People v. Zinman

• Decision Date: 04 August 2022
• Docket Number: 2d Crim. B313764
• Parties: THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. JUSTIN MARCUS ZINMAN, Defendant and Appellant.
• Court: California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
JUSTIN MARCUS ZINMAN, Defendant and Appellant.

2d Crim. No. B313764

California Court of Appeals, Second District, Sixth Division

August 4, 2022

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

Superior Court County of Ventura, No. 2021001112, Ryan J. Wright, Judge.

Robert L. Hernandez, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Stephanie A. Miyoshi, and Rene Judkiewicz, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

PERREN, J.

Justin Marcus Zinman appeals the judgment entered after a jury convicted him of making criminal threats (Pen. Code,^[1]§ 422) and stalking (§ 646.9, subd. (a)). The jury also found true allegations that appellant had a prior serious felony conviction that also qualified as a strike (§§ 667, subds. (a)(1), (c)(1), &(e)(1), 1170.12, subds. (a)(1) &(c)(1)). The trial court sentenced him to 11 years in state prison. Appellant contends that his

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criminal threats conviction must be reversed for insufficient evidence. We affirm.^[2]

STATEMENT OF FACTS

In 2017, appellant and Breana H. met while working at the Kohl's store in Simi Valley and subsequently entered into a romantic relationship. Following his graduation from college in the summer of 2019, appellant began living with Breana and her parents at their home in Simi Valley. After appellant moved in, he became preoccupied with religion and obsessed with government conspiracy theories. He told Breana that she lived in a "matriarchal" household and needed to leave.

Appellant and Breana's relationship ended in July or August of 2019, but they continued speaking intermittently until appellant moved away in December 2019. Breana eventually told appellant she was afraid of his behavior and wanted no further contact with him.

In August or September of 2020, appellant sent Breana an email to which she did not respond. Appellant subsequently sent Breana an Instagram message followed by text messages and phone calls from an Idaho number. Appellant texted that his "next step is to call your mom" to tell her that he planned to marry Breana and was "a worthy husband."

Breana did not respond to the Instagram message or phone calls, but eventually responded to the texts by telling appellant to stop texting her and that she would call him the next day when she was not at work. The following morning, appellant texted: "Have fun working in the most corrupt failing, work

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establishment. And, by the way, outside California people know this pandemic is fake ....Trump 2020 Landslide."

On September 21, 2020, appellant sent Breana a text message accusing her of having a sexual relationship with his friend Tom. Appellant referred to Tom as a liar and alcoholic who "beat the shit out of" his girlfriends and told Breana "[m]aybe you two are perfect for each other." Although Breana had never met Tom in person, he had previously reached out to her about appellant.

By December 2020, Breana was receiving emails from appellant almost every day. In a December 13 email, appellant stated: "I had to do what I had to do to infiltrate you and your matriarchal household and family.... I will be returning to take you.... You are a property of me [sic]. Whether your family likes it or not, I will deal with them.... I will challenge your dad to a gentleman's dual [sic] if I have to. Maybe that will wake up the man in him, too, so he can start fucking your mom properly and chill her out." That same day, appellant sent another email message stating he could "take care" of Breana's grandmother, whom he called a "witch."

Five days later, appellant sent Breanna's mother Cheryl a text message stating that he was giving Breana "a taste of her own medicine" by subjecting her to "total manipulation" and added "I just wanted you to know the truth . . . since Breana has put me in a situation where I have to worry about having the FBI involved." Cheryl forwarded the text to Breana, who subsequently reported it to the police.

In a December 22 email, appellant told Breana that incest, pedophilia and rape are federal crimes and added "I am here to save you. I am your protector.... You have been harmed and I

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want you to be healed. Rape is not love. Delta Force goes to the end of the earth to save and protect the vulnerable. You can trust me. I love you Queen B." Although Breana did not initially understand what appellant meant, she subsequently realized he was falsely accusing her father of molesting her. On December 25, appellant emailed Breana "I know what you're into. Tom has always been gay for me, that's why he always went after the girls I get. He wants to make me jealous, so I fucked him because he's a faggot."

Two days later, appellant sent an email with the subject heading "Still waiting for the FBI." The email stated: "If you decide to speak with me, you will have to submit to my rule and confess just how wrong you were about me.... I give you the opportunity to be my queen. This is the best offer you will ever get in your entire life. Speak now or forever be denied your peace." Breana interpreted the latter comment as a threat that he had to be with appellant "or else."

On January 7, 2021, appellant sent Breana an email stating "Treason against God. Here you go, my lady. Make America great again." The message included an photograph of a noose accompanied by the statement "Ribbon to support the cure for treason." Breana understood this to mean that appellant expected her to submit to him "as he had put it in words before, or else here is the noose." She subsequently sent appellant a message telling him to stop contacting and harassing her. The next day, appellant emailed a message stating that he had "stored" her "secrets and deleted e-mails" and that "[e]veryone will confess." In another email, appellant referred to Breana's father as "a pedo" and asked if Breana loved Tom "[b]ecause I am getting ready to come take you as my wife caveman style."

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On January 9, appellant sent Cheryl a message stating that he was going to come to her house, take Breana as his wife, and "fuck the shit out of her every day for the rest of [his] life." Appellant also accused Breana of having sex with her father and said he was coming to Simi...