People v. Guerrero CA3

FACTS AND HISTORY OF THE PROCEEDINGS

A. The offense

Shortly after 7:00 a.m. on August 26, 2019, Walnut Grove firefighter Rosa Ventura was called out to a shed fire on Isleton Road. On arriving, she saw a man, later identified as Fabian Costilla, standing next to a firefighter near the burning shed. Smoke was coming off Costilla’s body. The only clothing on him was a string from the elastic band of his boxers melted to his skin. Costilla told Ventura in Spanish that he was cold and thirsty, and he kept asking if he was going to die. Another firefighter, Moises Chavez, had Costilla lie down. (We refer to Moises Chavez by his first name to avoid confusing him with defendant Chavez.) Costilla was from Antioch. Speaking in Spanish, Ventura asked Costilla what happened. Costilla said he had been out with a couple of people, and someone poured gasoline on him and lit him on fire. Ventura told a detective that Costilla said, “ ‘They threw gasoline on me and set me on fire.’ ” Asked who did it, Costilla said it was “Junior” Chavez, a man from Pittsburg who came out there with him. Costilla described Chavez as a big, tall, chunky man with big, curly hair and a beard. Chavez was…