People v. Medina CA4/2

BACKGROUND

We describe only those facts derived from evidence admitted in the prosecution’s

case-in-chief because that is the only evidence relevant to the issues in this appeal.

Shortly before 1:00 a.m. on March 14, 2020, a law enforcement officer who was

on-duty in Indio, California, heard gunshots. Someone reported hearing multiple

gunshots on King Street. (All subsequent date references are to the year 2020.) The

officer drove to the scene, where he saw a white minivan that had collided with another

car. The driver of the minivan, who was later identified as F. Carranza, was still in the

vehicle, injured and not conscious. Carranza had been shot in his left temple. A law

enforcement officer who responded to the scene photographed the injury. The

photograph was admitted into evidence. Paramedics transported Carranza to the hospital.

The van had one bullet hole in the windshield and five bullet holes in the driver’s

door. The driver’s side window had been shattered by a bullet. Law enforcement found

2 eight nine-millimeter Luger shell casings in the road on King Street in front of the Loza

Apartments and north of where the van crashed. The driver’s side of the van…