People v. Newsome CA4/3

FACTS

Mitchel Welsh managed a small apartment complex in Apple Valley. He also resided in the complex, in unit no. 7, along with his wife and their three young children. On one side of Welsh, in unit nos. 8 and 2, lived his parents and his sisters Tiffany and Trisha. And on the other side, in unit no. 6, lived Andraya Jackson and sisters Courtney and Tamera Denson. Jackson and the Denson sisters, who are black, did not get along with the members of Welsh’s family, who are white. In fact, despite being neighbors, there was considerable animosity between the occupants of unit no. 6 and Welsh’s family. One day, Jackson’s five-year-old daughter got into a spat with one of Welsh’s young nieces in the courtyard of the apartment complex. Jackson and Trisha became involved in the dispute and started arguing so fiercely that they eventually came to blows. When things settled down, Trisha called Welsh and told him what happened. He said he would deal with the situation when he got off work. In the meantime, Trisha and Tiffany continued to argue back and forth with the women in unit no. 6.

2 Welsh arrived home around dusk and was accompanied by his workmates Michael Subacz and Bobby Organ,…