In re J.R. CA3

BACKGROUND

A district attorney filed a juvenile wardship petition under Welfare and Institutions Code section 602 after the minor shot to death a man named Lonnie L. The district attorney alleged in the petition that the minor committed murder and that he personally used a firearm, personally discharged a firearm, and personally discharged a firearm causing great bodily injury or death. The parties afterward stipulated that the minor shot Lonnie in the chest, which damaged his heart, lung, and liver and caused his death. At the hearing on the petition, several witnesses offered conflicting accounts of the facts surrounding the shooting. Lonnie’s wife, Erica L., offered the following account. She and Lonnie awoke to the sound of their son, J.L., screaming outside. They ran outside in their bathrobes and found “a whole bunch of kids, older kids in their teens,” including J.L. and the minor. Erica described the scene this way: “Everybody kind of fighting everybody, kind of thing.” She yelled, “Knock it off. Let’s go inside. Knock it off.” She also tried to get J.L. away from the fighting. After Erica, J.L., and Lonnie started to leave, the minor pointed a gun at J.L. J.L. responded,…