In re M.M.
Filed 3/11/13 In re M.M. CA4/1
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 This opinion has not been certified for
publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115
COURT
OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION
ONE
STATE
OF CALIFORNIA
In re M. M., a Person Coming Under
the Juvenile Court Law.
THE PEOPLE,
Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
M.M.,
Defendant and Appellant.
D062657
(Super. Ct.
No. J230336)
APPEAL from
a judgment of the Superior Court
of
County, Polly H. Shamoon, Judge. Affirmed.
I.
INTRODUCTION
On July 12, 2012, the People filed a petition under Welfare
and Institutions Code section 602, alleging that M.M. committed misdemeanor
an incident in which M.M. struck, pushed, and kicked another student after
school. The petition was subsequently
amended to add a second misdemeanor count charging assault with force likely to
produce great bodily injury
(Pen. Code, § 245, subd. (a)(4)). M.M.
denied the allegations.
On August 17, 2012, the court found the
allegations to be true and sustained the petition. The court adjudged M.M. to be a ward pursuant
to Welfare and Institutions Code section 602.
At the dispositional hearing, the court committed M.M. to "Breaking
Cycles" for a maximum of 240 days and placed her with her mother.
M.M. filed
a timely notice of appeal. We affirm.
II.
BACKGROUND
A.M., the
victim, and M.M. knew each other from high school. At the time of the incident, A.M. was a
freshman and M.M. was a sophomore. Late
in the school year, A.M. and a friend of M.M. began to have disagreements. On May
1, 2012, M.M. approached A.M. during the lunch break and confronted
A.M. about some negative statements that A.M. had made about M.M.'s
friend. M.M. and her friend eventually
walked away from A.M., but M.M. told A.M. that she was going to make A.M.'s
life a " ' living hell.' "
Later,
after a class, M.M. approached A.M. and bumped into her. The two exchanged words, and A.M. proceeded
to class.
After
school that day, at around 2:15 p.m.,
A.M was standing with her friend Natalie M. in a vacant parking lot across from
the high school. A.M. was on her cell
phone, calling her mother, while Natalie stood next to her. Suddenly, M.M. came up from behind A.M. and
struck A.M. in the head. M.M.'s blow hit
A.M. in the back of her ear.
M.M.
knocked A.M. to the ground and began to hit her in the back of her head. M.M. grabbed A.M. by the hair and threw her
into some bushes. M.M. continued to hold
onto A.M.'s hair, pulled her up again, and then pushed her down onto the
ground. M.M. struck at A.M. for a couple
of minutes. A.M. was unable to defend
herself or fight back.
Three
witnesses who were also in the vacant parking lot after school on May 1, 2012, testified. J.M., her brother D.M., and J.M.'s boyfriend,
Rafael S., all observed M.M. rush toward A.M. and hit her.
to the ground, strike her, and kick her.
J.M. and Rafael saw M.M. kick A.M. repeatedly, but D.M. recalled only
that M.M. had kicked A.M. one time.
D.M. and
Rafael ran over to attempt to break up the fight. When they arrived, M.M. stopped attacking
A.M. All of the witnesses heard M.M.
warn A.M. not to talk about other people, and then said to some of her friends,
"I just beat that bitch's ass."
A.M.
reported the incident to a vice-principal that day. The following day, she spoke with a campus
police officer and went to the hospital for treatment of her wounds, which
included cuts to her knees, bruising, and hair loss. Soon after the incident, A.M. changed schools
in order to avoid having to see M.M.
M.M.'s
boyfriend, C.C., testified that on the day in question, he met up with M.M.
immediately after school and the two of them walked directly to the student
parking lot and did not go across the street to the vacant parking lot where
the other witnesses said they saw M.M. attack A.M. W.W., a friend of M.M. and C.C., testified
that she saw M.M. and C.C. in the student parking lot after school that
afternoon.
III.
DISCUSSION
Appointed appellate counsel has
filed a brief summarizing the facts and proceedings below. Counsel presents no argument for reversal,
but asks this court to review the record for error as mandated by
v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436 (Wende). Pursuant to Anders v. California (1967) 386 U.S. 738 (Anders), counsel lists as possible, but not arguable, issues: (1)
whether there is sufficient evidence to support the court's true findings
regarding the allegations of battery and assault with force likely to produce
great bodily injury; and (2) whether there is sufficient evidence to support
the court's true finding that M.M. committed an assault with force likely to
produce great bodily injury.
We granted M.M. permission to file
a brief on her own behalf. She has not
responded. A review of the record
pursuant to Wende and
listed pursuant to Anders, has
disclosed no reasonably arguable appellate issues. M.M. has been competently
represented by counsel on this appeal.
IV.
DISPOSITION
The judgment
is affirmed.
AARON, J.
WE CONCUR:
O'ROURKE,
Acting P. J.
IRION,
J.
name="_ftn1" title="">[1] J.M.
and Rafael knew A.M. because at the beginning of the school year, they had
participated in a group that helped welcome freshman to the school. J.M. also knew M.M. from school, and knew
M.M.'s boyfriend. However, J.M. did not
consider either A.M. or M.M. to be a friend, and said that she had no reason to
testify for or against either party.
