Defendants credited with time served
San MARTIN
A Morgan Hill couple accused of beating a pregnant woman in the summer of 2005 were sentenced to community service after pleading guilty Nov. 5.
Two and a half years after the July 21, 2005 incident, the battery case tinged with racial overtones finally wrapped up Monday morning, with Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Kenneth Shapero ordering Charles Peralta, 31, and Nicole Agriesti, 23, to be placed on probation.
Agriesti and Peralta were ordered to perform 85 and 75 hours of community service, respectively and to pay restitution to the victim, the amount of which was not specified.
The couple was arrested and charged with battery for assaulting Xochitl Calderon, 34, who was about one month pregnant when she told police the pair beat her in the parking lot of her apartment complex on Cochrane Road.
The case was continued at least six times after the preliminary hearing about a year ago and never came to trial. A hate crime enhancement, part of the initial charges because Peralta yelled “wetback” at Calderon during the incident, was dropped.
Calderon and witnesses told police that Peralta and Agriesti assaulted her after she kicked their car upset that they had ran over a bag of groceries she had set down in the parking lot. Peralta reportedly threw a coin at her when she demanded they reimburse her for the destroyed food, and that’s when the fight began. Calderon and some witnesses said even though Calderon told the couple repeatedly that she was pregnant, they kicked and hit her in the abdomen. Peralta said Calderon was the instigator, and Agriesti was trying to defend herself while Peralta was trying to break up the fight. Calderon was transported to Saint Louise Regional Hospital after the incident. She did not lose the baby.
