People v. Gaytan CA5

FACTS

Appellant was charged with injuring a domestic partner (§ 273.5, subd. (a); count 1); first degree burglary (§ 459; count 2); unlawfully attempting to prevent and dissuade a victim or witness of a crime from causing a complaint, indictment, information, probation and parole violation to be sought and prosecuted and assisting in the prosecution thereof (§ 136.1(b)(2); count 3); and a misdemeanor count of disobeying a court order (§ 166, subd. (a)(4); count 4). The jury acquitted appellant of counts 1 and 2 and convicted him of counts 3 and 4. We include the facts presented at trial underlying counts 1 and 2 as they are relevant to understanding counts 3 and 4 and to our analysis of appellant’s claims on appeal. Counts 1 and 2: The Offenses Underlying the Dissuasion Count Allyshia Sandoval testified she dated appellant on and off from 2015 until they broke up in January 2019. At the time they broke up, Sandoval was pregnant with appellant’s child. Sandoval stated the reason they broke up was because appellant had cheated. While appellant and Sandoval were together, he lived with her part time and had belongings at her house, which, around the day after they broke up, Sandoval…