People v. Vargas CA2/7

INTRODUCTION

A jury convicted Alfredo Vargas of numerous crimes, including on two counts of attempted willful, deliberate, and premeditated murder. Vargas argues substantial evidence did not support the jury’s findings of deliberation and premeditation. We affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. Vargas Fires Multiple Shots at Two People in a Car On January 27, 2020, at 11:00 p.m., Maria Ramirez drove to the home of her boyfriend, Issac Cruz. Cruz got in the car and hugged Ramirez. A car pulled up next to Ramirez’s car, blocking the left corner of her car. Vargas got out of the passenger side door of the car and looked inside the front windshield of Ramirez’s car. Vargas walked to the driver’s side window, “reached into his waistband, and flashed a gun.” By the time Vargas got to the driver’s side of the car, he was holding the gun and pointing it at Ramirez. Vargas came forward until he was a foot and a half to two feet from Ramirez and stuck the gun in her face. Neither Ramirez nor Cruz had ever seen a gun that close up before. Cruz said, “No, no, no,” and Ramirez drove away. Ramirez and Cruz heard approximately five to 10 gunshots and the sound of bullets hitting the…