P. v. Griffin CA2/2

Filed 5/6/13 P. v. Griffin CA2/2 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 TWO

THE PEOPLE, B237300

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. MA053636) v.

NICKY GRIFFIN,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Akemi Arakaki, Judge. Affirmed.

David Cohen, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Assistant Attorney General, James William Bilderback II and Sonya Roth, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. ___________________________________________________

Appellant Nicky Griffin, married to the victim, Carolyn Jordan, was charged with inflicting corporal injury on a spouse (Pen. Code, § 273.5, subd. (a)),1 a felony, with attempted second degree robbery (§§ 664, 211) and with false imprisonment (§ 236). A jury found appellant guilty of the lesser included offense of misdemeanor battery on the first count and not guilty of attempted robbery. The jury deadlocked on the false imprisonment charge and the court declared a mistrial. Imposition of sentence was suspended and appellant was placed on probation, the condition being the time (194 days) served in county jail.2 The court imposed various fines and assessments that are not at issue. The appeal is from the judgment. The sole issue on appeal is whether the conviction is supported by substantial evidence. FACTS Two witnesses testified. They were Jordan and Deputy Joshua Epstein of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Jordan’s testimony tended to exonerate appellant, although not entirely. Epstein related a statement that Jordan had made to him less than an hour after the altercation; this statement clearly branded appellant as the assailant. Jordan’s in-court testimony Jordan and appellant lived together in an apartment in Lancaster. On August 4, 2011, Jordan and appellant went to a pawn shop to pawn some of Jordan’s jewelry. While negotiations went on between the store owner and Jordan, appellant got up and went outside. Appellant went to the car, got the house key and the garage door key and left the scene. Jordan concluded the deal, left the store and found appellant gone. She drove home; appellant had left the car with her. When Jordan arrived at the house, she found it locked and appellant not there.