People v. Young CA2/4

INTRODUCTION

Defendant and appellant Richard Young repeatedly pushed, punched, and pistol whipped Juan Manuel Moreno before fatally shooting him at close range in the chest. Defendant was convicted by a jury of second degree murder, two counts of firearm possession by a felon, and fleeing a pursuing police vehicle while driving recklessly. On appeal, defendant attacks all of his convictions. He contends the trial court prejudicially erred by refusing to instruct the jury on involuntary manslaughter as a lesser included offense of murder. Defendant also contends the prosecutor improperly elicited inadmissible testimony from an eyewitness that led to other evidentiary errors. In addition, he argues there was insufficient evidence to support the evading a peace officer conviction and the firearm possession by a felon conviction violates the Second Amendment. We affirm the judgment.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

I. Prosecution Evidence1

a. The Murder On August 4, 2020, at approximately 4:15 p.m., Shawn Vannoy was walking in an alley near Cerritos Avenue in Long Beach when he heard someone yelling, “You need to get out of here. You can’t be doing that here.” After Vannoy…