People v. Lee CA1/5

I. BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Lee shared an apartment in the city of San Pablo with his girlfriend, Kerin Small, Ashalette Dennis, and Dennis’s boyfriend, Deangelo Yancy.1 On March 5, 2012, an argument between Small and Tiffany Hopkins, a mutual friend of Small and Dennis, resulted in a physical confrontation between Small and Hopkins in a parking lot in front of the apartment. Lee and Small later came back with a U-Haul truck to move out of the apartment. Another physical confrontation ensued in Small’s bedroom, with Dennis and Hopkins both fighting Small. Yancy, Deangelo’s brother, was at the apartment during 1 Deangelo and Anthony Yancy are siblings. Because they share the same surname, we hereafter refer to Deangelo by first name to avoid confusion.

1 the fight. Yancy had brought his eight-year-old son for Deangelo to watch while he went to work. As discussed post, versions of events preceding and following these incidents diverge dramatically. Yancy testified that he and Lee went into Small’s bedroom, tried to get the women to stop fighting, and separated them. Yancy said Lee then went outside and returned with a gun in his hand. After the fight broke up, Lee…