People v. Arellano CA4/2

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On April 16, 2016, defendant and his girlfriend Norma had been separated for

about a week. They had a four-year-old daughter. Norma and their daughter were

staying with her grandparents in Indio. (Arellano, supra, E070730.)

Norma’s grandparents owned another house in Thermal. Norma’s friend, Yajaira

Gonzalez, was renting the home. Defendant had the keys to the house because he was

remodeling it for the grandparents. According to Gonzalez, however, whenever

defendant wanted to enter the house, he had to notify her first. (Arellano, supra,

E070730.)

On April 14 and 15, defendant and Norma argued over various issues, including

his complaint that she was not letting him see their daughter. At one point, defendant

sent her a text message reading, “I’m going to beat your ass, and I don’t care who is

there.” (Arellano, supra, E070730.)

In the early morning hours of April 16, Norma, Gonzalez, and two male friends—

Josue Aguilar, and Eduardo Chan—arrived at the Thermal house, where they intended to

spend the night. Around 4:00 a.m., defendant showed up. He honked his horn

repeatedly. Defendant then banged on the door around 10 times.…