People v. Brooks CA3

I. BACKGROUND

A. The Shooting Defendant was one of six young men involved in a fatal shooting near a convenience store. Two of them, defendant and codefendant Arthur Miller,1 were charged together. Many of the events surrounding the shooting were captured by surveillance video. On the evening of February 10, 2012, defendant (who was 15 years old at the time), codefendant, and four other young men walked to a convenience store. Defendant and three others entered the store, while codefendant and another waited outside. The victim drove up and parked opposite the front door. He got out and walked to the store. One of the two young men outside opened the door for him and said, “What’s up, what’s up, cuz?” The victim then walked inside. The two outside talked, and one handed the other a pistol. Inside, defendant confronted the victim saying: “What’s up, Crip? What’s up, Crip?” The four inside then left the store and rejoined the two outside. Codefendant said they were going to “knock [the victim] over.” The six then left and walked down an adjacent street. The victim, after buying orange juice, left the store, got in his car, and drove down the same street the six young men had…