A Chula Vista man who was seen on videotape of violently kicking his girlfriend to unconsciousness was sentenced Feb. 3 to seven years in state prison after trying unsuccessfully to withdraw his guilty plea.
Dorian Chavez Anguiano, 42, told Chula Vista Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sontag he was told by his former attorney that he could withdraw his guilty plea if he changed his mind.
Everyone who enters a guilty plea is told by a judge that they cannot withdraw their guilty plea and they are usually asked a series of questions before their guilty plea is accepted. The only circumstances in which guilty pleas can be withdrawn are if they were under the influence of alcohol or drugs, were subjected to duress, or were mentally incompetent.
Anguiano was told Oct. 13 that he was going to be sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to domestic violence. He later changed his mind and got another attorney who argued unsuccessfully to have his guilty plea withdrawn.
Local television newscasts aired the video in which Anguiano was seen kicking his girlfriend in a Chula Vista motel parking lot on Aug. 6, 2016.
His girlfriend also testified Friday before he was sentenced. She came to court on Nov. 30 and unsuccessfully asked Judge Garry Haehnle if the restraining order could be lifted so she can visit him in jail and talk to him on the phone.
“I am struggling with alcoholism. Dorian, in the past, has helped me with my alcoholism,” the woman told Haehnle. “It has been causing me a lot of stress and anxiety not to speak to him.”
Haehnle denied her request and suggested she look to others for help in her addiction problem.
Had Anguiano prevailed, he would have stood trial on kidnapping and assault charges. When he made his first court appearance, Anguiano declared “I’m the victim here,” as he was taken into custody.
In the tape, his girlfriend steps out of a car and Anguiano comes up behind her and knocks her down, with her head hitting the pavement. He then kicks her face, and she doesn’t move.
The tape shows Anguiano looking around and then he pulls her into the car and drives off. Deputy District Attorney Ted Fiorito said Anguiano drove the woman to his residence, and she was later hospitalized for a severe concussion.
Sontag gave Anguiano credit for serving 150 days in jail.
