People v. Aguirre

Opinion

STONE (W. A.), Acting P. J.—

Background

In the late afternoon of April 14, 1995, appellant Jaime Javier Aguirre shot and killed Francisco Duran in the parking lot of the Comer Pocket, a Bakersfield pool hall. Witnesses testified Duran was leaving the pool hall with some friends when Aguirre pulled into the parking lot and quickly got out of his truck. He walked up to Duran and fired seven shots at close range into Duran’s head and upper torso.

Undisputed testimony at trial outlined the circumstances precipitating the incident. Aguirre and his girlfriend, Florita, had been living together for years with their two children.

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Since December 1994, however, Florita had been having an affair with Duran. Aguirre became aware of the affair when his elder child told him she saw Florita and Duran kissing. Although their relationship remained fairly stable, Aguirre felt upset and hurt by Florita’s affair and often told her to end it. He was particularly upset to leam Duran sometimes visited Florita at the Comer Pocket where she worked as a manager.

A mutual hostility developed between Duran and Aguirre, which often involved other family members and friends. Aguirre frequently received warnings from Duran’s family to leave Duran alone because they would avenge any violence toward him, no matter how deserved it may be. Aguirre later testified he felt threatened and purchased a gun in March 1995 to protect himself. He kept the gun in a lockbox in the back of his truck.

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On April 14 Aguirre’s employer let Aguirre leave work early because he and a fellow employee had been arguing. Aguirre arrived home at approximately 2:30 p.m. to shower and change clothes. His niece, Adreanna, was babysitting the children while Florita was at work. He told Adreanna not to call Florita to tell her he was on his way to see her. The investigating officer later testified Adreanna told him Aguirre did not want Florita to warn Duran to leave. Nevertheless, when Florita called, Adreanna told her Aguirre would be there.

Duran arrived at the Comer Pocket with some friends around 3:30 p.m. He spoke to Florita and then told his friends they should leave because Aguirre was on his way and would be very upset to see him. As they were walking to their cars, Aguirre arrived in his tmck. He took the gun, which he had moved from the lockbox to the front cab earlier that day, walked up to Duran and shot him at close range multiple times. He then put the gun in his pocket, looked at Duran’s body, got back in his tmck and drove away.