In re R.M. CA1/1

I. BACKGROUND

An original section 602 petition filed on February 21, 2013, alleged appellant committed misdemeanor child abuse by willfully inflicting unjustifiable physical pain and mental suffering on an eight-month-old child. (Pen. Code, § 273a, subd. (b).) Appellant failed to appear at his arraignment and a bench warrant issued for his arrest. He was arrested on July 4, 2013. Appellant was arraigned and the warrant was recalled on July 8. He was detained in juvenile hall. A contested jurisdictional hearing began on July 26, 2013. A. Prosecution Case Two witnesses testified at the contested jurisdiction hearing—appellant’s younger sister, T.M., and the Vacaville police officer who interviewed T.M. on the evening of October 21, 2012, Officer Shawn Windham. T.M.’s testimony at the hearing varied in significant respects from what she originally told Officer Windham. 1. T.M. T.M. testified she and her three siblings were at home on October 21, 2012. T.M. was approximately 16 years old at the time. T.M.’s siblings were appellant’s older sister Ashley, 19 years old, appellant, then 16 years old, and their seven-year-old brother, P.R. Ashley’s eight-month-old baby, C.M. (hereafter…