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People v. Toler9/11/2000
street in the neighborhood they spotted two of the individuals they had been chasing, and the individuals ran across the street in front of the Tracker. Galvan testified that after Toler and Baca ran across the street and into a yard on the side of a house, Galvan and Martinez stopped the car and chased the two suspected thieves. Galvan stated that as he and Martinez closed in upon Toler and Baca, Baca climbed over the 6-foot fence located at the rear of the yard and Toler began shooting at them. Galvan testified that Martinez crouched when Toler started shooting but was unable to take cover because he was in an exposed area of the yard. Galvan estimated that he and Martinez were roughly 20-25 feet away from Toler at the time Toler initially opened fire.
After Toler fired several shots, Martinez rose from his crouched position, said something to Galvan, and ran at Toler. Toler again fired at Martinez, and Martinez screamed that he had been shot. Martinez briefly fought with Toler, punched him, and then fell to the ground. At the same time, Galvan ran toward Toler, grabbing him and punching him after Martinez fell down. Galvan said that because he saw his uncle and police officers run into the yard and thought they would subdue Toler, he climbed over the fence to pursue Baca. Toler fled out of the yard on foot, but the police quickly captured and arrested him.
Dr. Wahe testified that Martinez had been shot 4 to 6 times, including shots to the arms, legs, chest and stomach. The coroner stated that one of the gunshots entered Martinez's left arm from behind Martinez and went through his arm into his chest, causing the fatal wound by penetrating one of Martinez's lungs and his heart. Dr. Wahe also said that Martinez's blood alcohol level was 0.1333 percent when he was brought to the hospital for treatment of the gunshot wounds.
The People charged Toler with second degree murder, later amending the charge to first degree murder. At trial, Toler's central contention was that he shot Martinez in self-defense. The defense argued that Toler reasonably feared that Martinez was going to cause him great bodily harm or death, and that shooting Martinez was a reasonable response to Martinez's aggression. The defense also argued that shooting Martinez was a reasonable action for someone who was raised in the abusive conditions in which Toler spent his childhood and who was affiliated with a gang.
Although Toler did not testify at trial, the prosecution introduced into evidence the videotape of an interview he conducted with the police after he shot Martinez. During this interview, Toler stated that he had consumed alcohol and LSD that afternoon and that he and his companions were on the way to their friend's house when they noticed Martinez's Tracker following them. Toler said that he had "no idea" why Martinez and the others were after him and his friends, and that he and his friends were afraid and ran from the Tracker. Toler said that as Martinez and Galvan pursued him and Baca into the yard, Toler was "afraid for his life" and thought he saw Martinez reaching into his coat for what Toler assumed was a gun. According to Toler, because he thought Martinez was in a rival gang and was going to harm or kill him, Toler closed his eyes and started shooting at Martinez and Galvan, intending only to scare the pursuers, not to shoot them.
Consistent with Toler's claim of self-defense, the jury received a jury instruction about a person's right to use deadly force to resist unlawful force. Jury Instruction No. 14 stated that the defendant's theory of the case was self-defense and explained to the jury the principles of self-defense patterned after statutory language, caselaw, a
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