P. v. Hatch
Simmering tension between neighbors living in upstairs and downstairs apartments erupted into physical confrontations on three occasions. The third altercation occurred on the evening of May 30, 2009, when defendant Albert Joshua Hatch punched Dan Lopez in the head and chest. Lopez fell backward and hit his head on the ground, thereby suffering injuries that included a temporal bone skull fracture. Defendant also scuffled with others associated with the upstairs apartment.
Defendant claimed he acted in self defense, but a jury convicted him of battery with serious bodily injury (Pen. Code, § 243, subd. (d))[1] and misdemeanor assault (§ 240). Defendant admitted a prior serious felony conviction. The trial court sentenced him to 11 years in state prison for the battery and prior strike conviction. The court denied probation on the misdemeanor conviction but imposed no additional jail time.
On appeal, defendant contends (1) the trial court erred by excluding evidence of the fight that occurred between the upstairs and downstairs occupants a few hours prior to defendant's altercation with the victim, (2) the trial court should have instructed the jury on defense of another based on defendant's intent to protect his girlfriend's son, and (3) cumulative prejudice resulting from the claimed errors requires reversal.
We conclude that evidence of the earlier confrontation between the two sets of neighbors should have been admitted, but we find the error to be harmless. We also conclude that the trial court did not err in refusing to instruct on defense of another for lack of imminent danger to the person that defendant purported to protect. Finding only a single nonprejudicial error, we reject defendant's cumulative prejudice argument. In all other respects, we affirm the judgment.
Comments on P. v. Hatch