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People v. Clavano9/8/2005
she did not recognize standing at the door. Avila did not go to the door because she thought the man was there to see Townsend. Townsend did not go to the door either. Several seconds later, the man walked away. Less than five minutes later, Avila heard approximately five gunshots.
Munoz "crawled" out of the bedroom and told Avila that Townsend had been shot and to call 911. Within minutes, the police arrived and found Townsend on the floor near a bedroom window with gunshot wounds to his chest and the right side of his head. The head wound was fatal, and the chest wound likely would have been fatal. The window was open and covered by wrought iron bars. There was a hole in the window screen and two bullet holes in one of the walls. A forensic pathologist estimated that the shots were fired from less than four feet away and probably from less than two feet away. No bullet casings were found at the scene. Later, police found a copper bullet jacket and lead fragments in the wall.
Munoz testified that he and Townsend had been in the front bedroom for about 45 minutes when suddenly the light from a lamp went out and Munoz heard four or five gunshots. Townsend was standing near a window. Munoz did not see where the shots came from. Munoz and Townsend had been using methamphetamine that evening.
Munoz told police that Townsend was on the run because he had "pissed off a lot of people in the area." Townsend had stolen from a lot of people, including Munoz. One week before the shooting, Townsend told Munoz that he had stolen a car from "some guys that lived around where he was staying," and had also stolen stereo equipment from the car. Four or five days before the shooting, Townsend brought the stereo equipment to Munoz's house. Approximately two weeks before the shooting, Townsend told Munoz that he had also stolen $700 from a woman and that people connected with the woman had threatened to kill him. Two days before the shooting, someone Townsend had stolen from in San Bernardino fired shots at him, but missed. On the day of the shooting, a woman in a car pointed at the car in which Townsend and Munoz were riding.
Judith Burks lived next door to Avila. She was sitting in her front yard during the evening of May 17, and had a clear view of the front yard of Avila's building. Around 9:00 or 9:30 p.m., Burks saw a man who appeared to be Hispanic walk through the front gate of Avila's apartment. The man was alone. He walked up to the window, pulled the curtains back, and started shooting. Burks could not describe the gun. She described the shooter as bald with some stubble on his head, wearing jeans, a T-shirt, and tennis shoes with white socks. Burks knew Townsend. In the past, Townsend told Burks that people were after him and he could not sit out in front of the apartments when she was outside with her family.
Lucas Cardenaz testified that, between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m. on May 17, 2001, he approached defendants and two other people standing by a wrought iron fence near Avila's apartment complex. Defendants lived in a nearby apartment complex. Cardenaz occasionally "hung out" with defendants. As Cardenaz approached, Oliver climbed over the fence and said, "I'm going to go check it out and see if it's clear." Oliver walked toward the North Spruce Street apartments and returned approximately one minute later. Upon returning, he said to Amando, who was still standing outside the fence, "It's all clear, pass me the heat. Give me the heat."
Amando reached under his shirt and pulled out a dark-colored bandana, wrapped around a gun. Cardenaz saw the butt of a gun sticking out of the bandana. Amando passed the gun under the fence to Oliver. Oliver went back tow
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