People v. Prieto CA5

FACTS

I

PROSECUTION EVIDENCE

On the night of June 8, 2010, Pedro Contreras, Jesus Moreno, Manuel Uribe, Josue Gutierrez, Juan Trujillo, and a couple of Trujillo’s friends were at a barbecue at a home in Parlier. They then decided to walk to a party at another friend’s house. As they were walking along Tuolumne Street, a silver Dodge Magnum drove slowly past on the opposite side of the road.2 The driver looked at them, then made a

Further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise stated. The car caught Trujillo’s attention because it surprisingly was the only vehicle around and was not from Parlier.

2. U-turn at the intersection of Tuolumne and Madsen and came back toward them. The car stopped right next to them, underneath a street light. The driver — whom Contreras, Uribe, Moreno, and Trujillo identified at trial as defendant — then got out of the car. The passenger remained in the car throughout the incident.3 At some point, either as he exited the vehicle or as he started talking to the group, defendant pulled a small- to medium-sized chrome semiautomatic pistol and pointed it at the group. Defendant casually walked up to Uribe, pushed him…