People v. Torres CA1/1

I.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL

BACKGROUND

A. The Murder Around 10:00 p.m. on November 15, 2018, Marquez drove his black SUV to a restaurant in a Fontana strip mall to pick up his food order. He was friends with C.F., whose mother owned the restaurant. After getting his food, Marquez stood in the parking lot talking with C.F. and C.F.’s mother, who had just closed the restaurant for the night. As the three were talking, a white pickup truck parked a few spots away, by a liquor store. A man, later identified as Christian Vargas, got out of the passenger’s side. He appeared to be drunk, because he was “stumbling” and almost fell. According to C.F., no one in his group said anything to Vargas, and Vargas said nothing to them. C.F.’s mother agreed that no words were exchanged, although she indicated that she and her son laughed at Vargas when he stumbled. She also testified that Vargas gave her group “a serious and angry look” before getting back into the pickup. The pickup’s driver, later identified as Torres, also exited the vehicle and headed to the liquor store. Unlike Vargas, Torres appeared to be walking normally. One of the store’s employees was outside when Torres arrived. The…