People v. Christian CA1/5

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Appellant rented a room in a house in San Rafael owned by his friend Lee Dellwig. Both men were in their late sixties and had serious health problems. Appellant sometimes stayed at the Santa Rosa apartment of Belinda Marrufo. After a car he had borrowed from Dellwig was stolen from Marrufo’s apartment complex and appellant’s bank card was used to make unauthorized online purchases, appellant suspected he was being victimized by Marrufo, her adult son Les Spadoni, and Spadoni’s wife.

1 On June 8, 2012, appellant called Marrufo from San Rafael and argued with her about the suspected thefts. He had consumed a considerable amount of vodka and cranberry juice, and when he got off the phone, he argued with Dellwig and physically attacked him as Dellwig sat on an outdoor commode.1 A home health nurse who cared for Dellwig arrived at the front door shortly after the altercation and was met by appellant, who was holding a knife. As the nurse attended to Dellwig, appellant appeared very angry. He took a Remington double-barreled shotgun from Dellwig’s closet, gathered up some shells for the gun and told Dellwig he was borrowing his truck. At about 4:00 p.m.…