People v. Grant
| Decision Date | 11 September 2017 |
| Docket Number | B270230 |
| Parties | THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. CHRISTOPHER GRANT, Defendant and Appellant. |
| Court | California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.
(Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. YA092783)
APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Mark S. Arnold, Judge. Affirmed.
Steven A. Brody, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.
Kamala D. Harris and Xavier Becerra, Attorneys General, Gerald A. Engler, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Shawn McGahey Webb, Ilana Herscovitz and Gary Lieberman, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
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Christopher Grant argues that, had the trial court not erroneously admitted evidence of two prior convictions and the prosecutor not committed misconduct by referring to facts not in evidence, the jury would not have convicted him of assault with a deadly weapon and assault likely to produce great bodily injury. To the extent Grant did not preserve these issues because his trial counsel failed to object, Grant contends he received ineffective assistance. We conclude that Grant forfeited his prosecutorial misconduct argument and that, even if the court committed evidentiary error and Grant's trial counsel was ineffective, overwhelming and virtually uncontested evidence supports Grant's convictions. Therefore, we affirm.
One evening Grant and his friend Jonathan Jackson drove together to a nearby motel to pick up a woman named Karen. Grant had communicated with Karen online and by phone, but had never met her in person before that night, and Jackson did not know her. After picking up Karen, the three of them went to Jackson's house where Jackson made drinks. Jackson left Grant and Karen in the kitchen while he went to watch television and work on his laptop. About 45 minutes later, Karen abruptly left.
Concerned for Karen's safety, Jackson and Grant left in Jackson's car to find her. They found her and offered her a ride back to her motel, but Karen refused to get in the car. Jacksondecided to take Grant home first and then return for Karen, who was waiting inside Jackson's gated community.
By the time Jackson and Grant arrived at Grant's house, they were arguing. Grant refused to get out of the car despite having his keys in his hand, ready to open his front door. Their altercation escalated to the point that both men threw punches at each other. After the initial physical exchange, Grant punched Jackson in the face while his keys were still in his hand. Grant stabbed Jackson with a key three times, puncturing his cheek, causing a gash on his head that required 15 stitches, and injuring his eye. Jackson did not fight back after Grant stabbed him. Instead, he got out of the car to get a towel from his trunk to soak up the blood. Grant got out of the car and went inside his house.
Jackson returned to his neighborhood, picked up Karen, dropped her off at her motel, and called 911. He reported that he took Grant home because Grant "got drunk" and was "physically assaulting" Karen. He told the 911 operator he and Grant had argued in the car about Karen. Grant had accused Jackson of wanting to have sex with her. Jackson said Grant eventually put his keys between his knuckles and hit Jackson. "I have a big gash," Jackson said.
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies responded to Jackson's call, and upon arrival saw Jackson covered in blood. Jackson repeated what he had told the 911 operator and gave the deputies Grant's address. Jackson went to the hospital while the deputies went to question Grant.
Grant cooperated with the deputies and told Deputy Marco Chavez he had been in a fight with a friend. Grant explained that he and Jackson, who was jealous of Grant's physicalappearance, had fought about a weightlifting and nutrition program and about Jackson's weight. Grant said "a couple of times" that "he had hit [Jackson] as hard as he could" during the fight. Deputy Chavez did not observe any injuries on Grant but smelled alcohol on him. Deputy Chavez arrested Grant, searched him, and recovered a blood-stained key.
The People charged Grant with assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury (Pen. Code, § 245, subd. (a)(4)) and assault with a deadly weapon (id., § 245, subd. (a)(1)). The People also alleged Grant personally inflicted great bodily injury in the commission of a felony within the meaning of Penal Code section 12022.7, subdivision (a).
Grant and Jackson both testified at trial. They gave different accounts of what happened the night of their conflict.
Jackson told the jury Grant had called him several times earlier that evening to ask Jackson to take him and his friend Karen to a strip club. Jackson initially declined because he was tired and had to go to work in the morning. He eventually relented and went to pick up Grant and Karen. Grant appeared drunk and smelled of alcohol when he got in the car.
Rather than going to the strip club, Jackson suggested they go back to his house, where Jackson made a drink for each of them and then retired to his living room where he watched television while working on his laptop. Grant and Karen remained in the kitchen talking. Suddenly Karen ran through the living room and out the front door. Jackson had not heardwhat transpired between Grant and Karen, and he asked Grant what happened. Before Grant answered, Jackson said he would take Karen home and suggested Grant stay behind "because, obviously, [his] presence was a problem." Grant, however, got in the car. When they found Karen, she "looked really frightened and afraid" and refused to get in the car. Jackson decided to take Grant home first and return for Karen.
On the way, Jackson and Grant argued about Karen. Jackson again asked what happened, and Grant accused Jackson of wanting to "hook up" with Karen. Jackson told Grant he had no interest in her. When they arrived at Grant's house, Jackson asked Grant to get out of the car. Grant refused. Jackson again asked Grant why Karen had left. When Grant did not respond, Jackson told him he had to leave to take Karen home. Karen then called Grant on his cell phone, asked to speak to Jackson, and asked Jackson to take her home. Grant insisted on going with Jackson, but Jackson told Grant to get out of the car. Grant again accused Jackson of wanting to have sex with Karen.
Jackson testified he asked Grant to get out of the car several more times. After Jackson put his hand on the steering wheel and gave Grant a look that said "get out," Grant hit Jackson three times with a closed fist on the jaw and the sides of his face. Jackson struck back three times, but stopped because he felt Grant had stopped, and Jackson did not want to take advantage of Grant while he was drunk. Jackson grabbed Grant by the shirt and asked, Jackson said he lowered his voice to try to diffuse the situation and again asked Grant to get out of the car so he could drive Karen home. Again Grant accused him of wanting to "go hook up with the broad."Jackson again denied the accusation. He thought Grant was going to get out of the car when he saw Grant playing with his keys and then put a key between his middle knuckles. As Jackson went to start his car, Grant hit him, puncturing his right cheek. Grant hit him again, puncturing his face just below his eye, then hit him a third time on the top of his head.
Grant told a very different story. He said Jackson had called him that evening and wanted to talk about a workout regimen Grant had given him. Jackson asked Grant if he could pick him up, go to a bar, and talk. They went to the bar but did not go inside. Instead they sat in the car in the parking lot talking. Grant said he had not consumed any alcohol before Jackson picked him up.
Thirty to forty minutes later Grant suggested they pick up his friend Karen, and Jackson readily agreed. Grant introduced Jackson to Karen as Grant's brother, explaining he usually said that because they were so close. Jackson suggested they go back to his house for drinks. Grant and Karen talked in the kitchen, but when their conversation turned to religion, Karen "got upset," said "I'm out of here," and left. Grant said he never touched or physically assaulted her.
Jackson asked what happened, and Grant told him they had a disagreement about "spiritual matters." Jackson said, "Let's go get her, man," and they left to find her. They found Karen less than five minutes later, but she did not want to get into the car and seemed "mad." Jackson told Grant he would take him home. During the drive, Jackson seemed "very upset"and started cursing at Grant. Grant speculated that Jackson was upset because Grant and Karen had "got into it at his house."
Once they parked in front of Grant's house, Grant took out his keys "because [he] was planning on getting out of the car." Grant did not get out, however, "because [Jackson] was talking to [him] like [he] was his kid or something, and it was like late in the evening, and [the] street is very quiet, and he was calling [him] all kinds of names." After Grant refused to get out of the car, Jackson continued cursing at him. Grant said, ...
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