People v. Sanchez CA2/5

Filed 6/17/24 P. v. Sanchez CA2/5 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 FIVE

THE PEOPLE, B324184

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. PA096833) v.

LUIS R. SANCHEZ,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Hayden A. Zacky, Judge. Affirmed. Nathanael C. Crowley, by appointment from the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey, Assistant Attorney General, Zee Rodriguez and Nicholas J. Webster, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

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A jury convicted Luis Sanchez (defendant) of assault with a deadly weapon after he attacked a laundromat attendant with a garden rake. Defendant argues that the court erred by not instructing the jury sua sponte on self-defense, and that insufficient evidence supports the jury’s finding that the rake was a deadly weapon. These arguments lack merit, so we affirm. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND I. Facts On the night of July 1, 2021, Gonzalo Rosales drove to his workplace, a laundromat in Northridge, to clean and lock up for the night. Rosales picked his daughter up from her job on his way there. He parked his truck outside the laundromat and observed defendant “walking around pushing trash cans.” Rosales had seen defendant there before, but they had only exchanged greetings once. At about 10:40 p.m., defendant approached Rosales’s truck and began to strike and kick it. Rosales locked his daughter and himself in the truck and called the police. Defendant left the scene and Rosales entered the laundromat to do his work, leaving his daughter in his locked car. A few customers were inside finishing their laundry, as shown in a surveillance camera footage at the back of the laundromat that faced the front of the business. Defendant reappeared and entered the laundromat carrying a garden rake. He announced to the customers that he owned the laundromat. Rosales demanded that defendant leave. Defendant, still carrying the rake, approached Rosales and backed him into a corner, where the men stood outside the surveillance camera’s view for several seconds. Rosales testified that while he was backed into the corner, defendant threatened to “beat [him] up.” Defendant