People v. Covian CA6

I. Statement of Facts

A. The Prosecution Case At about 10:00 p.m. on December 3, 2007, Carlos Argueta and his friend Alejandro Hurtado were walking towards Hurtado’s house on Homestead Avenue in Hollister. Defendant, who was standing nearby, called out to Hurtado and offered him a

1 Defendant has also filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus, which we dispose of by separate order. beer, but Hurtado responded, “No, you’re already drunk.” Argueta also declined defendant’s offer. After defendant said that he would be by later, Hurtado told him that everyone was sleeping at his house and he was going to go to bed. When Argueta and Hurtado arrived at Hurtado’s house, they went into the garage. The garage door was closed. The garage also had a side door which could be accessed from the street through a gate. The latch to the gate was on the inside of the gate and away from the street. One could reach the latch from the street side of the gate by reaching over the top of the gate. Hurtado called his friend Joann Martinez from the garage. Argueta testified that Hurtado asked her to give Argueta a ride home. Martinez testified that Hurtado asked her to come over, because he wanted her…