P. v. Brantley



Filed 6/9/11 P. v. Brantley CA4/3





NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. CHRISTOPHER LAMONT BRANTLEY, Defendant and Appellant.

G042308 (Super. Ct. No. 08CF0409) O P I N I O N

Appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court of Orange County, Richard W. Stanford, Jr., Judge. Affirmed in part and reversed in part.
Mark D. Greenberg for Defendant and Appellant.
Edmund G. Brown, Jr., and Kamala D. Harris, Attorneys General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Gary W. Schons, Assistant Attorney General, Lilia E. Garcia and Jeffrey J. Koch, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
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A jury convicted defendant Christopher Lamont Brantley of torture (count 1, Pen. Code, § 206),[1] aggravated assault with an ashtray (count 2, § 245, subd. (a)(1)), false imprisonment by violence (count 4, §§ 236, 237, subd. (a)), and domestic battery with corporal injury (count 5, § 273.5, subd. (a)), but could not reach a verdict on count 3, making criminal threats (§ 422). As to counts 2, 4, and 5, the jury found defendant personally inflicted great bodily injury on the victim under circumstances involving domestic violence. (§ 12022.7, subd. (e).)
The court found true the allegations defendant had suffered three prior serious felony convictions in 1999 (§ 1192.7, subd. (c) (§ 1192.7(c))) and served a prior prison term for a felony in 2004 (§ 667.5, subd. (b)). The court sentenced defendant to 75 years to life, plus a consecutive term of 63 years.[2]
We hold (1) the court did not abuse its discretion under Evidence Code section 352 or violate defendant's right to due process by admitting documentary evidence (Evid. Code, § 454.2, subd. (b)) of defendant's prior domestic violence conduct (Evid. Code, § 1109); (2) the court did not abuse its discretion under Evidence Code section 352 by admitting evidence of defendant's gang affiliation; (3) the court's failure to give a unanimity instruction on the charge of aggravated assault with an ashtray was harmless; (4) substantial evidence supports the court's findings that two of defendant's prior assault convictions were serious felonies within the meaning of section 1192.7(c); (5) no substantial evidence supports the court's finding that a third prior assault conviction was a serious felony within the meaning of section 1192.7(c); and (6) no substantial evidence supports the court's finding that defendant suffered a prior prison term felony conviction for evading an officer under section 667.5, subdivision (b). We reverse and remand the case as to these last two issues. In all other respects, we affirm the judgment.

FACTS

The victim, Crystal P., was 23 years old when she testified at defendant's trial. Starting at age 18 and continuing for two years, she had worked as a stripper. Then she worked in medical billing at Tenet Health Care for eight to nine months, until she lost the job.
In February 2007, she met defendant in Dallas, Texas, and started an intimate relationship with him. He trained her to be a prostitute. She and defendant went to Dallas, Texas; Phoenix, Arizona; Las Vegas, Nevada; Washington, D.C.; and Orange County, California, where Crystal engaged in prostitution. She gave him her earnings from prostitution (which ranged from $300 to $1500 a day) and they lived â€