People v. Pacheco CA3

BACKGROUND

I. Following an argument between two groups of people near a liquor store, a gunman opened fire, striking the victim and leaving her paralyzed. The People charged Pacheco with assault with a semiautomatic firearm (Pen. Code, § 245, subd. (b); count one) and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person (§ 29820; count two).1 The prosecution also alleged that he had a prior strike conviction. (§§ 667, subds. (b)–(i), 1170.12.) Witnesses identified the source of the gunfire as the group of which Pacheco was a member. The group was near a van, across the liquor store parking lot from the victim. The primary issue at trial was whether Pacheco or someone else in his group was the shooter. Pacheco argued that either Thomas Epps or Sergio Morales had fired the shots. B.O., the van’s driver, testified for the prosecution under a grant of immunity. There were six other people in the van, including Pacheco, Epps, and Morales. As the group was leaving the liquor store, one of the passengers realized she had lost her phone. B.O. parked in the parking lot in front of a gym. After the three men got out of the van, she heard a noise and turned to see Pacheco shooting a gun. She saw…