People v. Trout-Lacy
Annotate this CaseThe victim and the defendant got into a physical fight. The victim had been using methamphetamine and had not slept in days. The defendant punched the victim in the face five times and slammed his head against the ground before leaving. Emergency personnel arrived in response to a 911 call and handcuffed the victim because he was uncooperative. The victim became unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. The coroner identified the cause of death as “[m]ethamphetamine toxicity complicating hypertensive cardiovascular disease following and during physical encounters.” The report classified the manner of death as “undetermined.” The coroner was unable to determine the relative contributions of the reported fight, physical restraint by emergency personnel, and the presence of methamphetamine to the victim’s death. The defendant was charged with murder, with a prior strike conviction, and assault by force likely to produce great bodily injury. The defendant pleaded no contest to the assault count and was sentenced to a four-year term and ordered to pay $4,169.11 (the victim’s funeral expenses) in restitution. The court of appeal affirmed. Substantial evidence supports the trial court’s finding that the defendant’s conduct was a but-for cause of the victim’s death.
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