People v. Roots CA3

Filed 1/27/22 P. v. Roots CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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, C092570

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. STK-CR-FE-2019-0005151) v.

JONTELL JAYMAR ROOTS,

Defendant and Appellant.

A jury found defendant Jontell Jaymar Roots guilty of second degree murder (Pen. Code, § 187, subd. (a))1 with two firearm enhancements (§§ 12022.5, subd. (a), 12022.53, subd. (d)), and the trial court sentenced him to 40 years to life in prison. Defendant moved for a new trial on the ground that the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict. The motion was denied. On appeal, defendant contends that the trial

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.

1

court abused its discretion by failing to independently evaluate and weigh the evidence before denying the motion. We agree. We accordingly reverse and remand with instructions that the trial court rehear the motion for new trial. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND A. The facts One evening in September 2017, R.A. greeted an acquaintance, Lonnel Broadnax, outside a market. Around that time, R.A. saw a white SUV pull up and park nearby. Defendant and another person exited the SUV. R.A. saw defendant and Broadnax speak to each other for a couple of minutes, and noticed they both appeared to dislike what the other was saying. At 8:02 p.m., Broadnax punched defendant then ran away. A security camera showed Broadnax running in one direction and then, seconds later, a person in a gray hoodie walking in the same direction. A different security camera showed Broadnax several seconds later with a figure following behind. Sergeant Joseph Bitondo of the Stockton Police Department said that neither person following Broadnax was defendant. R.A. saw defendant and the driver get back into the SUV and “chase” Broadnax. Approximately four to five minutes after Broadnax punched defendant and Broadnax fled, R.A. heard 10 to 15 rapid pops that sounded like gunshots. Around that same time, D.C., a retired California Highway Patrol officer, and his wife’s cousin, J.F., heard multiple gunshots fired as they watched television in J.F.’s nearby home. They looked out the window. J.F. saw the silhouette of a man holding a gun over a fence and firing into the parking lot of a nearby apartment building. D.C. saw a man shoot a series of bullets from the street or sidewalk towards a parking lot. The man then jumped over a fence and fired more rounds over the top of the fence, aiming at something on the ground in the parking lot. The man jumped off of the fence and ran away. The man returned and jumped back over the fence. D.C observed him run towards a white compact car that was waiting on the street, though he did not see whether the man got into the car. The car drove away.