People v. Santana CA2/8

FACTS

The victim, John Doe, was shot at close range on January 12, 2008, which left him paralyzed from the waist down. Doe is African-American and was 16 years old at the time of the shooting. He was riding his bicycle home on Peck Road after buying snacks from a nearby store. He had noticed a burgundy-colored car turning onto a cross-street off of Peck Road while he rode to the store. He saw the same car driving towards him on Peck Road as he left the store near sundown. As he cycled in front of the Calvary Grace Church, where he worked part-time as a janitor, Doe heard the burgundy car pull up behind him. The car’s passenger yelled, “Hey, fool. Fuck Dirt Rock.” Dirt Rock was a derogatory term for the Duroc Crips, an African-American street gang in Monrovia. When the car was arm’s distance away to his left, Doe saw the passenger balance a gun on the passenger-side window. The driver concealed his face with his right arm and Doe could not identify him beyond the description that he was a pale-skinned male. Doe recognized the passenger with the gun as Santana even though a black beanie had been pulled down to his eyebrows. Doe had attended middle school with Santana. Santana fired…