People v. Heitz CA3

Filed 7/2/21 P. v. Heitz CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 (Amador) ----

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent, C091739

v. (Super. Ct. No. 19CR28452)

JACOB SEAN HEITZ,

Defendant and Appellant.

A jury found defendant Jacob Sean Heitz guilty of battering his girlfriend and assaulting her with a semiautomatic firearm, and the trial court sentenced him to six years in prison. Defendant now contends the trial court (1) abused its discretion in denying his motion for a new trial, and (2) erroneously admitted evidence that his girlfriend had

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previously been a victim of domestic violence. Finding no merit in the first contention, and concluding that the second contention is forfeited and that defendant has not established prejudicial ineffective assistance, we will affirm the judgment. BACKGROUND Defendant dated Adrian for approximately six months. Several months into the relationship, defendant frequently accused Adrian of cheating on him. He set up cameras around the house and camera monitors in the garage, and began carrying a handgun in his pocket. One evening, Adrian was in bed with her young daughter at defendant’s home, playing a game on her phone. Defendant entered the room yelling and accused Adrian of texting someone. He grabbed Adrian’s phone and ran to the garage. Adrian followed him to get her phone back. They argued and defendant pushed Adrian into a table saw that scratched her back. Adrian started crying and said she wanted to go home. She was able to retrieve her phone and tried to exit the garage, but defendant kept shutting the garage door. Defendant grabbed his handgun and started yelling. He pointed the gun at Adrian and said, “if you don’t fucking tell me the truth right away, I will blow your brains out.” Adrian believed he was going to the pull the trigger and that she would die. Adrian ran out of the garage, grabbed her daughter, and drove away. She did not immediately report the matter to the police because she was terrified defendant would find out and become angrier. Approximately one month after the incident in the garage, Adrian went to the police to report defendant’s behavior. She said defendant waved his gun around a lot but did not disclose that defendant pointed a gun at her and threatened her because she was too terrified. One week later, she returned to the police department to request a protective order because defendant was harassing her, and she again did not disclose all