People v. Jones CA1/5

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

A. Jury Trial and Conviction In 2016, the Solano County District Attorney charged Jones with murder (§ 187, subd. (a)) and alleged that he personally and intentionally discharged a firearm that caused great bodily injury and death (§ 12022.53, subd. (d)). (People v. Jones (Dec. 26, 2019, A154492) [nonpub. opn.] (Jones I).) The evidence at trial, as we summarized in an earlier appeal, included the following. “At approximately 1:30 a.m. on October 6, 2014, Vacaville police responded to a 911 call about a shooting at the Canyon Creek Apartments. They found 18-year-old Demetrius Ward in the front seat of his truck, unconscious and with a gunshot wound in his neck. A Ziplock bag with marijuana was found inside the truck, and a .45-caliber shell casing was found on the ground a few feet away. Ward was taken to the hospital, where he died. The murder weapon was never found. “The 911 call was placed by Kai Hughes, who was also 18 years old. After providing conflicting stories about what happened, she eventually told police that Ward was shot by Jones during a botched marijuana robbery. “In the months before the shooting, Hughes had associated with Jones as…