People v. Seals CA2/8

INTRODUCTION

A jury convicted defendant Toi Seals of assault with a firearm, and it found true great bodily injury and firearm enhancements. On appeal, Seals argues his attorney rendered ineffective assistance by failing to request a “no duty to retreat” pinpoint instruction to support his claim of self-defense. As we explain, any omission by counsel did not prejudice Seals because the evidence did not support a no duty to retreat instruction. Accordingly, we affirm Seals’s conviction.

BACKGROUND

One early morning in February 2019, Carlos Guerrero, Robert Jojola, Arlando Martinez, and Carlos Valencia were inside a tent on a sidewalk in Hollywood. Dillion Mahoney and his girlfriend slept in another tent nearby. Around 5:00 a.m., Seals stopped his car near the tents and began “honking aggressively.” Guerrero confronted Seals and asked him to stop honking his car’s horn. Seals pulled his car to the curb, with his driver’s side window facing the sidewalk. Seals and Guerrero started arguing. After Mahoney heard Seals say “I’ll fuck you up” or “I’ll beat your ass” to Guerrero, Mahoney approached Seals and asked him to “take it somewhere else.” Seals told Mahoney that he would “fuck…