P. v. Valdez
On Christmas Day 2005, defendant Martin Leyva Valdez fired four slug rounds from a shotgun through the front door of a house. He killed an 11-year-old boy. He missed the boy’s parents and brother, who watched the boy die.
Defendant was a member of the Casa Blanca gang. The night before — on Christmas Eve — a member of the Hillside gang had shot and injured several members of Casa Blanca. Defendant evidently intended to retaliate by firing into the house of the Hillside shooter. By mistake, however, he fired into a very similar house just three doors away down the street.
While making his getaway, defendant used the shotgun to menace a potential witness. There was also evidence that defendant forcibly stole a carton of beer from a stranger.
Defendant was charged with:
Count 1: Murder (Pen. Code, § 187, subd. (a)), with a gang special circumstance (Pen. Code, § 190.2, subd. (a)(22)) and with gang (Pen. Code, § 186.22, subd. (b)) and firearm (Pen. Code, § 12022.53, subd. (d)) enhancements.
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