People v. Huntington CA3

BACKGROUND

In October 2022, Huntington threw a glass mug at a victim’s face, causing injury. The People charged him with assault with a deadly weapon (Pen. Code, § 245, subd. (a)(1))1 and battery resulting in serious bodily injury (§ 243, subd. (d)), and alleged a prior strike conviction. Huntington moved for pretrial mental health diversion. In its opposition brief, the People detailed Huntington’s lengthy criminal history, which included: (1) a 1999 conviction for committing a lewd and lascivious act upon a child under the age of 14 years (§ 288, subd. (a)); and (2) four subsequent convictions for failure to register as a sex offender (§§ 290, former subd. (g)(2); 290.018). The People also pointed out that while Huntington was out on bail in the current case, he committed domestic violence acts that were the subject of a separate case. As to the lewd and lascivious conduct conviction, Huntington told the court he mistakenly believed the child was 21 years old when he committed the offense. Huntington also claimed that his failures to register stemmed from his homelessness. The trial court found Huntington was not suitable for mental health diversion. The court explained: “The…