People v. Chanhnoy CA3

Filed 2/26/26 P. v. Chanhnoy CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (San Joaquin) ----

THE PEOPLE, C100431

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. MAN-CR- FECOD-2020-0007257) v.

JEYLAN DENDAI CHANHNOY,

Defendant and Appellant.

A jury found defendant Jeylan Dendai Chanhnoy guilty of the willful, deliberate, and premeditated first degree murder of Raul Rodriguez during a drive-by shooting in front of Rodriguez’s house. The jury specifically found that the murder was caused by defendant’s discharge of a firearm from a vehicle with the intent to cause death. Although defendant concedes he fired the shot that killed Rodriguez, he contends there was insufficient evidence that he intended to kill him. We disagree and affirm.

1

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Rodriguez’s son lived with his parents (Rodriguez and mother) at their home at the corner of D. Drive and C. Drive in Tracy. Son came to know defendant while they were in juvenile hall. They had an altercation there, but “[i]t was dropped.” After they got out of juvenile hall, they stayed in touch over social media. Defendant’s social media included a photo of himself with a bottle of promethazine and a price. In March 2020, son bought promethazine from defendant and paid him $120 via online payment using mother’s bank account. Shortly thereafter, defendant dropped off the promethazine at son’s house. Mother soon cancelled the payment. Son told defendant he would try to get him the money but never did. On April 24, 2020, Rodriguez was working on cars in his driveway and in the street (D. Drive) in front of his driveway. According to a police officer, a gray car was seen travelling north on C. toward D. The car then made a U-turn on C., and defendant got out of the car. Surveillance video from Rodriguez’s home showed defendant walking north on C. toward D. at 1:22:18 p.m. At 1:22:35 p.m., defendant walked on the sidewalk in front of Rodriguez’s house while Rodriguez was between an SUV and a smaller car in his driveway. Then at 1:22:57 p.m., defendant walked in the opposite direction in front of Rodriguez’s house; Rodriguez is not visible in that video. At 1:23:10 p.m., defendant walked south on C. A police officer testified that the gray car then picked up defendant. The car looped around the block and passed in front of Rodriguez’s house at 1:25:53 p.m. A shot fired from the car, hitting Rodriguez, who was in the driveway between the SUV and the smaller car. Additional shots can be heard in the video as the car exits the video frame. The car was later spotted “racing” down C. Rodriguez’s next-door neighbor (neighbor) told an officer he was working on his motorcycle when he heard the shots. He saw a guy’s arm hanging out a window shooting “right at [Rodriguez].” Rodriguez suffered a single gunshot wound to the “upper part of the buttock on the side.” The bullet went through his abdominal cavity and settled in his lower abdomen.