People v. Guerrero CA2/2

FACTS

Prosecution Evidence On February 16, 2008, Angel Arroyo, who was 17, went to a surprise birthday party for a soccer teammate of his, Giovanni Ochoa. He was accompanied by his twin sister, Angelica, his nephew, Joshua, and a friend, Yesenia. Angel noticed that a young man named Cees was at the party, which was held in a backyard. Cees and defendant were standing against a wall. Angel told Joshua and Angelica that he had been in an altercation with Cees’s younger brother. Angel kept watch on Cees and defendant and saw that other men joined them until there were four or five of them. These men did not mingle with the others at the party. One of these men was Black. As Angel began dancing with Yesenia, he was punched from behind. He turned and saw Cees, and they began fighting. The rest of Cees’s companions tried to join in, and Ochoa’s uncle, Emmanuel Lopez, intervened. Lopez pushed Cees toward a wall, and Angel saw defendant trying to pull a gun out of his waistband. Angel saw defendant

All further references to statutes are to the Penal Code unless stated otherwise.

2 point the gun and a spark. Angel started crawling away and then jumped over a gate to the…