People. v. Cuiriz
Annotate this CaseDuring defendant’s 19th birthday party, a confrontation occurred between defendant’s father and Barcenas. Defendant observed two men hitting her father; she claims they pushed her when she attempted to separate the men and stated they were gang members. Defendant was handed a gun by her boyfriend, approached the truck to which the men had retreated, and fired into the truck, piercing Barcenas’s spinal cord. About a half hour after police responded to the scene, defendant approached an officer and acknowledged that she had shot Barcenas. As the officer was handcuffing her, she explained that “she was defending her father.” At trial she testified that Barcenas “was coming outside of the truck towards me.” The defense objected to admission of statements made during an interrogation at the police station, which seemingly contradicted her testimony. Defendant was sentenced to 27 years to life following her conviction for attempted voluntary manslaughter, shooting at an occupied vehicle and mayhem. The court of appeal affirmed the conviction, rejecting defendant’s argument that she did not voluntarily and knowingly waive her right to remain silent when she spoke to the police after having been advised of her Miranda rights. The court vacated the sentence as constituting cruel and unusual punishment.
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