People v. Bates CA1/4

BACKGROUND

Defendant was originally charged with one felony count of assault with a deadly weapon. During the preliminary hearing, a county worker testified that defendant became enraged by the worker’s advisement that defendant could not camp on county property in an unlicensed vehicle. Upon hearing this statement, defendant said, “What are you going to do about it?” and threw a rock near the worker’s head, breaking the window of the county truck the worker was driving. After the preliminary hearing, the People filed an information charging defendant with the same felony count and an additional misdemeanor count of vandalism. Defendant subsequently agreed to plead no contest to an amended felony count of assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury (instead of assault with a deadly weapon), in exchange for dismissal of the misdemeanor vandalism charge and a sentence not to exceed the low term of two years in state prison.1 As part of the plea deal, defendant agreed that the court could order restitution and consider the preliminary hearing transcript as the factual basis for the plea. The trial court ordered a presentence investigation report, which defendant received.…