People v. Strauter CA1/1

I.

BACKGROUND

On August 12, 2009, Strauter shot and killed JT Long1 after a confrontation at JT’s residence on Ralmar Avenue in East Palo Alto. Earlier that day, JT had asked Colina Williams, Strauter’s cousin, to move her car, which was apparently blocking JT’s driveway. The request triggered a violent argument. According to Colina, JT threw a bottle at her, leaving a bruise on her arm. At least one witness stated that Colina responded by taking out her pocket knife and trying to stab JT. Kamarlon Walker, JT’s cousin and Colina’s boyfriend, intervened and asked Colina to leave, which she did.

1 Because some of the witnesses share the same last name, we refer to them by their first names for the sake of clarity.

1 Upon returning home, Colina recounted the incident to Strauter. Strauter told Colina “he wanted to talk to [JT] to let him know that he can’t be doing that.” Strauter then headed to JT’s home in Colina’s white Nissan Maxima. A gun was underneath Strauter’s seat. Strauter testified: “[T]he gun was just there. I didn’t think that there was any bad vibes between anybody.” Colina followed Strauter in his van. In the meantime, JT went for a drive with Denise Doughty and…