People v. Flemons CA3

FACTS

The following facts are taken from the trial testimony of various witnesses to the incident giving rise to defendant’s claims. Paul Heston (Defendant’s Neighbor) Paul Heston lives next door to defendant in Elk Grove. Heston testified that, on July 27, 2012, he was in his kitchen when he heard a “[v]ery loud argument” coming from defendant’s backyard. People were yelling and cursing and “threatening back and forth.” It was difficult for Heston to hear all of the words spoken, but he did hear a male say, “[Y]ou ‘F’ with my family,” and a male, perhaps the same male, say, “I’ll cut you.” He could discern the “two loudest . . . and threatening” voices were male, with one female voice attempting to calm the situation. Looking over the fence, he could see four people (defendant, his wife Dondra Flemons, his stepson T.Y., and another male) from the shoulders up. Heston observed defendant and T.Y. “carrying on back and forth” while Dondra tried to calm defendant down, and could tell they were angry by the tone of their voices and because they were “moving around and posturing.” Heston also observed defendant’s young daughter J.F. standing in the corner of the yard looking “very…