Opinion
C082596
02-08-2018
THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. GER HER, Defendant and Appellant.
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115. (Super. Ct. No. 14F07853)
Appointed counsel for defendant Ger Her has filed an opening brief that sets forth the facts of the case and asks this court to review the record and determine whether there are any arguable issues on appeal. (People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436 (Wende).) After reviewing the record, we affirm the judgment.
We provide the following brief description of the facts and procedural history of the case. (See People v. Kelly (2006) 40 Cal.4th 106, 110, 124.)
Defendant and Linda T. began dating in 2011 and, within a few months, got married according to their Hmong cultural rules. As of trial, defendant and Linda were still living together.
On September 16, 2014, defendant and Linda were living together with their two daughters, ages two and one. Defendant's brother, sister-in-law, and three children were also living with them. Linda got home from work that evening at 7:00 p.m. After the family had dinner, Linda and defendant went to the bedroom and began arguing about Linda's new position at work, which would involve a different work schedule and require alternate child care arrangements. The argument lasted for 10 minutes, and Linda testified at trial that it was "relatively calm," never got physical, and did not wake up their children, who were asleep in the room.
About 20 minutes later, Linda was drifting off to sleep when defendant told her to leave. Defendant struck Linda in the face. Linda felt pain in her eyes and her nose, which was bleeding. Linda testified defendant offered to take her to the hospital the next day. Linda went into a bathroom to clean herself up and left by jumping out the single-story window. She went to a neighbor's house to call defendant's parents, who picked Linda up and took her to their house. Linda called her brother and said defendant had punched her in the face.
Early the next morning, Linda's sister took her to the hospital, where she was treated for a broken nose and broken eye socket. At the hospital, Linda told police defendant had punched her. A recording of her interview with the police detective was played during trial, over defendant's objection. During trial, Linda repeatedly testified the incident was an "accident."
At trial, the court admitted evidence of prior incidents of domestic violence, over defendant's objection. (Evid. Code, § 1109.) Linda testified she had applied for a restraining order in 2012 and again in September 2014, after the incident. In the September 2014 application, Linda described an incident during the fall of 2011 where defendant dragged her off the bed and pushed her in the head. In addition, in May 2013, defendant grabbed a butcher knife and threatened to kill Linda, their two daughters, and himself. Linda was afraid defendant would do so. At trial, Linda denied the incidents had occurred.
There was also evidence of an incident in August 2009 between defendant and his ex-girlfriend, Amy V. Amy testified she and defendant were arguing when defendant repeatedly threatened to shoot and kill her during a 30-minute car ride. Defendant eventually exited the car, walked around to the passenger side, and repeatedly hit Amy all over her body and head for 10 minutes. The hitting only stopped when someone pulled defendant off of her. Amy's injuries included a black eye, bloody nose, scratches on her chin, and bruising on her neck where defendant had bitten her.
The trial court also admitted portions of recorded jail calls and visits between defendant and Linda, over defendant's objections. During one conversation, defendant implied he had broken Linda's bones.
In May 2016, a jury found defendant guilty of inflicting corporal injury on a coparent (Pen. Code, § 273.5, subd. (a)—count one) and battery causing serious bodily injury (§ 243, subd. (d)—count two). With respect to count one, the jury also found true that defendant personally inflicted great bodily injury on the victim.
Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code. --------
In July 2016, the trial court sentenced defendant to an aggregate term of seven years in state prison, as follows: three years for count one, plus four years for the great bodily injury enhancement, and three years for count two stayed pursuant to section 654. The trial court also imposed a $500 restitution fine (§ 1202.4, subd. (b)) and a corresponding $500 parole revocation fine suspended unless parole is revoked (§ 1202.45). In addition, the trial court imposed $60 in criminal conviction assessment fees (Gov. Code, § 70373) and $80 in court security fees (Pen. Code, § 1465.8, subd. (a)(1)). Defendant filed a timely appeal.
Appointed counsel filed an opening brief that sets forth the facts of the case and asks us to determine whether there are any arguable issues on appeal. (Wende, supra, 25 Cal.3d 436.) Counsel advised defendant of the right to file a supplemental brief within 30 days of the date of filing of the opening brief. More than 30 days have elapsed, and we have received no communication from defendant.
We have undertaken an examination of the entire record and find no arguable error that would result in a disposition more favorable to defendant.
DISPOSITION
The judgment is affirmed.
BUTZ, J. We concur: BLEASE, Acting P. J. HULL, J.