Case #18NF1699
Attack left 34-year-old victim with mental capacity of a 14-year-old
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A convicted felon with seven prior strikes was sentenced to three years in state prison for punching a man in an attack that left his victim with the mental capacity of a 14-year-old.
Christian Isadore Dubose, 34, of Anaheim, pleaded guilty in March to one felony count of battery with serious bodily injury and one misdemeanor count of assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury. Judge Roger B. Robbins dismissed the enhancement of great bodily injury on the assault charge and reduced the felony assault charge to a misdemeanor. Robins sentenced Dubose to three years in state prison after striking Dubose’s seven prior strikes over the repeated objection of the District Attorney’s Office.
Dubose faced a maximum of 25 years to life plus eight years.
On April 13, 2018, Dubose and the victim were both at a birthday party at a La Habra apartment. At approximately 10:45 p.m. the victim and his girlfriend left to move their vehicles from a prohibited parking area. Dubose followed the victim and accused him of owing him $200.
Without provocation, Dubose punched the victim in the head, hitting him with such force that the victim fell and hit his head with full force and without bracing his fall. Dubose left his victim unconscious and fled.
The 34-year-old victim was transported to a local trauma center where he was treated for several skull and face fractures, severe brain bleeds, and traumatic brain injury. After months in the hospital, the victim suffers from permanent cognitive defects, including memory loss and difficulty distinguishing reality from fantasy.
He also drags his left leg and foot when he walks as a result of the attack.
Philip Coley, the victim’s father, urged Judge Roger B. Robbins to hold his son’s attacker accountable for the pain he inflicted on his son and their entire family and sentence him to much more than three years.
Coley told the judge of being by his son’s hospital bed for 2 ½ months, watching him fight for his life, and the life sentence his family has been forced to endure caring for their now-incapacitated son.
“I feel like it’s unjust. It’s unfair,” said Philip Coley, the victim’s father. “This is an ex-felon whose behavior has not changed. He is a clear and evident threat to society. He should be sentenced as such.”
Dubose has an extensive criminal history, including a gang-related 2007 takeover robbery of a business that victimized seven people, including one victim who was pistol-whipped and another who was held at knife-point.
“It is unconscionable that someone who intentionally unleashed this level of violence after a lifetime of committing crime would be given such a lenient sentence,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “This slap on the wrist does little to hold the perpetrator accountable or protect our community from someone who has demonstrated an increasingly serious level of violence.”
Deputy District Attorney Austin Young prosecuted this case.