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Filed 12/23/22 P. v. Safa CA1/4

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS

California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.
IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FOUR

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,

v. FARZAD SAFA , Defendant and Appellant. A1 6 4975
( Sonoma County Super. Ct. No. SCR

- 748749

- 1 )

Defendant Farzad Safa appeals his conviction, challenging only two of the five counts on which the jury found him guilty. He contends that his
conviction for making criminal threats ( Pen. C ode , 1 § 422 ) is not supported by substantial evidence and that the court erred in faili ng sua sponte to instruct on a lesser included offense. He also contends that he was prejudiced by the consolidation of that charge and the charge of assault with a nonfirearm deadly weapon, a sports utility vehicle ( SUV ) (§ 245, subd. ( a)(1)) , with a misd emeanor charge of battery . We find no error and shall affirm.

Factual and Procedural History
In 2021 d efendant lived in the same condominium complex as Michael Kennedy , Barry Corigliano, and Patrick Hawken. Ken n edy and Hawken each testified that , starting sometime before May 2021 , defendant often acted

1 All statutory references are to the Penal Code.2

erratically and verbally abused and intimidat ed them and other residents of the complex

. On one evening in May, Kennedy took a walk with his girlfriend,
Ellen DeProto

. When they stopped in a n outdoor common area to speak with

a neighbor , DeProto saw defendant walk toward Kennedy without breaking
stride and, as Kennedy began to turn toward him , punch him in the mouth. Defendant agitatedly asked, “ Who do you have coming after me? ” and said, “You can’t be over here. You can’t be on this side of the complex. Don’t show your face around here.” He then “ ran off

. ” Kennedy suffered a “small injury ”
to his mouth. Soon thereafter, t he d istrict a ttorney filed a misdemeanor complaint charging defendant with one count of battery ( § 242). Three months later, on August 21, 2021 , defendant drove by Kennedy
and hi s neighbor Corigliano as the two were chatting at a n interior road way in the complex. Defendant turned his SUV around and drove back toward the

men , at a speed Kennedy estimated at 35 to 40 miles per hour and Corigliano at 55 miles per hour

. Defendant stopped just short of them

— within 10 feet (Coriglian o’s estimate) or one to o ne and a half feet (Kennedy’s estimate)

. Defendant exited the SUV and charged at Kennedy with a raised fist. Corigliano pushed him away and , after an exchange of words , defendant drove away. 2
Five days later , while going for his mail around 9:00 p.m

. , Hawken
observed defendant harass ing two elderly women

. H awken called the police

. W hen Santa Rose Police Officer Erick Arango

- Nunez arrived, Hawken pointed out defendant , who got in his SUV and lock ed the doors. The officer
tried to speak with him , but defendant turned up his radio and rolled up his

2 Corigliano also testified that, in an uncharged incident a “couple days” later, he took out his trash and saw defendant racing through the parking lot. Defendant “floor[ed] it” toward Corigliano, making him jump out of the way. The SUV, which he felt was going to hit him, passed within three or four feet.3

windows

. A fter a second officer arrived , the two decided to de

- escalate the situation by leaving.
Hawken got his mail and began walk ing back to his condominium

. En route , defend ant pulled up to him in his SUV, yell ing profanities , and said, “ [W] ait right here. I got something in the house that will end you” ; he
then drove off. Hawken felt terrified. He had previously seen defendant with a high

- powered pellet gun, knew that he own ed “non

- firearm stuff that could really d o some damage,” and had hear d rumors that he owne d guns. Hawken
believe d that defendant planned to get a weapon , and he fear ed that defendant would hurt or kill him

. He was also concern ed about the safety of
his 12

- year
- old son. Hawken walked directly back to his c ondominium , locked the door , and
called Officer Arango

- Nunez

. He and the officer had two separate , recorded
conversations , each of which the jury heard . After listening to the recordings , Hawken testified that , in the first call , he felt “[f]rantic, to say the least ” and “[v] ery shaken. ” D uring the second call , he w as “frazzled, emotionally, physically shaking ” ; he described his voice on the recording as “ really, really shaky ,” which he attributed at trial to “fear .” Officer Arango

- Nunez , who learn ed that defendant had outstanding
misdemeanor arrest warrants , returned to the complex with the other officer

. They found defendant in his SUV and said they were going to arrest him. Defendant refused to leav e the SUV ; eventually , the officers removed him forcibly

. In the SUV they found two guns, one loaded and one disassembled.
T he d istrict a ttorney then filed a second complaint , ultimately charging defendant with three felonies

— assault with a deadly weapon ( the SUV)4

(§ 245, subd. (a)(1)) , 3 making criminal threats (§ 422, subd. (a)), and carrying

a loaded, unregistered firearm in public (§ 25850, subd s

. (a) & (c)(6))

— a nd

one misdemeanor count of resisting a peace officer (§ 148, subd. (a)(1 )). T he
d istrict a ttorney later moved to consolidate the sec ond c omplaint with the
earlier misdemeanor ba ttery complaint , contending that they involved “offenses of the same class of crime” that were “connected together in their commission” by shared evidence. Over oppos ition , the court granted the
motion , and the d istrict a ttorney filed an amended information combining all five counts

. The case proceeded to a two

- day trial at which Kennedy , Corigliano , DeProto , and Hawken testified

. After the prosecution rested , defendant
moved for acquittal (§ 1118.1) on the criminal

- threat count , contending that the prosecution had not offered substant ial evidence of the element of sustained fear. The court denied the motion. The jury found defendant guilty on all five counts. The court sentenced
him to an aggregate prison term of four years and four months. 4 Defendant timely appealed.

3 The operative pleading alleged that defendant committed the crim e on or about August 21 , the da y of the incident involving both Kennedy and Coriglian o . A t trial, a unanimity instruction tol d the jury t hat they could find him guilty o f assault with a deadly weapon based only on his conduct on that da te , not based on conduct on any other day

.

4 The sentence comprises a three

- year middle term on the primary count, assault with a deadly weapon ; consecutive sentences of one

- third of the middle term, or eight months each, on the criminal

- threat and firearm counts ; and concurrent sentences, each of six months, on the misdemeanor counts of resisting a peace officer and battery.5 Discussion 1. The Criminal Threat The elements of the section 422 , subd ivision (a) offense are ( 1) willfully threatening to commit a crime that would cause death or great bodily injury (2) with a specific intent that one’s words be taken as a threat (3) in terms so unequivocal, unconditional, immediate, and specific as to convey a gravity of purpose and immediate prospect of execution, causing the victim to experience fear for their own or an immediate family member’s safety that is (4) sustained and (5) reasonable in the circumstances. ( People v. Toledo (2001) 26 Cal.4th 221, 22 7

– 228.) Defendant contends the prosecution failed to offer substantial evidence of only the “sustained fear” element of the offense , and that the t rial cou r t erred in failing to instruct sua sponte on the lesser included offense of attempted criminal threat

. To assess the sufficiency of the evidence, we review “ ‘ the entire record in the light most favorable to the judgment to determine whether it contains
substantial evidence

— that is, evidence that is reasonable, credible, and of
solid value

— from which a reasonable trier of fact could find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. ’ ” ( People v. Maciel (2013) 57 Cal.4th 482,
514

– 515 .) E ven if the evidence can “ be reasonably reconciled with a contrary finding ,” we must affirm so long as any rational trier of fact could have found the defendant guilty. ( People v. Wear (2020) 44 Cal.App.5th 1007, 1019.)
Fear is “sustained” if it lasts for a time that “ extends beyond what is momentary, fleeting, or transitory.” ( People v. Allen (1995) 33 Cal.App.4th 1149, 1156; accord, People v. Fierro (2010) 180 Cal.App.4th 1342, 1349

. )6

Defendant does not question that Hawken wa s reasonably placed in fear 5 but
contends there is no evidence that his f ear was sustained because there is no testimony quantifying how long he remained in fear. But Hawken testified that, after defen dant told him to “wait right here. I got something in the house that will end you , ” he walked home, locked his door , and called the police

. During the first call he felt “[f]rantic, to say the least” and “[v]ery shaken.” During the second call he was still feeling “frazzled ” and “ physically shaking , ” while speaking in a “ really shaky” voice that he attributed to “fear.” Regardless of the number of minutes that elapsed , this evidence amply supports a fin d ing that Hawken ’ s fear was not “ momentary, fleeting, or transitory.” Defendan t likens t his case to In re Ricky T. (2001) 87 Cal.App.4th 1132, in which this court held that a juvenile court erred in finding that a high
school student caused “sustained fear ” when he reacted to a teacher accidentally hitting him with a classroom door by “getting in [his] face” and saying, “I’m going to get you ” ( id. at p. 113 5). The teacher promptly told the student to go to the office, which he did

. T he student was suspended , and no one called the police until the next day . ( Id. at pp. 1135

– 1136.) While t he teacher “s aid he felt physically threatened ” ( id. at p. 1135), we noted that

“ [w]hatever emotion

— fear, intimidation, or apprehension

— [ t he teacher ] felt during the moment of the verbal encounter, there was nothing to indicate

t hat the fear was more than fleeting or transitory ” ( i d. at p. 1140)

. We

5 A lthough defendant did not visibly possess a weapon while making the threat , as did the defendants in two cases cited by the Attorney General , which defendant attempts to distinguish on that basis ( People v. Allen , supra , 33 Cal.App.4th at p. 1 156; People v. Fierro , supra , 180 Cal.App.4th at p. 1349) , Hawken understood that defendant was going to his nearby home to retrieve one, which was sufficient to place him in fear.7

rejected the contention that “even momentary fear can support a finding of sustained fear within the meaning of section 422” because it would make the statutory term “ sustained” superfluous. ( I bi d .) Here, in contrast, Hawken did testif y to experiencing fear as he returned home following the threat and during his two calls to the police

. Ricky T. is plainly distinguishable

. Defendant’s alternative contention is that even if the evidence of sustained fear was substantial, the trial court should have instruct ed

sua sponte on the lesser included offense of attempted criminal threat. A defendant is guilty of that crime if he makes a com ment that satisfies every element of a criminal threat except that it fails to caus e sustained fear. ( People v. Toledo , supra , 26 Cal.4th at p. 231 .) Such an instruction should have been given if the record reveal s

s ubstantial evidence “ ‘ from which a jury composed of reasonable persons
could conclude “ that the lesser offense, but not the greater, was committed.” ’ ” ( People v. Wilson (2021) 11 Cal.5th 259, 298 ; People v.
Breverman (1998) 19 Cal.4th 142, 177

. ) Here, defendant cites no evidence
that Hawken’s fear was momentary, fleeting, or transitory. ( People v. Allen , supra , 33 Cal.App.4th at p. 1156 .) To the contrary, as just indicated , the uncontradicted evidence was that he remained fearful at lea s t through the two calls he made to the police. Therefore, there was no basis for t he court to instruct sua sponte on a lesser included offense.
2. Consolidation A court may consolidate accusatory pleadings that alleg e offenses

“ connected together in their c ommission ” or “ of the same class of crimes. ” (§ 954 ; People v. Soper ( 20 09 ) 45 Cal. 4th 759 , 769 & fn. 2 ( Soper ) .) To avoid duplicative trials , j oinder “ ‘ is the course of action preferred by the law. ’ ” ( Soper, supra , at p. 772.) On appeal , we assess whether, given the showings made and facts known when the trial court ruled, its decision was “outside8

the bounds of reason ,” and whether defendant has made a “ clear showing of prejudice

. ” ( People v. Merriman (2014) 60 Cal.4th 1, 37 .) But “ ‘ [e]ven if a

. . . joinder ruling is correct [when] made, a reviewing court must reverse the judgment if the “ defendant shows that joinder actually resulted in ‘gross unfairness’ amounting to a denial of due process

. ” ’ ” ( P eople v. Macklem (2007)
149 Cal.App.4th 674, 698; accord, Soper , supra , at p. 783.) Whether the actual trial was so grossly unfair as to deny due process is a mixed question of
law and fact that is predominantly legal ; this court review s such issue s de novo

. ( People v. Aguilera (2020) 50 Cal.App.5th 894, 908

– 909

. ) However , a defendant’s burden of persuasion on a claim of gross unfairness is heavy

. ( Soper , supra , at p. 783.) As defendant concedes, the battery alleged in the misdemeanor case i s of the same class

— crimes of violence

— as the assault with a deadly weapon and criminal threat, making joinder permissible

. But a court may still deny joinder in such a case in the interest of justice

. ( Williams v. Superior Court (1984) 36 Cal.3d 441, 447 , abrogated in part on other grounds by statute as
stated in Alcala v. Superior Court (2008) 43 Cal.4th 1205, 1229 , fn. 19

. )
D efendant contends that the court’s failure to do so here was a clear abuse of
discretion , as it created a risk of prejudice due to the “ spillover effect ” that inflammatory evidence on the battery count was likely to have on the assault
and threat counts , and that this spillover effect did in fact occur , making the trial so grossly unfair as to deny him due process

. A spillover effect occur s if the evidence on two or more charges is not

cross
- admissible, so that evidence of each count would not be admissible at a trial of the other, and if a jury not otherwise uncon vinced of a defendant’s guilt on some charges “might permit the knowledge of defendant’s other criminal activity to tip the balance ” in favor of conviction. ( People v. Armstrong (2016)9

1 Cal.5th 432, 455.) I f all evidence of the joined offenses would be cross

admissible, their joinder cannot be prejudicial. ( People v. Merriman , supra , 60 Cal.4th at pp. 44

– 45.) 6 Assuming non

- cross
- admissibility, two factors are relevant to determine
whether discretion has been abused : “ (1) whether some of the c harges are particularly likely to inflame the jury against the defendant [and] (2) whether a weak case has been joined with a strong case or another weak case so that the totality of the evidence may alter the outcome as to some or all of the charges .” ( So

per, supra , 45 Cal.4th at p. 775.) Neither factor supports defendant’s contention here, whether viewing
the record at the time of the joinder ruling or viewing the trial retrospectively

. D efendant’s act of punching Kennedy was if anything less inflammatory than
the alleged conduct underly in g the felony counts

— an assault by driving at high speed towards Kennedy and Corigliano , and threaten ing to “end” Hawken after retrieving apparently a weapon from his home

. D efendant contends that evidence of the punch suggest ed a “ propensity for violence ” that bolstered the assault and threat charges which he depicts as
weak cases

. H e deems the assault charge weak because there is little
evidence that he “ intended ” to assault Kennedy and Corigliano with his SUV ,

6 T he Attorney General contends that defendant has forfeited the issue of cross

- admissibility by not addressing it in his opening brief. While defendant did not make an express argument as to why evidence of the punch would not have been admissible at a trial limited to the assa ult and threat counts, his brief did note the need to establish non

- cross
- admissibility and did convey his theory as to why the evidence was not cross admissible: namely, in a trial of only the threat and assault counts , evidence of the punch would have be en excluded as improper character evidence showing a propensity for violence

. For present purposes we shall assume that the evidence was not cross

- admissible and resolve the prejudice issue on its merits.10

but assault with a deadly weapon has no intent element. The offense requires
a wil l ful act but , as explained by the unchallenged, standard jury instruction
that defin ed the offense at trial , one “commits an act willfully when he or she does it willingly or on purpose” ; it is “not required that he or she intend to .

. . hurt someone.” (CALCRIM No. 875.)
Nor , contrary to defendant’s contention, was the evidence that he previously punched Kennedy likely to have influenced the jury’s evaluation of Kennedy’s testimony that defendant stopped the SUV one foot short of him in contrast to Corigliano’s estimate of 10 feet. Indeed, i n his closing argument , defense counsel tacitl y conceded that defendant drove toward Kennedy and Corigliano at high speed and stopped some distance short of them. The only disputed elements were whether his driving was an act that “ by its nature would directly and probably result in the application of force ,” and whether he knew of “facts that would lead a reasonable person to realize” as much. Evidence that he punched Kennedy three months earlier had no bearing on
either issue. Similarly, there is no basis to conclude that evidence of the prior

assa ult on Kennedy had any effect on the jury’s evaluation of whether the fear Hawken experienced as the result of defendant’s threat was sustained

. Indeed , there is no evidence that Hawken even knew of the prior assault.
Moreover , any such knowledge would ten d to go only to the issue of whether Hawken’s fear wa s genuine and reasonable , elements that defendant did not dispute. In short, defendant has failed to sustain the heavy burden of showing
that consolidating the misdemeanor battery charge with the charged felonies
rendered his trial so grossly unfair as to amount to a denial of due process

. ( Soper , supra , 45 Cal.4th at p. 783.)11 Disposition The judgment is affirmed

.

POLLAK, P. J.

WE CONCUR:
STREETER, J. BROWN, J.