Zavala
People v. Zavala
Opinion
Opinion
McDONALD, J.
A jury convicted appellant Mario Gonzalez Zavala of one count of stalking (Pen. Code, § 646.9, subd.(a), count one) in connection with his conduct toward his former wife, Alicia Zavala (Wife), between July 11 and August 29, 2003, and one count of misdemeanor child abuse (§ 273a, subd. (b)) in connection with his conduct toward his daughter during the same period. Zavala argues there is insufficient evidence to support the stalking conviction, and the court committed instructional and evidentiary errors requiring reversal of the stalking conviction. Zavala also asserts there is insufficient evidence to support the misdemeanor child abuse conviction.
I
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
A. Prosecution Case
Background
Zavala and Wife were married in 1989. However, they separated in 1991 after a domestic violence incident prompted Wife to obtain a temporary restraining order against him, and they were divorced in 1992. At the time of their divorce, they had one daughter (Daughter). Zavala and Wife subsequently reconciled and they resumed living together without remarrying, and had a second child together. In the first part of 2003, the family lived together at 1262 Waxwing Lane in Chula…