People v. Schumann CA2/1

BACKGROUND

1. Defendant’s relationship with Elizabeth Ibarra Defendant and his girlfriend Elizabeth Ibarra had a tumultuous relationship that was marked by copious use of methamphetamine, jealousy, constant arguing, and periods of incarceration for each of them. Defendant physically and verbally abused Ibarra and took control of her life and her property. When Ibarra became pregnant, the relationship worsened. Around the end of 2010 or early 2011, Ibarra learned defendant had cheated on her and fathered another child. She was angry and hurt and later decided to seek revenge by exchanging sexually explicit text messages with high school student Francisco Rodriguez, whom she had met through her cousin in the summer of 2011 while defendant was in custody. Because defendant exercised control over Ibarra’s mobile phone, Ibarra knew defendant would see the texts. Rodriguez agreed to participate in the plan. In reality, Ibarra and Rodriguez were just friends. When defendant saw the messages, he broke through the bathroom door to confront Ibarra. She explained that it was a setup to make him jealous, but defendant continued to raise the issue from time to time, such as when Ibarra…