Greg Hill & Associates Home
Award Recipient
Top 100 Trial Attorneys in the United States
Contact Us for a Free Consultation
Street Racing As Assault with a Deadly Weapon (PC 245)?
In the early evening hours of January 9, 2009, Aren Aznavoleh was driving a red Nissan Quest minivan eastbound on Glenoaks Boulevard in Glendale, California. Two witnesses at different locations observed his van going at about sixty miles per hour as it approached Estelle Avenue. Just in front of Aznavoleh was a white BMV, also going about sixty miles per hour. Both witnesses described the car and minivan as racing.
Rafick Daroose was on Concord Street when the light for his car turned green. He entered the intersection and was broadsided by Aznavoleh’s minivan. Both witnesses described Aznavoleh as running the red light. Aznavoleh apparently made no attempt to slow down before the collision. Daroose was seriously injured and is now unable to speak, eat or swallow. He is also unable to move the majority of his body.
Aznavoleh was interviewed after the crash and admitted that he saw the light facing him was red and that he knew a collision was probable. Aznavoleh claimed his brakes did not work. He also acknowledged that he was previously cited for speeding on Glenoaks about two months prior.
Aznavoleh was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, Penal Code § 245(a)(1), as well as reckless driving causing injury, Vehicle Code § 23105(a). At trial, an officer who was at the scene testified that he tested the minivan’s brakes and found they were working.
Aznavoleh was convicted of both counts and the jury found true that Aznavoleh personally inflicted great bodily injury under Penal Code § 12022.7(a). The trial court judge sentenced Aznavoleh to seven years in state prison.
Aznavoleh then appealed, contending that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction.
The appellate court said the key issue in determining whether a conviction for assault with a deadly weapon was proper was whether the actor acted deliberately, in a way that could directly cause an injury to another. Assault with a deadly weapon, after all, is a general intent crime, not a specific intent crime.
Turning to the facts of Aznavoleh’s driving, the appellate court found that he deliberately ran a red light. Aznavoleh’s testimony was that he did not intend to stop at the light, but once he saw Daroose’s car, he tried to stop.
The appellate court found this testimony as evidence sufficient to support the conviction. It was not merely evidence of recklessness, as Aznavoleh argued, because Aznavoleh was aware that the Glenoaks/Concord intersection was a busy intersection. This familiarity persuaded the court that Aznavoleh’s conduct was intentional under the law.
The trial court’s judgment was thus affirmed.
For more information about assault with a deadly weapon, click on the following articles:
As the traffic light on Glenoaks at Concord Street, just past Estelle, turned red, the sports car kept going, zipping through the intersection.In a Nutshell: Conviction for street racing as assault with deadly weapon by car upheld when defendant ran red light and crashed into a car entering the intersection on a green light. Assault does not require the specific intent to injure another person, only that the defendant act in an intentional way such that the probable consequence of the act is an injury to another.
Rafick Daroose was on Concord Street when the light for his car turned green. He entered the intersection and was broadsided by Aznavoleh’s minivan. Both witnesses described Aznavoleh as running the red light. Aznavoleh apparently made no attempt to slow down before the collision. Daroose was seriously injured and is now unable to speak, eat or swallow. He is also unable to move the majority of his body.
Aznavoleh was interviewed after the crash and admitted that he saw the light facing him was red and that he knew a collision was probable. Aznavoleh claimed his brakes did not work. He also acknowledged that he was previously cited for speeding on Glenoaks about two months prior.
Aznavoleh was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, Penal Code § 245(a)(1), as well as reckless driving causing injury, Vehicle Code § 23105(a). At trial, an officer who was at the scene testified that he tested the minivan’s brakes and found they were working.
Aznavoleh was convicted of both counts and the jury found true that Aznavoleh personally inflicted great bodily injury under Penal Code § 12022.7(a). The trial court judge sentenced Aznavoleh to seven years in state prison.
Aznavoleh then appealed, contending that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction.
The appellate court said the key issue in determining whether a conviction for assault with a deadly weapon was proper was whether the actor acted deliberately, in a way that could directly cause an injury to another. Assault with a deadly weapon, after all, is a general intent crime, not a specific intent crime.
Turning to the facts of Aznavoleh’s driving, the appellate court found that he deliberately ran a red light. Aznavoleh’s testimony was that he did not intend to stop at the light, but once he saw Daroose’s car, he tried to stop.
The appellate court found this testimony as evidence sufficient to support the conviction. It was not merely evidence of recklessness, as Aznavoleh argued, because Aznavoleh was aware that the Glenoaks/Concord intersection was a busy intersection. This familiarity persuaded the court that Aznavoleh’s conduct was intentional under the law.
The trial court’s judgment was thus affirmed.
For more information about assault with a deadly weapon, click on the following articles:
Contact Greg Hill & Associates
