Alonzo

Respondent Philip Rudolfo Alonzo was charged with having willftilly and unlawfully discharged a firearm in a grossly negligent manner which could result in injury or death to a person in violation of Penal Code section 246.3 after he shot a gun into the air in a commercial area of the City of Montebello at 2 a.m. on December 9, 1990.

After a brief preliminary hearing, the magistrate denied respondent’s motion to set aside the charge. Upon review of the transcript of that hearing, the superior court granted the motion on the ground that the preliminary hearing evidence did not show gross negligence or evidence that the shooting could have harmed or injured a person. For reasons explained in this opinion, we conclude that the magistrate’s belief that respondent violated section 246.3 was reasonable. We therefore reverse the superior court’s order setting the charge aside.

The only witness called by the prosecution at respondent’s preliminary hearing was Montebello Police Officer Jeffrey Hanes. He testified that at the time of the incident he was off duty, sitting in his personal vehicle in a parking lot in a commercial area where he had just purchased a soft drink and…