P. v. Bracamontes CA2/1

Filed 6/26/13 P. v. Bracamontes CA2/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 ONE

THE PEOPLE, B240697

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BA387741) v.

JAMES BRACAMONTES,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Monica Bachner, Judge. Affirmed. Gary V. Crooks, 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, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Paul M. Roadarmel, Jr., Supervising Deputy Attorney General, and Rama R. Maline, Deputy Attorney General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. _________________________________

Defendant James Bracamontes appeals from the judgment entered following a jury trial in which he was convicted of attempted voluntary manslaughter, infliction of corporal injury on his child’s mother, and assault with a deadly weapon, with weapon-use and great bodily injury findings. Defendant contends the trial court erred by admitting evidence the victim was pregnant during a prior domestic violence incident. We affirm. BACKGROUND Crystal Tarango and defendant had a son who was born in March of 2010. On August 5, 2011, Tarango was sitting on a bed in the Los Angeles home of defendant’s aunt. Defendant yelled at her, accused her of cheating on him, and punched her. He continued to punch her all over her head and back, kicked her stomach, back, and sides, and slapped her face more than once. Tarango repeatedly asked defendant to stop and said he was hurting her, but he continued. Defendant said, “‘You’re going to pay back for what you did to me.’” Tarango attempted to escape from the room, but defendant blocked the door. Tarango asked defendant to stop, saying she did not feel well. Defendant grabbed a 12-inch-long metal pipe and said, “‘I’m going to fucking kill you, you fucking whore.’” He struck Tarango on the top and back of her head four or five times before she lost consciousness. She told a sheriff’s deputy who interviewed her at the hospital that the pipe was similar to the railing on her hospital bed. The deputy testified the bed railing was two to three inches in diameter and hollow. Tarango told a deputy that when she regained consciousness she was in the shower, fully clothed. She thought she was unconscious for 10 to 15 minutes. Her vision was blurred and she felt dizzy. She saw defendant get into his brother’s car. She went to a phone in another part of the house and called her mother. Her mother and aunt took her to a sheriff’s station, where deputies phoned paramedics. Tarango testified at trial that when she regained consciousness defendant apologized, gave her aspirin, attempted to stop her nose from bleeding, and offered to take her to the hospital. A sheriff’s deputy photographed most of Tarango’s injuries, and the photographs were introduced at trial. The deputy testified that Tarango was bruised all over her body