People v. Hernandez CA5

INTRODUCTION

Defendant David Frank Hernandez used his truck to chase and intentionally collide with a car occupied by Luis, his wife, and two children. A jury convicted defendant of four counts of assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of child abuse likely to produce great bodily injury. The court sentenced defendant to a suspended five- year prison term, a two-year term of probation, and one year in county jail. Defendant appeals, arguing that the evidence is insufficient to prove that he was aware the children were passengers in Luis’s car when he intentionally hit it and he was prejudiced when the trial court erroneously included a rejected instruction (relating to an aggravating sentencing factor) in the written jury instructions provided to the jury during deliberations. We affirm the judgment.

PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The District Attorney of Stanislaus County filed a second amended information on September 20, 2022, charging defendant with four counts of assault with a deadly weapon (Pen. Code,1 § 245, subd. (a)(1); counts I–IV) and two counts of child abuse likely to produce great bodily injury (§ 273a, subd. (a); counts V, VI). The second amended information also…