P. v. Rock
In this case, the prosecution and the defense presented radically different versions of the events that occurred at a party in Fontana in August 2009. It appears the jury generally accepted the defense version, finding defendant Jacob Aaron Rock guilty only of a lesser misdemeanor offense of assault on a police officer (Pen. Code, § 241,[1] subd. (c)) rather than the charge of assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon (§ 245, subd. (c)) in count 1, found not true the allegation of great bodily injury as to that count (§ 12022.7), and voted 11 to 1 and 10 to 2 in favor of acquittal on two additional counts of resisting executive officers (§ 69).[2] Defendant contends the trial court erred in refusing to instruct the jury with his requested instruction on willful destruction of evidence. We agree that the trial court abused its discretion by failing to impose an appropriate sanction in the event the jury made a factual finding of willful destruction of evidence; however, we find the error harmless, and we affirm.
Defendant Jacob Aaron Rock appeals from his conviction of misdemeanor assault on Police Officer Shane McCoy (§ 241, subd. (c)) as a lesser included offense to the charge of assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon (§ 245, subd. (c)).[3] Defendant contends the trial court erred in refusing to instruct the jury with a requested instruction on willful destruction of evidence. Although we agree the trial court failed to instruct the jury properly on willful destruction of evidence, we find the error harmless and we therefore affirm.
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