People v. Moran CA2/8

FACTS

On the evening of July 17, 2011, defendant and her boyfriend went to a party at a nightclub.1 At about 10:30 p.m., after an argument with defendant, her boyfriend went home. Defendant arrived at her boyfriend’s home at about 2:00 a.m., and after they talked, defendant was upset. She drove off in a big Ford flatbed stake truck that belonged either to her or to her boyfriend, and that had been parked outside his apartment.

The respondent’s brief and various minute orders refer to defendant’s boyfriend as “Jairo Arias,” and at the trial he was sometimes directly addressed during questioning as “Mr. Arias.” When he was sworn as a witness, however, defendant’s boyfriend identified himself as “Jairo Antonio Alvarado” and that is how the interpreter spelled his name after the witness stated it. To avoid confusion, we will refer to him only as defendant’s boyfriend.

2 After driving along surface streets and onto the eastbound 105 freeway, defendant entered the northbound 710 freeway. She was driving 60 to 65 miles an hour approaching Imperial Highway when the truck became disabled and she veered to the right shoulder. After a few attempts, she was able to restart the…