P. v. Porte CA4/3
Defendant Frederick Thomas Porte, armed with a knife, chased a neighbor. The neighbor was a trained fighter, younger, and in better shape, and successfully avoided defendant’s attack. Defendant challenges his conviction for assault with a deadly weapon on the ground that there was no evidence of a present ability to harm the neighbor. We conclude that chasing someone with a knife, while at a distance of about 10 feet, constitutes a present ability to cause injury.
Defendant also argues the trial court erred by permitting the prosecution to impeach him with evidence of two prior theft-related offenses. Although these offenses were remote in time to the current offense, the trial court properly weighed defendant’s lengthy time in custody and sanitized the description of the offenses to avoid undue prejudice.
Finally, statutory changes in the discretion given to the trial court to strike prior serious felonies requires that we remand the matter to the trial court so that it ma
Comments on P. v. Porte CA4/3