Quarles

*50 *633 INTRODUCTION

Defendant Jeffrey Lynn Quarles appeals from a judgment of damaging a telephone line or mechanical equipment connected to the line ( Pen. Code, § 591 ), 1 misdemeanor battery on an elder (§ 243.25), and the lesser included offense of misdemeanor elder abuse (§ 368, subd. (c) ). The convictions arise out of an altercation with his elderly parents. On appeal, defendant challenges only his section 591 conviction. Specifically, he maintains section 591 is a specific intent crime and, thus, the trial court erred in refusing to give a voluntary intoxication instruction. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

At the time of the incident in question, defendant's parents were entertaining a guest for dinner. While defendant and his father were in the kitchen, his father observed him "acting differently." Confronting defendant about his behavior, his father accused him of drinking.

Defendant became "belligerent and aggressive" and approached his father, coming within six inches of his father's face with his fists clenched. As his *634 father pushed defendant's hands away, defendant responded with a swing. His father attempted to restrain defendant, and their quarrel turned into a…