People v. Yanez CA4/2
Opinion
Opinion
I. BACKGROUND
The charged crimes occurred in three incidents over the span of two nights.
A. Neil’s Lounge
On January 7, 2018, Yanez and codefendant Joel Vargas (who is not a party to this
appeal) entered Neil’s Lounge in Indio. About five minutes later, an altercation broke out
between Yanez and Vargas on the one hand and a group of other patrons on the other.
Yanez and Vargas were members of the Jackson Terrace gang, and the others were
members of the rival North Side Indio gang.
When bar employees escorted the groups out, Yanez stated something like “How
do you want to die today?” to one of the employees. Yanez also repeatedly stated
something to the effect of “Who’s going to die tonight?” While in the parking lot, Yanez
opened the front passenger door to his Dodge Charger and grabbed an object, after which
Vargas told Yanez to put the object away. Witnesses believed the object was likely a
gun, but they were not sure. Yanez began driving away, with Vargas in the passenger
seat, but soon made a U-turn back to the bar and fired one or two shots in the air.
1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.
2 B. Signature Party Rentals