Friday, April 13, 2018

People v. Tom (Cal. Ct. App. - April 13, 2018)

I know, I know, I know.  It's a Friday.  A sunny, warm, glorious Friday in April, no less.  At least here in Southern California.  Spring Break, even, for some of those lucky enough to still be in school.

And even for the indoor-bound, working adults amongst us, there are so many other distractions.  Stormy Daniels.  Then the other Playboy model, Karen McDougal.  And now a third Playboy model, currently unnamed.  That's a lot of scintillating news, political and otherwise, to keep one entralled.

These are surely exciting times.

Plus, on a less fun note, tax returns are due next week.

So there's a lot of competition for our entertainment value.  Who has time for the mere California appellate courts?!

The best I can do in this regard is today's opinion from the Court of Appeal.  Which at least attempts to compete with the other scintillating (titillating?) content currently in the news.

Here's the one-paragraph version of the facts:

"While watching a small dog that belonged to his girlfriend’s parents, defendant Jesse Cody Tom beat, stabbed, and strangled the dog. Defendant then covered the dead dog with oil and placed it inside a barbeque. Before he could light the deceased dog on fire, however, officers arrived on scene and apprehended defendant after he fled."

Dude!!  Not good.  Not okay.  No bueno.  In no way, shape, or form.

Read the whole opinion for more details.  Plus learn Mr. Tom's fate.  To foreshadow:  He's a prior felon, and part of his sentence for this whole affair includes a conviction for attempted arson.  Since he didn't even keep the attempted dog-burning confined to the outdoor Weber grill.

The world's a crazy place, my friends.

Enjoy the weekend.