People v. Collins CA4/1

BACKGROUND

In August 2019, Collins, who has a black belt in jujutsu, was offended by something Michael W. said and beat him to the point of unconsciousness. Michael suffered facial cuts, a chipped tooth, severe injuries to his nose and left eye, head trauma, and bruised ribs. Michael took pain medication for more than two months after the attack, and at the time of trial he still experienced dizziness and visual problems. A jury found Collins guilty of assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury (Pen. Code, § 245, subd. (a)(4); undesignated section references are to this code), and found true an allegation that in committing the assault he personally inflicted great bodily injury on a person other than an accomplice (§ 12022.7, subd. (a)). In a separate bench trial, the court found Collins had a conviction of first degree burglary in 2001, which constituted a serious felony for purposes of a five-year enhancement (§ 667, subd. (a)(1)) and a strike for purposes of the “Three Strikes” law (§§ 667, subds. (b)–(i), 1170.12). The court sentenced Collins to an aggregate prison term of 16 years, which consisted of the upper term of four years for the assault…