People v. Nyquist CA2/8

FACTS AND PROCEDURE

Defendant lived in Altadena and according to him, he was a nuisance to his neighbors. By his own admission, he made constant noise and disturbed his neighbors. Defendant admitted to being an alcoholic and frankly testified that “I wouldn’t want to live next to me.” Deputy sheriffs regularly were dispatched to defendant’s home. On May 26, 2012, beginning about 4:00 a.m., defendant was yelling and screaming and making noise. His neighbor Russell Reed asked him to be quiet. While on his patio, defendant responded: “I’m tired of you calling the sheriffs. And the next time the sheriffs come out, I [am] going to take the gun from them and I’m going to shoot you.” According to Reed, defendant said he was going to shoot and kill Reed. Reed could not see defendant when he made the statement but heard the threat and testified he was frightened by it. Reed told defendant to stop threatening him, and defendant then left his patio area and “charged towards” Reed. Reed prepared to defend himself when another neighbor John Burton interrupted and said he already called the sheriffs. Defendant previously told Reed if Reed shot at defendant, defendant would return fire. But,…