People v. Pitts CA5

FACTS

On August 24, 2012, at approximately 8:00 a.m., at a school bus stop in Fresno, Sara Solis and Herlinda Gonzales argued with Pitts’s sister over children cutting in line. The argument continued as the trio walked back toward Solis’s apartment and culminated when Solis’s puppy snapped at Pitts’s sister. Later that morning, Pitts was accompanied by his sister and another woman when he showed up at Solis’s apartment and began arguing with Solis and Gonzales. Pitts told them they had disrespected his sister and demanded an apology. The commotion woke Solis’s boyfriend, Francisco Rodriguez, who told her to get everyone out of there. Solis and Gonzales walked outside and around the apartment to Solis’s backyard followed by Pitts and the two women. They continued to argue and Gonzales eventually apologized to Pitts’s sister. Rodriguez then came out of the apartment through a sliding door that led to the back patio, grabbed a shovel, and told Pitts’s group to leave.

All further statutory references are to the Penal Code, unless otherwise indicated.

2 As Rodriguez, Solis, and Gonzales were walking into the apartment through the sliding door, Pitts told Solis to apologize…