Reynoza

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. Facts of the Offense 1. The Underlying Prosecution in Which Cornejo Was a Witness Rafael Cornejo was arrested together with Benjamin Valladares and Francisco Rosales (Reynoza’s brother) in Gilroy in February 2017. Police found an unregistered firearm in their vehicle. In April 2017, a complaint was filed charging each of them with misdemeanor possession of a firearm. Valladares was also charged with assaulting a person with a firearm and causing a firearm to be carried in a vehicle. The three defendants in that case made several court appearances from April to June 2017. On June 15, 2017, the three defendants made a court appearance. Cesar Chavez and his brother Gilbert also came to the courthouse even though they did not have any required court appearances that day. Valladares pleaded guilty to brandishing a firearm. 2. The Conduct Underlying the Dissuasion Charge in this Case The charged conduct in this case occurred outside a bar in San Jose on June 22, 2017. Valladares and Cornejo were inside the bar when the manager told Valladares there was a group of men outside, whereupon Valladares went outside to see if everything was alright.…