People v. Castillo CA2/1

BACKGROUND

Castillo stole a pickup truck from Ricardo Mota in a public parking structure, running over and killing Mota in the process. He was arrested a few hours later in San Fernando Valley, standing next to the truck, and the parking attendant came to identify him. Mota’s DNA was found on Castillo’s clothing, the truck, and the parking structure. Castillo’s DNA was found in the truck. At trial, Castillo’s defense was that he meant only to steal the truck, not to injure Mota. Raul Infante, the parking attendant, testified that Mota often parked his truck in the public structure. At 5:46 p.m. on December 11, 2017, Infante observed Castillo walk past the parking booth to the elevator. The encounter was captured on time-stamped surveillance footage, which was played for the jury. Twelve minutes later, a catering van stopped at the booth prior to exiting and the driver said that two men were arguing and fighting on the roof. Infante saw Castillo exit the structure driving Mota’s truck. The surveillance footage showing that this occurred at 6:02:31 p.m. Seven seconds later, at 6:02:38 p.m., a red Saturn with two construction workers stopped at the booth, and one of the workers…