People v. Beard CA4/2

Filed 4/15/26 P. v. Beard CA4/2 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION TWO

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, E085023 v. (Super.Ct.No. RIF2401273) CIARA LOUISE BEARD, OPINION Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from the Superior Court of Riverside County. Matthew C. Perantoni, Judge. Affirmed.

Heather E. Shallenberger, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Charles C. Ragland, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Arlene A. Sevidal, Assistant Attorney General, Christopher P. Beesley and Namita Patel, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

Ciara Louise Beard appeals from the judgment entered after a jury found her guilty of one count of stalking (Pen. Code, § 646.9; unlabeled statutory citations are to this code) and one count of making a criminal threat (§ 422), and she pled no contest to two counts of stalking and two counts of making a criminal threat. We appointed counsel to represent Beard on appeal, and counsel filed a brief that raised no issues and requested an independent review of the record under People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436 (Wende). We affirm.

BACKGROUND In June 2024, the People filed an information charging Beard with three counts of stalking (§ 646.9, subd. (a); counts 1, 3, & 5), three counts of making a criminal threat (§ 422; counts 2, 4, & 6), and one count of vandalism (§ 594; count 7). As to counts 1 and 3, the People further alleged that Beard stalked the victims in violation of a temporary restraining order. (§ 646.9, subd. (b).)

At trial, the People introduced evidence that Beard and John Doe got married in 2016 and had two daughters together. In 2022, John Doe moved out after Beard bit and scratched him. The following year, John Doe moved in with Jane Doe. Beard began sending messages to Jane Doe on Instagram about Beard’s relationship with John Doe.

One day, Jane Doe received “approximately 65” calls from an unknown number within about one hour. In September 2023, she answered a call from an unknown number; the caller was Beard, and she asked for John Doe. Beard threatened to “come down to the apartment,” and John Doe “took the phone and there was some arguing.” Jane Doe “stopped answering random phone calls and engaging.”

In January 2024, John Doe and Jane Doe learned that they were expecting a child, and they shared the news on social media. Jane Doe began receiving messages and follow requests on Instagram from various accounts, and she felt “harassed.”

In January 2024, John Doe sent a message to Beard through the TalkingParents app, asking to visit his daughters. The following morning at approximately 6:30 a.m., John Doe read messages that Beard had sent to him earlier that morning. He saw a missed a call from her at 4:00 a.m. and a text message received seven minutes later. It stated, “[o]n my way.”

John Doe sent a message to Beard asking her not to make unauthorized car payments using his account, and Beard responded that she “wouldn’t give a fuck if that shit caught on fire while [John Doe was] in it” and “hope[d] the car ca[ught] fire while [he and Jane Doe were] in it and [they] both get buried in a body bag at this point bitch so we can all have peace.”

Later that day, John Doe went to his car and saw that it was damaged. “The front windshield wiper was pulled up,” “[t]he back windshield wiper was taken off,” and there were several scratches on the vehicle.

On January 12, 2024, John Doe obtained a temporary restraining order preventing Beard from contacting him or Jane Doe. The order was set to expire on February 2,

2024, but it was extended to March 18, 2024, after the court continued the hearing at Beard’s request.

Jane Doe’s mother (Jane Doe 2) had received an email with an obituary for Jane Doe describing her death by fire in 2027. Four days after the court issued the restraining order, Jane Doe received two voicemails from funeral homes asking to discuss the arrangements that had been made for her funeral.

On February 1, 2024, Beard left a voicemail on John Doe’s phone, threatening to have her “homeboys” “crack [his] motherfucking jaw.” He understood the voicemail as a threat because she had vandalized his car, made threats, and followed him home after a previous court date.

On February 6, 2024, Jane Doe’s brother-in-law got two voicemails from Beard that threatened Jane Doe’s death. One voicemail stated, “Hi . . . umm . . . good morning.

This message is for [Jane Doe]. Calling on behalf of [John Doe’s] wife. Wanted to let you know that there’s been an order placed for you to get your head blown off. And you will be burned by the fire. And so that message is to be delivered to [Jane Doe]. That’s her middle name . . . ummm . . . If you could please relay the message . . . ummm . . . on behalf of [John Doe’s] wife . . . ummm . . . Thank you and . . . you . . . may you all have a very blessed day.” In the other voicemail, Beard stated that “an order [had been] placed for [Jane Doe’s] head [to be] blown off” and that “[Jane Doe would] be burned by the fire.”

Jane Doe 2 began receiving emails and phone calls at her job requesting appointments with her, and a form submission was received through the company website with the subject: “[Jane Doe] to die by the fire.” The message in the body asked which fuel Jane Doe preferred “for use to burn.” Another request with the subject “Arsonist visit” was submitted, and the message asked for a “good time that [Jane Doe 2 and Jane Doe would] be in so that we can schedule the arsonist to set fire to this establishment with them both in it.” The messages were sent in John Doe’s name. On February 20, 2024, Jane Doe received four e-mails from Beard with attached obituaries for John Doe’s mother and two younger siblings.

In September 2024, a jury found Beard guilty of criminally threatening Jane Doe and stalking her in violation of a temporary restraining order. The jury found Beard not guilty of vandalism. The jury could not reach a verdict on the remaining counts, and the court declared a mistrial as to those counts. Beard subsequently pled no contest to the remaining counts of stalking (§ 646.9, subd. (a)) and criminal threats (§ 422), and the trial court reduced them to misdemeanors pursuant to subdivision (b) of section 17. The court suspended imposition of sentence and placed Beard on formal probation for 36 months with various terms and conditions, including a custody term of 365 days in county jail.

The court awarded her 229 days of actual custody credit and 228 days of conduct credit for a total of 457 days.

Beard appealed from the judgment, but she did not obtain a certificate of probable cause concerning her convictions by no-contest plea.

DISCUSSION Beard’s appointed appellate counsel filed a brief that raised no issues and asked that we independently reviewed the record under Wende. After counsel filed the Wende brief, we advised Beard that she could file a personal supplemental brief, and we received no response.

We have independently reviewed the record and found no arguable error that would result in a disposition more favorable to Beard. (Wende, supra, 25 Cal.3d at pp. 441-442.) Accordingly, we affirm the judgment.

DISPOSITION The judgment is affirmed.

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS MENETREZ J.

We concur: RAMIREZ P. J.

FIELDS J.