By Derrick Pal
SACRAMENTO — Despite a nearly 10-year clean record, a man’s acknowledged violent past in 1999 was enough for a Sacramento County Superior Court judge to refuse to set aside that previous strike, refusing a “Romero” motion request by defendant Franklin Brittenum.
Brittenum was in court this week because of an incident March 2, 2020, when he “acting abnormally.” He’s charged with felony domestic abuse for allegedly beating his domestic partner in front of a two-year-old child.
“Even the complaining witness had said that Mr. Brittenum had never acted this way before, and the mother of his children has always talked about the respectful and healthy relationship that they have had,” said Valera Lynch, a certified legal intern with the Public Defender’s Office.
“Although we don’t negate the severity of any prior offenses, the fact that the prosecution had to reach beyond, into his juvenile offenses, to have anything to bring forward today highlights Mr. Brittenum’s good behavior over the last nearly 10 years since he was released from his prior sentence,” added Lynch.
“Also, we would like you to consider the progress that Mr. Brittenum has made since his release. Not only did he suffer a violent upbringing and youth, he emerged into adulthood while serving that sentence and since being released has earned college credits, held a steady job, and contributed to his family, including four children and a grandchild that he just welcomed into this world,” argued Lynch.
“We urge the court to consider Mr. Brittenum’s longstanding relationship with the children of his mother, and all the steps that he has taken to persevere over the last 10 years, and not let the events of this night set him back,” pleaded Lynch, a law student working under supervision of PD Joseph Cress.
“This court should use its discretion in granting the relief for Mr. Brittenum because (despite) the other factors he has faced after serving his sentence of 10 years (ago), he has not become the revolving door defendant that the prosecution seems to be worrying about,” she added.
However, certified legal intern Rawan Abuelreich, a law student under the supervision of Deputy District Attorney Renishta Lal, said “while the defendant only does have one adult conviction from 1999, that strike was serious and violent. (He) pleaded to manslaughter…he lodged a knife into one of the victim’s heads, causing him to lose his life, and permanently scarring another victim by stabbing him in the hand.”
“In [this] case, as your Honor may know, all occurred in front of the victim’s two-year-old child where the defendant brutally beat the victim by hitting her, slapping her, pinning her down, and going as far as beating her with a stroller all in front of the two-year-old child,” emphasized Abuelreich.
“This assault was so violent that a witness in the adjacent room heard the full force of the hits and also described it as taking 30 minutes, which is a significant amount of time for the serious and violent assault. So, given the seriousness of the facts of the prior strike and the seriousness of the nature and circumstances of this case, this defendant is within the spirit of the three-strikes law,” stated Abuelreich.
Lynch contested these arguments, stating that “while the prosecution discusses the nature of the events taking place over 30 minutes, the complaining witness did not request any medical care on the scene and, furthermore, did not even ask for a restraining order against Mr. Brittenum, seeing as this was an abnormal off-occurrence compared to how he normally behaves.”
Abuelreich emphasized, however, that “the victim’s failure to request medical care doesn’t change the seriousness or violent nature of the offense.”
Judge Scott Tedmon considered the circumstances and concluded that “the facts in this court’s mind are egregious. In terms of the strike, it is also noted…that the totality of Mr. Brittenum’s background, he does have a serious juvenile offense.
“I’ve heard the arguments of counsel, and the court finds the facts as set forth in the current case to be serious, and I am concerned that the two-year-old child of the victim was present in the room when the alleged incident occurred. That certainly is a factor of aggravation as far as this court is concerned,” emphasized Judge Tedmon.
The judge then denied the request to strike the strike, noting, “Based on the weighing of all factors, the court finds that the prior voluntary manslaughter conviction along with the juvenile case, and the facts as set forth, in this case, outweigh what Mr. Brittenum has done to try to better himself, and that I find that would be an abuse of discretion to grant the Romero motion…”
Further matters are set for March 24, 8:30 a.m. in Dept. 60.
Derrick Pal is a fourth-year student at Sacramento State majoring in Criminal Justice and pursuing a minor in Sociology. He is from Elk Grove, California.
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