People v. Fields CA3

BACKGROUND

Fields smashed a potted plant into the front window of the home of the victim, an 85-year-old man who lived in a retirement community. The victim opened his front door, saw Fields, and asked him, “Why did you do that[?]” Fields responded, “I’m gonna kill ya” and grabbed the victim. Fields pushed the victim back into his home and knocked him down, causing the victim’s head to hit the ground. Fields straddled the victim’s

1 chest and began choking him. The victim tried to fight off Fields and struggled to breathe, but the victim eventually went limp. Fields got up, and the victim tried to get his phone to call for help. Fields grabbed the phone and threw it on the floor, breaking it. Fields then kicked the victim twice, kicked approximately four holes in the wall of the entryway, and left through the front door. The victim crawled to the kitchen and retrieved his gun. He walked to the front door, where he saw Fields coming back up the walkway toward him. When Fields was between six and 10 feet away, the victim shot Fields one time. Fields fell and writhed on the ground, then got up and ran down the street before falling again behind a car. The People charged Fields with…