People v. Hart CA1/5

Filed 10/12/21 P. v. Hart CA1/5

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FIVE

THE PEOPLE, A161239 Plaintiff and Respondent, v. JOSEPH PHILLIP HART, (Mendocino County Super. Ct. No. SCUK-CRCR-20-34746-001) Defendant and Appellant.

Joseph Phillip Hart appeals from the judgment entered against him after he was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon (Pen. Code, § 245, subd. (a)(1)).1 Hart argues that the trial court abused its discretion by denying his motion for new trial. We disagree and affirm. BACKGROUND A. In March 2020, J.S. invited Hart to stay with him at a rural property outside Laytonville, where J.S. worked as a caretaker. About two weeks later, J.S. asked Hart to leave. On direct examination, J.S. testified that he asked Hart to leave because Hart had gone through other people’s possessions. J.S. said he offered Hart two weeks to find a new place to stay, but Hart wanted to leave right away. Because it was

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code. 1

the middle of the night and raining, they agreed that J.S. would drive Hart to Willits the next morning. J.S. testified that Hart was slow to pack his belongings the next day. But, when J.S. insisted that Hart needed to leave, Hart agreed. In the early afternoon, the two men left in a truck. J.S. drove, smoking marijuana from a bong at the same time. Near Laytonville, J.S. stopped so that Hart could urinate. According to J.S., Hart exited and re-entered the truck through its passenger-side door, which functioned normally. After the two had been back on the road only five minutes, Hart asked J.S. to stop again—for another bathroom break. J.S. found this strange, especially since they were now only five to 10 miles from Willits, and refused. Hart continued to demand that J.S. pull over. As they approached the first Willits exit, Hart called 911 and reported that he was being “ ‘kidnapped.’ ” J.S. exited the freeway. When the truck arrived at a stop sign, Hart pinned J.S. to the driver’s side door and stabbed him, with a knife, in the chest, leg, hand, and forehead. J.S. testified that he did not have a knife or a gun that day. He did not recognize either of the two knives police later found in the truck. J.S. also testified that he never pointed a gun at Hart. Although he initially testified that there were no guns at the property where the two had been living, J.S. later said the owners kept a shotgun there. J.S. did not threaten Hart to persuade him to leave. B. The driver of a California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) truck pulled over when he saw two men struggling inside J.S.’s truck. He observed the passenger on top of the driver, punching