In re W.J. CA2/6
Opinion
Opinion
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
Fifteen-year-old W.J. and two other boys approached a parked truck occupied by 68-year-old Gary Poindexter in the early morning of October 12, 2020. They repeatedly asked for money. He grew frustrated and told them he did not “have money to give away” and that they needed “to go get a job.” The boys did not welcome Poindexter’s advice. One sprayed an unknown substance into the truck’s cab. Poindexter grabbed a copper pipe lying next to his seat, got out of the truck, and swung the pipe at the boys. They dispersed but soon returned and began hurling bricks at Poindexter. One broke his truck’s windshield, and another struck his finger. Poindexter later identified W.J. as the one who threw the brick at the windshield. The People filed a Welfare and Institutions Code section 602 petition alleging W.J. committed felony vandalism and misdemeanor battery during the altercation. Poindexter testified as the People’s only witness. The juvenile court sustained the petition and placed W.J. on home probation. It found his maximum term of confinement to be three years and six months.