People v. Butterfield CA4/2

STATEMENT OF FACTS

Defendant and his girlfriend, Sharon Loosevelt (the victim), were homeless but

had a regular location for sleeping and living near the Riverside Metrolink station. Early

on the evening of September 5, 2013, while returning to the campsite, Ms. Loosevelt saw

defendant with another woman and became angry. She told defendant she intended to

leave, and he grabbed her by the arms and legs. The victim was pulled onto a mattress

and held down; at one point defendant bit her in the face and punched her repeatedly.

1 All subsequent statutory references are to the Penal Code.

2 Eventually an acquaintance appeared and defendant released the victim. The victim fled

to a nearby gas station where she encountered California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers.

The victim’s estimate of the duration of the incident was up to four hours. She

judged this by the observation that when she arrived, the sun was still up, but by the time

she got away from defendant it was dark. The victim also testified that on the previous

evening, defendant had “drug me across the parking lot” because “[h]e wanted me to

come back home again,” and that “[h]e didn’t want me to leave . . . I…