People v. Superior Court (Costa)

INTRODUCTION

Marcos Barboza Costa was at the wheel of his 25-ton semitrailer truck carrying a load of vehicles when he sped down Angeles Crest Highway, ran a red light, and hit a small vehicle on Foothill Boulevard, killing the two occupants. Others were also injured as the truck continued its perilous trek through the intersection, stopping only when it crashed into a bookstore and nail salon. After considering the evidence before it, a grand jury returned an indictment against Costa charging two counts of second degree murder.

We are called upon to determine whether the trial court erred in granting Costa’s motion to dismiss the murder charges. We conclude it did. The evidence before the grand jury was sufficient to support a rational ground for inferring the possibility that Costa decided to continue to drive his truck down Angeles Crest Highway with an actual awareness of the great risk of harm his actions created, resulting in the deaths of two people. We therefore grant the People’s petition for writ of mandate.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The relevant evidence before the grand jury was as follows: The Angeles Forest and Angeles Crest Highways (together…