People v. Nomesiri CA3

BACKGROUND

Defendant’s family grew marijuana in their backyard, and there were alarms in place to alert the family of attempted raids. On September 18 or 19, 2011, defendant, a convicted felon, fired a .22-caliber Iver Johnson carbine rifle into the air to scare off potential raiders (counts one and two, grossly negligent discharge and firearm possession by a convicted felon). On the night of September 22, 2011, victim Cheng was among those attempting another raid, and defendant’s mother shot Cheng in the neck.1 Defendant then bashed Cheng repeatedly in the head with a shovel as he lay on the ground (count three, assault with a deadly weapon with personal infliction of great bodily injury).

Defendant’s mother, originally a codefendant charged with involuntary manslaughter (Pen. Code, § 192, subd. (b)), died before trial, on November 24, 2012.

2 When two officers arrived and examined Cheng, they each detected a pulse, and one heard Cheng gasping for breath. Cheng was dead when a paramedic arrived and examined him minutes later. The People’s witness, pathologist Dr. Stephany Fiore, testified the bullet wound to the neck was fatal. Death was caused by the bullet wound, not by…