People v. Palacios CA4/3

FACTS

At the time of the incident, defendant and D.N., the victim, had been dating for about four months. Around 2 a.m., on August 29, 2018, D.N. heard someone trying to break into her apartment where she was asleep with her two daughters. She asked if it

1 All further statutory references are to the Penal Code.

2 was defendant, who said, “Yes, open the door.” After she opened the door, she noticed defendant was angry. They went outside where defendant “aggressively grabbed” her and accused her of cheating on him. He also grabbed her wrist and face, leaving an abrasion on her cheek. While pulling her hair, he demanded she tell him the truth and eventually punched her in the chest. D.N. suspected defendant was intoxicated. D.N. then ran to get help from her neighbor. She knocked loudly on his door and shouted for him to come out. When the neighbor opened the door, he noticed D.N. looked terrified. She told him to call the police and that defendant tried to choke her. Although the neighbor attempted to talk to defendant, defendant did not acknowledge him. Instead, defendant stared at D.N. and demanded to know the truth. D.N. offered to let defendant look at her phone, but he took…