People v. Rodarte CA2/1

BACKGROUND

1. The charged offenses About 5:00 a.m. on September 25, 2011, Caitlyn Nguyen drove to the area of Nordesta and Spry in Norwalk to pick up her sister. Viet Huynh accompanied Nguyen. They had never been in the area before. Nguyen parked “in the middle of the street” with her car’s headlights on and waited about 30 minutes for her sister to come out. At some point, Huynh moved into the driver’s seat. Around 5:30 a.m., someone shone a red laser through the windshield of Nguyen’s car. Huynh began to drive away, but as he did, he heard a man say, “‘Hey.’” They also saw a flashlight pointed at them. Huynh made a U- turn and stopped in front of the house from which the voice came. He lowered the car window. Nguyen and Huynh saw two men in the yard of the home, behind a fence. A third man came out of the yard and ran or quickly walked, limping, toward their car, stopping about five feet away. The man lifted a shotgun and fired at them two or three times as Huynh drove away. The shotgun pellets punctured the trunk and taillights of Nguyen’s car and shattered a side mirror. Huynh stopped at a gas station and phoned 911.

2 Sheriff’s deputies arrived and drove Nguyen and…