People v. Barocio CA2/2

FACTS AND PROCEEDURAL BACKGROUND

I. Facts

Defendant and Eddie Hernandez are members of the Florencia 13 street gang. Just after midnight on November 7, 2019, Hernandez drove them both into the territory controlled by the 38th Street gang, one of Florencia 13’s rivals. Defendant brought his .22-Ruger semiautomatic handgun, which was loaded with bullets stamped with the letter “F” for Florencia. They saw Jorge Rios, who was walking down the sidewalk with his bicycle. After passing Rios, Hernandez pulled to the side of the road and turned off his truck’s headlights. Defendant got out of the passenger’s side and confronted Rios. Moments later, defendant shot Rios once in the mouth. Rios turned to flee, and defendant shot Rios three more times in the back. Hernandez pulled the car around, defendant got in, and they drove away. The entire incident was caught on video.

2 Later the same day, defendant was arrested while in possession of a .22-Ruger containing a bullet casing stamped with the letter “F” that had failed to properly eject after the gun was fired. The bullet casings recovered near Rios’s body were consistent with those from the gun in defendant’s possession. In a…