Court Opinion

ID: 9839956
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-14 18:04:24.202104+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:42:13.284636
License: Public Domain

Filed 9/14/23 P. v. Boyajian CA5

                  NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication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
                                     FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

 THE PEOPLE,
                                                                                             F085631
           Plaintiff and Respondent,
                                                                               (Super. Ct. No. F22903726)
                    v.

 WILLIAM SCOTT BOYAJIAN,                                                                  OPINION
           Defendant and Appellant.

                                                   THE COURT*
         APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Fresno County. Monica R.
Diaz, Judge.
         Jan B. Norman, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and
Appellant.
         Office of the State Attorney General, Sacramento, California, for Plaintiff and
Respondent.
                                                        -ooOoo-

         * Before Detjen, Acting P. J., Snauffer, J. and De Santos, J.
                         STATEMENT OF APPEALABILITY
       This appeal is from a final judgment following a no contest plea which disposed of
all issues between the parties. (Pen. Code § 1237, subd. (a).)1
                             STATEMENT OF THE CASE
       On May 24, 2022, the Fresno County District Attorney filed a complaint alleging
that on or about May 22, 2022, Boyajian committed corporal injury to his spouse
(§ 273.5, subd. (a); count 1); attempted murder of M.F. (§§ 187, subd. (a), 664; count 2),
with the enhancement of personally inflicting great bodily injury (§ 12022.7, subd. (a));
assault with a deadly weapon on M.M. (§ 245, subd. (a)(1); count 3); assault with a
deadly weapon on M.F. (§ 245, subd. (a)(1); count 4), with the enhancement of
personally inflicting great bodily injury (§ 12022.7, subd. (a)); and assault with a deadly
weapon on C.F. (§ 245, subd. (a)(1); count 5).2
       On December 15, 2022, Boyajian entered a no contest plea to count 3, assault with
a deadly weapon, a blunt instrument, with an agreed upon lid of two years. Boyajian
acknowledged he was pleading to a “strike” offense. The parties stipulated to a factual
basis for the plea. The remaining counts were dismissed in light of the plea.
       On January 17, 2023, the trial court sentenced Boyajian to two years in state
prison to run concurrent with his sentence in an unrelated misdemeanor case, case
No. M22910598. He was given 481 days of actual and good time custody credit. The
trial court ordered him to pay restitution to the victim in an amount reserved to court
jurisdiction, $300 in restitution (§ 1202.4, subd. (b)); $300 in restitution (§ 1202.45),

       1 All statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise stated.

       2 The May 24, 2022, complaint alleged the deadly weapon used in counts 3
through 5 was a vehicle. Count 3 was subsequently amended by interlineation at the
December 15, 2022, change of plea hearing to allege the deadly weapon was instead a
“blunt object.”

                                              2.
suspended; a $40 court security fee (§ 1465.8, subd. (b)); and a $30 criminal conviction
assessment (Gov. Code, § 70373).
       On January 19, 2023, Boyajian filed a timely notice of appeal. He did not request
a certificate of probable cause.
                               STATEMENT OF FACTS3

              “The Confidential Victim (CV), age 28, and William Scott
              Boyajian were in a previous dating relationship for
              approximately one year. They have no children in common
              and were not residing together. Although no longer in a
              romantic relationship, the two remained best friends,
              spending time with each other on a regular basis.

              “On May 22, 2022, at approximately 8:00 p.m., the CV was
              driving Boyajian’s Dodge Charger, after he made a request
              earlier that day that she pick it up for him at an unknown
              location. As the CV got within half a mile of her
              grandfather’s residence, she noticed a vehicle behind her as
              she was stopped at a stop sign. She then observed Boyajian
              exit the driver side of that vehicle. As he approached the CV,
              he was yelling and acting aggressively. The CV believed he
              was under the influence of alcohol, based on his demeanor.

              “Boyajian proceeded to accuse the CV of stealing his vehicle
              and called her a ‘bitch.’ Based on Boyajian requesting she
              pick up his vehicle earlier that day, she was confused by the
              accusation. As the CV repeatedly asked Boyajian what was
              going on, he suddenly punched her in the face multiple times
              with a closed fist, possibly causing her to lose consciousness.
              Boyajian then grabbed the CV by the hair and threw her out
              of the vehicle, onto the roadway.

              “[C.F.] (age 51) and the CV’s grandfather, [M.F.] (age 53)
              were outside and heard a loud commotion. Their neighbor,
              [M.M.] (age 48), was outside barbequing and also heard the
              loud noise. The three men ran to the street and observed
              Boyajian pulling the CV out of the vehicle, onto the roadway.

       3 Because Boyajian entered a no contest plea prior to a preliminary hearing, these
facts are quoted directly from the probation officer’s report filed January 17, 2023.

                                             3.
While [M.M.] called 911, Boyajian got into his vehicle and
slammed the door shut. [C.F.] and [M.F.] ran towards the
vehicle. As they did so, Boyajian drove a couple of yards
before stopping.

“When [M.F.] got within 10 to 15 feet of the vehicle, he heard
Boyajian yell out, ‘I will fucking kill you.’ [M.F.]
subsequently crossed over to the other lane of traffic, in an
attempt to reach the driver side door to prevent Boyajian from
leaving. Once [M.F.] was in the roadway, Boyajian proceeded
to accelerate at a high rate of speed and hit him with the front
driver side bumper area of his vehicle. [M.F.] was dragged
for a short distance before breaking free and crawling off the
roadway.

“[C.F.], who was standing approximately 20 feet away from
[M.F.] when he was hit, also had to jump out of the way as
Boyajian attempted to hit him with the vehicle. Boyajian
drove approximately 100 feet, made a U-turn, and began
driving north in the southbound lane of traffic. [M.M.], who
was standing in the northbound lane, had to jump out of the
way to avoid being hit when Boyajian swerved his vehicle
into the northbound lane in an attempt to hit him.

“As the vehicle passed [C.F.], he got a look at the driver, who
he recognized as the CV’s exboyfriend (Boyajian).

“At approximately 8:20 p.m., a deputy responded to the
location and observed Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
already on scene evaluating [M.F.], who was lying in the
roadway, yelling and screaming in severe pain. His heel had
been degloved and, based on his injuries, he had to be
immediately transported to Community Regional Medical
Center (CRMC).

“As [M.F.] was being loaded into the ambulance, he told the
deputy Boyajian intentionally ran him over with his vehicle
and told him he was going to kill him. [M.F.] would remain
at CRMC until he was discharged on May 28, 2022, after
undergoing a surgery to repair the degloving injury.

“The deputy contacted the CV, whose lip was swollen and
bruised. She had dried blood around her mouth and teeth, her

                               4.
              right knee had what appeared to be road rash burns that were
              bleeding, and her right bicep had light bruising. The CV
              provided a statement before EMS arrived to medically
              evaluate her. She declined transportation to the hospital and
              was granted an Emergency Protective Order (EPO).

              “The California Highway Patrol (CHP) spotted the suspect
              vehicle and conducted a vehicle stop. Boyajian subsequently
              exited his vehicle and told the officer, ‘She tried to steal my
              car.’ He was then detained without incident.

              “After the deputy arrived at the traffic stop and took custody
              of Boyajian, he noticed Boyajian had a road rash injury to his
              right forearm, lower right abdomen, and right leg that were
              bleeding. He also complained of pain to his back and
              shoulder.

              “While the deputy waited on EMS to arrive, he Mirandized
              Boyajian, who requested to speak to an attorney. Later,
              Boyajian told the deputy he wanted to speak to him about a
              robbery. As the deputy spoke with Boyajian, he observed
              him to be sweating profusely with a strong odor of an
              alcoholic beverage emitting from his person.

              “Boyajian denied seeing the CV that day and indicated he
              was robbed at gunpoint by two males, who opened his vehicle
              door and pulled him out. Boyajian claimed he jumped on the
              back of his vehicle as they drove away with it, which caused
              his injuries.

              “The deputy transported Boyajian to CRMC for medical
              clearance. After being medically cleared, he was transported
              and booked into the Fresno County Jail.”
                            APPELLATE COURT REVIEW
       Boyajian’s appointed appellate counsel has filed an opening brief that summarizes
the pertinent facts, raises no issues, and requests this court to review the record
independently. (People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436 (Wende).) The opening brief also
includes the declaration of appellate counsel indicating Boyajian was advised he could

                                              5.
file his own brief with this court. By letter on July 28, 2023, we invited Boyajian to
submit additional briefing. To date, he has not done so.
       Having undertaken an examination of the entire record, we find no evidence of
ineffective assistance of counsel or any other arguable error that would result in a
disposition more favorable to Boyajian.
                                     DISPOSITION
       The judgment is affirmed.

                                             6.