People v. Villa CA2/6

FACTS

We briefly summarize the facts of the offense from the probation officer's report. Appellant and the mother of his three-year-old daughter (mother) were arguing about money. He slapped her four times across the face. As she tried to run away, he grabbed her by the hair and scratched her on the back of her neck. She ran off, but appellant found her hiding in the bathroom and dragged her back to the dining room. He punched her in the eye. When she began to yell for help, he placed her on her back, pushed his knee into her stomach, and began choking her with both hands. He stopped when their daughter, standing next to them, cried, "No papi!" A few weeks later, mother tried to leave her house with a friend. Appellant stopped her, stating, "You're not going anywhere, you bitch." He sat down on her lap to keep her seated on the couch. He told his friend Muggs to retrieve a gun and a knife. Muggs returned with a gun in his waistband and handed appellant a six-inch knife. Appellant poked mother with it in the back of her arm while they were arguing. Mother's friend ran out and called the police. When officers arrived, they ordered mother to leave the residence with…