People v. Anderson CA3

Filed 8/2/21 P. v. Anderson CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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, C091238

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. Nos. 18FE022746, 19FE013888) v.

STERLING RAYFIELD ANDERSON,

Defendant and Appellant.

A jury found defendant Sterling Rayfield Anderson guilty of felony false imprisonment (Pen. Code, § 236; statutory section references that follow are to the Penal Code) and three counts of misdemeanor sexual battery (§ 243.4, subd. (e)(1)) after he backed a woman against her car in a parking lot and touched her body several times. On appeal, defendant contends there was insufficient evidence to support the jury’s verdict on all counts. We conclude that substantial evidence supports the jury’s verdict and affirm the judgment.

1

FACTS AND HISTORY OF THE PROCEEDINGS One morning Judith, a thirty-year-old woman standing between 5-foot-1 and 5-foot-2 inches tall, parked her car in a parking lot to begin her workday as a caretaker. She got out of her car and leaned against the driver’s side door to take some belongings out of the passenger seat. Judith sensed a presence behind her, felt something swipe at her “butt,” and heard a voice. Startled, Judith turned around and saw a thin man, between 6-foot-3 inches and 6-foot-5 inches tall. He stood chest-to-chest with Judith, and was at most six inches from her. Judith did not recognize the man but later identified him as defendant. Defendant placed his left hand on Judith’s car door and his right hand in front of his body. Judith and defendant stood in the “V” of her open car door, with Judith’s back to the car. She was unable to backup any further. Defendant asked Judith for a cigarette, and she said that she did not smoke and did not have one. Defendant persisted and continued to ask. As they “danced around” this conversation, defendant remained approximately six inches from Judith with his hand on the car door and did not move. Defendant reached out and attempted to swipe at Judith’s left breast, but she was able to pull back and he touched her stomach instead. Judith then realized that defendant’s first touch to her buttocks had been intentional, because he had swiped at her breast and because his initial touch was too firm to have been accidental. She told defendant to move because she was late to work, but he did not move. Judith described defendant as “a tree” with no intention of moving. He reached with his other hand and swiped at her right breast. Judith attempted to pull away but she was “so far into the . . . car door that there was nowhere for [her] to go,” and defendant touched her breast. Defendant’s eyes were “totally glazed over, like the lights are on, but nobody’s home.” Judith thought defendant was “either on something or off of something.” She believed anything could happen and was afraid for her life. Realizing defendant was not going to let her leave, Judith used an “old football-tackle style” to push him out of the