People v. Hampton CA4/1

I. BACKGROUND

A. The Shooting Incident at Lillian Park Hampton and Bey’s convictions arise from a shooting incident that occurred one summer day at a public park in Barstow. On the day in question, a crowd of people gathered at Lillian Park for a children’s baseball game. After the game ended, a group of children and adults became involved in a heated argument. Twenty-four-year-old Delmar Phillips intervened in what he describes as an effort to deescalate the situation, but ended up provoking Allison Hampton, whose child had been involved in the argument.

2 Allison1 claims that, during this confrontation, Phillips called her a bitch and said he would “air the park out”—a statement that one witness who testified at trial said was a threat to use a firearm to “shoot[ ] up the park.” (See post.) Phillips claims that Allison said “she was going to get someone to knock [him] out.” At the end of this confrontation, Allison got into her car and drove away, and Phillips departed the area with his niece and nephew. At about 6:25 p.m. the same day Phillips, having returned to the area, was sitting in a gray car parked across the street from the park. Standing

nearby was his close…