Quach

Anh Viet Quach was convicted of attempted extortion, attempted second degree robbery, attempted murder, receiving stolen property, three counts of street terrorism, and several firearm violations. Gang enhancements were found to be true with regard to two of the charges.

We affirmed his conviction, but in doing so, we made several pointed comments about the quality of his appellate representation. The attorney who was the subject of those comments subsequently resigned from the bar. In consideration of this, a petition for writ of habeas corpus was filed, requesting recall of the remittitur and reinstatement of the appeal. The Attorney General agreed such relief was appropriate, the writ issued, and the case is before us again. This time we reverse Quach’s attempted murder conviction.

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Quach was charged with 14 felonies related to three separate but related incidents. In February 1998, a group of men, including Quach, entered Scott’s Spirits, a liquor store in Westminster. One of them handed a lottery ticket to Hoa Nguyen (Hoa), an employee, and daughter of the owner, Quang Nguyen (Quang). Written on the back of the ticket were a telephone number, the monetary…