A Palm Desert man with two strikes under his belt was convicted Tuesday of repeatedly kicking his pregnant wife in the stomach and head last summer until she lost consciousness.
A Banning jury deliberated less than six hours over two days before finding 29-year-old Andrew Phillip Allen guilty of seven felony counts, including inflicting corporal injury, assault with a gun, criminal threats and wilful child cruelty, and two misdemeanor counts of violating a protective order.
Allen, who is 6-feet-2 inches tall and 210 pounds, has prior convictions for corporal injury and preventing a witness from testifying, opening him up to a possible life sentence.
He is scheduled to return to court on April 1 for a separate court trial on his prior strikes, followed by sentencing.
According to prosecutors, Allen attacked his wife on two separate occasions in the early morning hours of Aug. 20, 2019, until a passerby called 911 about 10 a.m.
Riverside County sheriff’s deputies then responded to Palm Desert apartment that Allen, his wife and their two young children shared on Hovley Lane, according to court and jail records. Allen was arrested at the scene.
One of the fights occurred while the couple’s children, who were 6 and 10 at the time, were eating breakfast. Allen slapped his wife, causing her to fall, then delivered repeated kicks to her head until she temporarily lost consciousness.
While on the ground, Allen kicked the victim in the stomach. He then pulled out a handgun, raised it to her head and threatened to kill her.
