People v. Golson CA1/4

I. BACKGROUND

East Palo Alto police officer Andrea Dion responded to a report of a fight outside a house on the afternoon of January 31, 2011. According to a 911 caller, a woman had a knife in each hand, a man was beating her and another man, and the woman was trying to defend herself. When Dion arrived, three people, Willette Windom, Terry Malone, and Shawnta E.1 flagged her down. All of them were visibly upset. A garden hose was in the

1 We will refer to Shawnta E. by her first name. We intend no disrespect.

1 driveway, with water running, and there was blood on the front door, the driveway, and the sidewalk. Officer Dion saw the handle of a knife in a puddle. There appeared to be blood on Shawnta’s clothing. Shawnta did not testify at trial, but her preliminary hearing testimony was read to the jury. Shawnta testified that defendant drove up to her house. She went out to the end of the driveway and asked him several times to leave. Defendant grabbed her in a tight hug around her neck, and she had difficulty breathing. She asked him to let her go and pushed away from him. He let her go after about a minute and a half. She ran into the house. Shawnta testified that when she…