People v. O'Brien CA3

FACTS

After midnight on May 6, 2013, defendant and two other men entered Bulls Bar. The other two men were Lawrence Sheats (defendant’s stepfather) and Steven Rodriguez. Already at the bar were Gerald Prue (who was in his late fifties) and Charisse Robinson. Sheats sat down next to Robinson, and eventually a verbal dispute occurred between Prue and Sheats about Sheats’s behavior toward Robinson. As the dispute escalated, defendant approached from another part of the bar. Prue warned the men that he had pepper spray. Defendant and Sheats rushed at Prue and knocked him to the floor. While Prue was on the floor, he was kicked until he lost consciousness. Defendant dragged Prue across the floor and taunted him, even though Prue was still unconscious. Prue received treatment at the hospital for head, face, and elbow injuries. The prosecution evidence consistently established that defendant was involved in the assault of Prue. However, there were variations of exactly who inflicted what blows. Prue told an officer investigating the incident that defendant punched him before he fell to the floor. Prue spoke to another person about the assault and said that he did not know who hit him…