People v. Porter CA6

I. BACKGROUND

A. The Underlying Incident On May 11, 2022, Mario Ramirez visited bars in downtown Santa Cruz and, after drinking for several hours, admittedly became “pretty drunk.” Around 8:00 p.m., Ramirez went to another bar, but the bartender deemed him too intoxicated to serve alcohol. After the bartender gave him a glass of water, Ramirez left the bar. Porter was outside of the bar with a friend, Joseph Taylor III. Outside the bar Ramirez began talking and eventually arguing with a group including Taylor, and Ramirez apparently kicked Taylor or Taylor’s boots. In response, Porter began swinging and gesturing with a bamboo pole that he had with him. After a few moments, an unidentified teenager arrived, and the youth punched Ramirez in the face multiple times. Porter joined in. He approached Ramirez with his bamboo pole and swung the pole, hitting Ramirez at least twice. The police arrived shortly afterwards and found Ramirez with a substantial amount of blood on his face and a laceration on his skull two to three inches long that required at least six staples to close. B. The Proceedings Below The next day Porter was charged with one count of assault with a deadly weapon. In…