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People v. Hughes3/28/2002
had previously been treated for drug and alcohol abuse, as well as trauma-related incidents consistent with fights or falls resulting from intoxication.
San Francisco Police Inspector Napoleon Hendrix interviewed appellant on May 27, 1997. Appellant told him that the gun she had used belonged to one of the boys in the victim's family, who dealt drugs and kept the gun and drugs in her residence without her permission. Asked whether she had ever fired a gun before, appellant said no. After she had shot Dorothy, she had thrown the gun from her back porch into the backyard of the adjoining house. Then she locked the door and "sat in the corner because she knew she was in trouble." Appellant told the Inspector that she had been using drugs, and had smoked " ust a little bit" of crack cocaine the night before.
Appellant told Inspector Hendrix that she had shot Dorothy because " he was afraid" of the victim and her family; "she had had problems with [the victim] and she couldn't go to the store and she'd send her kids to the store in order to avoid meeting [the victim]." According to appellant, the incident began when Dorothy allegedly reached through the bars of appellant's window, slapped appellant and said, "You fat bitch, I don't want my son coming in your house anymore," or words to that effect. When appellant then went outside, she was confronted by Dorothy and members of the latter's family. Dorothy's son Curtis J. pushed or restrained appellant in some kind of way. When Inspector Hendrix asked appellant whether there had been any conversation between herself and the victim before or after the shot was fired, appellant said "No." In his interviews with other witnesses, no one reported having heard any words between appellant and Dorothy except Sandra Telfor, the victim's sister. Appellant told the inspector that "she just brought [the gun] up and fired it" in order "to scare" Dorothy, without aiming and without intending to kill her. At the time, she had been standing "in the security gate area" of her residence.
A .38-caliber revolver was recovered from the backyard of appellant's neighbor. It was found to contain four live rounds and two expended casings. One round had been fired during the shooting in question. The gun operated normally, and did not have a hair-trigger pull. Officer Dennis Quigley, who tested the weapon, found the revolver had a trigger pull that "greatly exceeded" eight pounds, which was heavier and more difficult to pull than normal. Indeed, Officer Quigley testified that the trigger pull "was substantially heavier" than he had encountered "on virtually any firearm" he had ever examined.
Appellant offered evidence that the area of appellant's residence was one of high drug activity and sales. William M., Curtis J., and Lewis T. were all involved in drug trafficking and were known to possess weapons. Dorothy Telfor was known to police as "always under the influence" of drugs or alcohol, and always on the street, "ranting and raving, screaming, yelling, . . . speaking a bunch of gibberish, loud, real loud, any time, day or night." According to those who knew her, Dorothy had a reputation for getting into fights and brawls, and "throwing things at people." In 1996, Dorothy was arrested for stabbing a man in the arm when he had intervened in a fight between her and another woman.
Appellant testified in her own defense. Appellant moved into her residence on Newhall Street in December 1996. In February 1997, appellant learned that Curtis J. was selling drugs on the street corner just across the street from her house. William M. and Lewis T. were also involved in drug activity in the area. Appellant started smoking crack again about this time
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