Articles Posted in Assaults & Batteries

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Natalie Wood 1963During the night of November 29, 1981, Natalie Wood, her husband Robert Wagner, and friend Christopher Walken were on a yacht anchored off Santa Catalina Island near Orange County, CA. At some point during the night, she ended up in the water without a life jacket and her body was recovered several hours later. At the time, the Coroner reported the cause of death was accidental drowning.

Thirty years later, the case was reopened after new sources came forward with additional information. For example, the boat’s skipper claims to have heard a loud argument coming from Wood’s cabin on the yacht hours before she went missing. In addition, bruises on her knees, wrists, and ankles that were overlooked in the original coroner’s report could be consistent with injuries sustained from an assault. Further, those injuries likely occurred prior to her falling in the water, according to the report.

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In 2011, Elizabeth Escalona, a 23-year old mother of five, allegedly attacked 2-year old daughter Jocelyn due to potty training problems. She kicked her in stomach, beat her with a milk jug, and glued her hands to an apartment wall with super glue, according to information brought at trial.

Jocelyn suffered brain bleeding, a fractured rib, bruises, and bite marks, according to doctor’s testimony. Some skin had been torn off her hands as a result of the glue. Glue residue was found on her hands, along with paint chips from the apartment wall. The girl was left in a coma for several days following her injuries. Jocelyn and her four siblings are now living in the protective care of their grandmother.

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In 2009, singer Chris Brown pled guilty in California to felony assault charges against Rihanna, a singer who was his girlfriend at that time. As part of his criminal sentencing, he was ordered to serve probation for a term of five years in his home state of Virginia and complete six months of community service. According to his log, he has accumulated over 1400 hours of service, ranging from picking up trash to washing police cars and fire trucks.

Chris Brown

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Chad Johnson, formerly known as Chad Ochocinco, is a wide receiver who played mostly for the Cincinnati Bengals since 2001. He signed with the Miami Dolphins on June 11 of this year, but was dropped following his arrest last month.

He and his wife Evelyn Lozada had a fight after she discovered a receipt detailing the purchase of condoms. What started out as an argument allegedly turned violent. Lozada told police that Johnson head-butted her during the altercation. Johnson was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor battery. The following day, Johnson was dropped from the Miami Dolphins as a result of the arrest.

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When you think of felony assault and battery charges, you probably envision murderous weapons like guns and knives, not french fries. The California Penal Code defines assault as “an unlawful attempt, coupled with a present ability, to commit a violent injury on [another] person.” Battery is similarly defined as “any willful and unlawful use of force or violence upon [another] person.”

Are french fries capable of inflicting a “violent injury?” When James Hackett and his wife began arguing after purchasing a meal at McDonald’s, his 11-year old stepdaughter attempted to stop their arguing. This angered Hackett, who allegedly then grabbed the container of french fries and threw them at her; they hit her in the face and chest.

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Police arrived at an apartment in Pennsylvania very early in the morning to find a man bleeding from chest wounds on the second floor landing. Emergency personnel immediately transported  Billy Brewster to the hospital where he died from his injuries less than two hours later.

The suspect responsible for stabbing the man was his fiancée, Na Franklin. During the night, they began an argument, which escalated into domestic violence. At one point during the argument, Ma allegedly grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed him twice. Unfortunately, one of the stab wounds punctured his heart.

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Boyd Twin, a resident of South Dakota, was arrested and charged for assault with a dangerous weapon. The victim of the assault was his companion, also the mother of his children. The crime took place in front of the children, all of whom were under the age of nine years old. Twin told his companion to “choose which child he should kill first.” The children later needed counseling.

Twin pled guilty to the crime of assault with a dangerous weapon. At his sentencing hearing, Judge Charles Kornmann sentenced Twin to 78 months in prison, plus three years’ supervised release. Then Twin smiled.

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Mark Vasquez was leaving an Orange County nightclub at 2am and made an insulting remark to his friends about a Marine who was also leaving. The Marine, Alex Martinez, took offense, and confronted Vasquez. That’s when the criminal violence began.

Martinez started bouncing around like a boxer, and Vasquez felt threatened. Vasquez threw the first punches and knocked out Martinez. Because Martinez was drinking heavily that night, his blood alcohol content (BAC) was 0.29. As Martinez fell, he banged his head badly, and was hospitalized in critical condition. Fortunately, Martinez has recovered since this incident and is back on active duty.

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In a recent story from the Orange County Register, the wife of Oceanside police chief Frank McCoy suffered a fit of depression in 2010 that stemmed from a domestic argument between her and her 17-year old son. Outraged that Mr. McCoy took the side of the son during the dispute, wife Brinda McCoy, 49, took the law into her own hands. She grabbed a gun and initiated a fierce standoff with police officers outside their Cypress home in Orange County, at one point firing several shots in the direction of officers before coming out her front door saying, “f——– shoot me,” disobeying officer’s orders for her to show her hands. She was quickly subdued by the SWAT team and arrested.

During the criminal trial, prosecutors contend that McCoy ignored the law by waving and pointing her husband’s service semiautomatic handgun at them and firing twice. McCoy denied seeing officers, or shooting at them. On June 18, 2012, Brinda McCoy was convicted of five counts of assault on police officers. Although she walked out of the courthouse on bail and in tears, she is lucky to be alive. Pointing or firing a handgun at police officers will result in police firing back with intent to kill. Similarly, disobeying police orders to show her hands increases tension in officers already on edge, knowing she was in possession of a weapon that she had already fired twice.

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Things were looking up for pop singer Chris Brown. After pleading guilty to felony domestic violence charges against fellow pop singer Rihanna in June, 2009 and agreeing, among other things to complete 180 days of community service and a 52-week batterer’s treatment program or domestic violence class, Brown appeared in court recently to show proof that he had completed his program. He was also successful in getting a restraining order against him modified to allow peaceful contact with Rihanna. Brown remained, however, on 5 years of formal probation.

That may now prove problematic.

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