P. v. Gutierrez
During the late evening of May 14, 2011, Gutierrez stabbed Alex Anzures in the heart with a folding knife that Gutierrez kept in his pocket. At the time, Gutierrez and Anzures were party guests in the Santa Maria home of Carlos Bustamonte. Gutierrez was "spun out, like all twacked out of his mind," from methamphetamine and marijuana use, and Anzures was heavily intoxicated. The two men did not know each other; they argued at the party following Anzures's comment to Gutierrez's stepsister.
At trial, Gutierrez testified that Anzures attempted to punch him, but missed. Anzures then retrieved a box cutter from his pocket. In response, Gutierrez "stabbed him one time" in claimed self-defense. Anzures stumbled from the kitchen, held his bleeding chest, and declared that he had been "stuck" by Gutierrez.
Despite emergency medical treatment, Anzures died at the hospital. A forensic pathologist later performed an autopsy on Anzures's body and found a lethal wound to the heart and three defensive-type wounds to the right hand and forearm.
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