People v. Hernandez CA1/2

BACKGROUND

In September 2011, the Solano County District Attorney filed an information in which defendant was charged with attempted murder (Pen. Code, §§ 664, 1871) and assault with a deadly weapon, a knife, likely to produce great bodily injury (§ 245, subd.

1 Further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated.

1 (a)(1)). It was further alleged regarding both counts that defendant personally used a deadly and dangerous weapon, a knife (§ 12022, subd. (b)(1)), and personally inflicted great bodily injury (§ 12022.7, subd. (a)). The information alleged the same counts and allegations regarding codefendant Michael Felix Aquino, not a party to this appeal, except that it was alleged that Aquino used a pipe as a deadly weapon. Defendant (and Aquino) pled not guilty and denied the enhancement allegations. Trial began in October 2011. As we will discuss further, the charges against defendant and Aquino were based on the People‟s contentions that the two, and others, had attacked Brandon Lopez in the early morning hours at a party that began on the evening of December 13, 2008 at a house in Suisun, California. The house was owned by the parents of two…