People v. Lopez CA2/1

BACKGROUND

I. Evidence of the Facts and Circumstances of the

Crimes as Presented at Trial At night, on August 7, 2019, Paula Farfan, her friend Luzangela Zelaya, Zelaya’s boyfriend Jeffrey Hernandez, and Hernandez’s friend Pepe went to a bar.1 They drank alcohol there and left after around an hour and a half. They walked to the parking lot where Zelaya’s car was parked, with Hernandez and Pepe each holding a skateboard. Defendant Lopez and his friend (who was not identified at trial) were in a smoking area outside the bar that was separated from the parking lot by

1 Farfan, Zelaya, and Hernandez testified at trial for the prosecution. The defense did not present any witnesses. The identity of Hernandez’s friend was not established at trial. Zelaya testified that the friend used the nickname Pepe, so we will refer to him by that name in this opinion.

2 fencing with a gate. An interaction and altercation between the two groups was captured on surveillance video from the bar that the prosecution played for the jury during the testimony of Farfan, Zelaya and Hernandez. We have reviewed the surveillance video. According to the witnesses’ testimony, Zelaya walked up to the fence…