People v. Hightower CA3

BACKGROUND

Velda Renfro saw defendant driving past her home with two or three other boys in April 2009. She recognized him because he lived in her neighborhood and hung around with her son. She testified that as he drove by, he made a hand gesture toward her as if he were shooting a gun. She perceived the gesture as intimidating. About thirty minutes later, Renfro noticed police in the neighborhood. A confrontation between defendant’s gang and a rival gang had ended in gunfire. A fellow gang member testified for the prosecution, saying that he had brought a loaded gun to the confrontation. At the last minute, however, he gave the gun to defendant, who was 15 years old, because defendant wanted to “get active” with the gang by shooting at rivals. But police found the gun still loaded and the witness was positively identified as one of the shooters. Additional details regarding the crime are included in the discussion post. The jury convicted defendant of shooting at an inhabited dwelling house (§ 246 -- count one). The jury also found that defendant committed the offense for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with, a criminal street gang (§ 186.22, subd.…