People v. Noyes CA3

BACKGROUND

On October 4, 2020, sometime between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m., V.T. and T.J. pulled into a Redding parking lot in V.T.’s RV. V.T. lived in the vehicle and parked it there for weeks at a time. T.J. lacked permanent housing and often drove the RV for V.T. A few minutes after their arrival, Emmanuel Vega and another man rode their bicycles to the parking lot and started talking with V.T. and J.T. Other unhoused individuals were at the parking lot that night. Defendant came to the parking lot with another man in a distinctive car that defendant owned. He walked over to the RV and asked the group “who was in charge” or “who was running the show.” When no one else answered, Vega responded: “Well, I guess that’s me.” Apparently referring to California’s prison classification system, defendant referred to himself as a “Level 4.” Vega responded: “Oh, you beat me by one because I’m a Level 3.” After arguing about who was tougher, defendant started to walk away, at which point Vega called him a “290,” meaning a sex offender. Vega said something like “you ain’t tough” or “I’ll kick your ass.” Defendant lifted his shirt to show a handgun in his waistband. Vega approached defendant while…