A Chula Vista man who was seen on videotape of violently kicking his girlfriend to unconsciousness wants to withdraw his guilty plea and his girlfriend asked a judge to lift the restraining order.
A new attorney was appointed for Dorian Chavez Anguiano, 42, and Anguiano will return to Chula Vista Superior Court on Jan. 20 to possibly withdraw his guilty plea to domestic violence.
Local television newscasts aired the video in which Anguiano was seen kicking his girlfriend in a Chula Vista motel parking lot on Aug. 6 which was caught on surveillance video.
Meanwhile, his girlfriend 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.
When Anguiano pleaded guilty Oct. 13 to committing domestic violence, he agreed to accept a 7-year term in state prison. Now he wants to fight the charges, which include kidnapping and assault. It is difficult to withdraw a guilty plea.
When he made his first court appearance, Anguiano declared “I’m the victim here,” as he was taken into custody.
In the tape which was played during the preliminary hearing, 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.
His former attorney, Alan Spears, told reporters his client was “severely embarrassed” by the video tape. Spears described the relationship between the two as “toxic.” She was seen slapping Anguiano inside the car before they got out.
Anguiano remains in jail without bail.
