Opinion ID: 2588509
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Taco Bell Shooting

Text: On October 17, 1990, at approximately 7:30 p.m., defendant entered the Taco Bell on Jackson and 14th Streets in Oakland. He appeared normal to Sherman Boyd, a Taco Bell employee who had seen him on several occasions inside the Taco Bell and elsewhere in the community. The two men acknowledged each other. Defendant ordered two encharitos and Boyd began preparing the order. Defendant pulled out a gun, pointed it at the head of Taco Bell employee Mui Luong, and fired. As blood flowed from her face, she fell. Defendant did not appear upset or excited; he displayed no remorse, no feelings whatsoever. It seemed to customer Grace Haynes that defendant acted as if the shooting were something that is done every day. Defendant quickly left through the restaurant's exit onto Jackson Street, where he walked toward Lake Merritt. Boyd, Haynes, customer Diane Griffin, and Taco Bell assistant manager Maria Harris all identified defendant in court as the shooter. All four had also selected defendant from a lineup without hesitation. Ms. Luong survived the shooting, but suffered brain damage because the shooting blocked the flow of oxygen and blood to her brain. She also suffered spinal shock, in which the spinal cord basically ... shuts down. In the three and one-half years between the shooting and the trial, Luong had never returned home. Her brother visits her at the rehabilitation center and speaks to her, but she never responds, and it appears as if she does not recognize him at all.