SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY — A San Luis Obispo County jury has found Russell Jeffrey Kuhnle (36) guilty of felony Intimate Partner Violence. The conviction came on Friday, Oct. 27 when the jury found him guilty of felony infliction of corporal injury on someone with whom he had a dating relationship in violation of Penal Code Section 273.5(a).

According to a press release from the District Attorney’s Office, during the eight day trial, jurors heard evidence that on Feb. 1, Kuhnle struck a female in the face multiple times while the two were seated in their car. Two witnesses observed the assault from separate positions. One witness called 911 to report the crime, while the other witness intervened. The victim suffered a laceration between her eyes because of the assault. The victim and the two eyewitnesses testified at the trial, as did Kuhnle.

Kuhnle is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 28, at 8:30 a.m. in Department 6 of the San Luis Obispo County Superior Court, the Honorable Judge Michael Frye presiding, where he faces a maximum sentence of four years in state prison.

This case was investigated by the Atascadero Police Department with the aid of the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Natalya Ferdinandi of the District Attorney’s Domestic Violence Prosecution Team.