People v. Quiros CA5

INTRODUCTION

In 2019, respondent Rodney Gerardo Quiros, Jr., was a passenger in an allegedly stolen vehicle, and respondent’s codefendant, Antonio Marin Gazo, was the driver. Gazo led law enforcement on a high-speed chase in and outside the city limits of Modesto. During the chase, respondent fired four separate volleys of shots at law enforcement personnel. The chase ended in a crash after law enforcement deployed a spike strip. Gazo and respondent’s vehicle struck two bystanders, killing them. In relevant part, the prosecution charged Gazo and respondent in two counts of murder (counts I and II). Following the preliminary hearing, the magistrate only held Gazo to answer the murder charges.1 The prosecution filed an information which again charged both Gazo and respondent with murder (counts I and II). Respondent filed a motion in the trial court pursuant to Penal Code section 9952 (the 995 motion), asking the court to set aside counts I and II as to him. The court granted the 995 motion. Appellant is the People of the State of California, represented by the district attorney. Appellant argues that the magistrate erred in failing to hold respondent to answer for the murder…