People v. Barron CA2/3

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

1. The robberies and shooting Around 9:20 p.m. on January 3, 2020, Eduardo Cruz was outside his apartment complex in Pomona. His friend Freddy Gamino was with him. Cruz saw a group of six or seven African American men yelling at a Hispanic man who had come into the complex. One of the African American men “came at” Cruz and Gamino. He was thin with tattoos and braids. He was carrying a handgun, and he hit Cruz on the forehead with it, yelling, “ ‘What hood are you from?’ ”

People v. Superior Court (Romero) (1996) 13 Cal.4th 497 (Romero). References to statutes are to the Penal Code.

2 The man told Cruz “[t]o bring out everything that [he] had.” Cruz took the keys to his truck and some money out of his pockets and handed it over to the man. The man then went toward Gamino. He pointed the gun at Gamino’s head and pulled the trigger, but “[t]he bullet did not come out.” The man took Gamino’s wallet. Martha Padilla Serbin and her son Luis were in the courtyard of the apartment complex at about the same time. They were collecting cans from the dumpster. Martha saw about six Black men “hitting a guy.” Two of the Black men then approached…