to arrest the defendant for public intoxication and a scuffle ensued. As the deputies tried to restrain the defendant, he struggled to free himself and threatened to beat up, head butt, and stab the deputies. The defendant repeatedly stated he would rape the daughter of one of the deputies and slit her throat. He also attempted to expose himself to the deputies. Members of the fire department arrived at the scene and the defendant attempted to spit on one of them. To prevent the possible spread of disease, the deputies placed a net-like spit sock over the defendant’s head. Due to the