People v. Perez CA2/8

Filed 11/14/22 P. v. Perez CA2/8 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION EIGHT

THE PEOPLE, B317043

Plaintiff and Respondent, Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. VA155869 v.

ANTHONY PEREZ,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Lee W. Tsao, Judge. Affirmed.

Larenda R. Delaini, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

No appearance for Plaintiff and Respondent.

____________________

Pursuant to People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436, we review this appeal following a bench trial. We affirm the judgment of conviction. Statutory citations are to the Penal Code. An information charged Anthony Perez with resisting a peace officer (§ 148, subd. (a)(1)) and assault with a deadly weapon (§ 245, subd. (a)(1)). Perez’s victim—Abdel Rahman Al-Aqad—testified at trial that he was at a gas station on Whittier Boulevard in April 2021 when he saw Perez standing at a pump with a yellow box cutter. Perez told him to get out of his car. Al-Aqad asked what he wanted. Perez started cursing and threatened to kill Al-Aqad if he did not get out. Perez swung the box cutter at Al-Aqad from a close range: less than two feet away. He yelled “very bad words” and made threats. Al-Aqad told Perez to take the car. He backed away and kicked to try to fend off his attacker and avoid the box cutter. Perez kept swinging the blade and coming towards him. Al-Aqad grabbed a piece of metal from his car to scare off Perez. Then he called the police. Al-Aqad’s colleague arrived to see if he was okay. Al-Aqad got into his car to drive to a pump because he still needed gas. But Perez returned, banged on the window, and tried to open the locked door. Perez was undeterred when the police arrived and tried to calm him down. He yelled at them and said, “I’m not going to stop.” So Al-Aqad grabbed the metal bar again and used it to hold onto Perez until the police took him.