People v. Johnson CA2/3

BACKGROUND

Viewed in accordance with the usual rules of appellate review (People v. Ochoa (1993) 6 Cal.4th 1199, 1206), the evidence established the following. 1. Prosecution evidence. On December 27, 2011, Mario Carr1 was living in Long Beach with his sister Jessica and her fiancé Terrill Coates. About 8:00 p.m. that evening, Mario left the apartment to walk the dogs. He told Coates that after walking the dogs he was going to meet defendant Johnson, whom he had known for about six months. Mario testified that, although Johnson had expressed a romantic interest in him, he thought of her only as a friend. Mario testified Johnson had asked him to meet her at an alley near her Long Beach apartment. When Mario arrived he saw that Johnson was accompanied by a man he knew as Bam, who was Johnson’s friend. Both Johnson and Bam had guns. A fight broke out between Mario and Bam. During this fight, Johnson shot Mario in the back of the head. Mario sustained significant brain injury and he was in a coma for a number of months. He suffered permanent disabilities in cognition, speech and mobility, and is now confined to a wheelchair. His language abilities are greatly diminished and his…