People v. Godoy CA4/3

FACTS

At the time of the incident, V.R. lived in Garden Grove, close to her employment at the Venus Sports Lounge (Venus) on Beach Boulevard (Beach). One evening in June 2012, V.R.’s fiancée drove her home from work because she had been drinking. She left her car at Venus. After arguing with her fiancée, V.R. decided at 1 a.m. to walk to Venus and retrieve her car. As V.R. approached a gas station on Beach, she saw Bernard Peters. V.R. knew Peters through their mutual friend, Tiffany Brewer. Peters offered to give V.R. a ride to her car, however, V.R. declined because she did not know Peters very well, and she did not trust him enough to get into a vehicle with him. After declining Peters’s offer for a ride, V.R. continued running west down Beach. On her way, V.R. either called, or received a call from Brewer. V.R. started walking as she spoke with Brewer. When V.R. walked across a river bed on

All further statutory references are to the Penal Code.

2 Beach, Godoy jumped on her back. V.R. turned and tried to fight off her attacker, but Godoy threw V.R. down onto the sidewalk, causing her cellular phone to drop. Knowing Brewer was still on the phone, V.R. began…