People v. Mathews CA2/7

INTRODUCTION

Defendant Ricardo Mathews appeals from a judgment of conviction entered after a jury found him guilty of assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury (Pen. Code, § 245, subd. (a)(4)),1 second degree robbery (§ 211), and dissuading a witness (§ 136.1, subd. (b)(1)). Defendant claims the trial court erred in refusing to instruct the jury on self-defense, and erred in not staying his sentence pursuant to section 654 for dissuading a witness. We conclude the trial court did not err in refusing to instruct the jury on self-defense because the defense was not supported by substantial evidence. We also conclude that defendant’s sentence for dissuading a witness should have been stayed pursuant to section 654 and modify the judgment accordingly.

FACTS

A. Prosecution Evidence During defendant’s trial, prosecution witnesses provided the following testimony: On the night of May 5, 2014, Bradley Clemm and Stefanja Pytel, who were guests staying in room 305 of the Luxury Lofts Hotel in Santa Monica, went to sleep in their room. Around 2:00 a.m., Pytel was awakened by the sound of someone yelling “guest services” in the hallway outside their room. She heard the…