Hartley

Defendant Joshua Anthony Hartley arranged for a taxi ride home from a bar, then refused to pay the fare after arguing with the driver, who had missed a turn while Hartley was talking on his cell phone. Hartley accused the driver of trying to run up the meter. Hartley exited the cab and began to walk home. The driver caught up with Hartley in order to make a police report. Hartley confronted the driver and the men continued to argue; at one point, Hartley pulled a knife from his back pocket. A neighbor heard the disturbance and witnessed Hartley advancing on the driver, though the neighbor saw nothing in Hartley’s hands. The neighbor called 911. The police arrived after the men had separated and as Hartley was continuing his walk home.

Hartley was charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon (Pen. Code, § 245, subd. (a)(1); count 1); felony criminal threats (§ 422; count 2), with an enhancement for personal use of a deadly and dangerous weapon (§ 12022, subd. (b)(1)); and misdemeanor petty theft of labor (§§ 484, 488; count 3). A jury acquitted Hartley of felony assault but convicted him of the lesser included offense of misdemeanor simple assault (§ 240). The jury…