Opinion ID: 1170931
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Liquor Store Incident.

Text: Near closing time on August 6, 1979, defendant, accompanied by a second man, entered Dan's Bottle Shop in San Jose. Present were co-owner Jerry Romero and two young employees, Joe Vasquez and Andy Zamora, who was mentally retarded. Defendant drew a handgun from his waistband, announced that it was a holdup, warned Romero not to do anything or he would be shot, then marched the three into the back room. He ordered Romero to open the safe. Romero, fearing defendant would become enraged if he found the small amount of petty cash kept in the safe, replied that he did not have the combination. Defendant responded by grabbing a claw hammer and exclaiming, If you don't open the safe I'm going to hit you with the hammer. The second robber told defendant to wait a minute and asked for Romero's wallet. After unsuccessfully searching the wallet for the combination, he told defendant, He doesn't know it, just forget it. Defendant's companion returned the wallet to Romero. At that moment the bell on the front door sounded, indicating that a customer had entered the store. Defendant ordered Vasquez to wait on the customer, warning that if he made any funny moves he would be shot. Defendant climbed on top of the storage shelves to watch Vasquez, who waited on the customer and returned to the back room. Defendant and his companion next ordered the group to the front of the store. Defendant opened the cash register and removed approximately $150. His companion said, Come on. We got the money. Let's get out. Defendant replied, No. We're not going to leave any witnesses. Defendant again marched Romero, Vasquez and Zamora into the back room at gunpoint. As they entered, Romero observed defendant hand the gun to his companion. Romero testified that throughout the ordeal the second robber, who had a very boyish look to his face, exhibited no violent behavior; [h]e was very passive. Very calm. That's one of the reasons I  I really thought that we weren't going to be harmed the way we were. At no time did Romero observe the second robber pointing or brandishing the weapon. Defendant then hit Romero across the forehead with a full wine bottle. As Romero fell to the floor, defendant struck him again over the head with a second full bottle of wine. Romero lay on the floor, holding his breath and pretending to be dead. Defendant took Romero's wallet from his back pocket, then felt Romero's back and said, We don't have to worry about this guy any more. Defendant walked toward Vasquez and Zamora and ordered them to Get on your knees. The two youths complied. Romero, still conscious, testified he heard the boys crying and pleading for their lives. Three shots were then fired in rapid succession. Neither Romero nor Zamora directly observed who fired the shots. Joe Vasquez died of a .32 caliber gunshot wound which entered his forehead and exited through the back of his head. Andy Zamora was also shot in the head but survived. Romero was shot in the abdomen; the bullet ricocheted off his hip and traveled through several major organs, lodging in his chest. As defendant and his companion fled, Romero heard the customer bell go off and the sound of a bottle breaking in the front of the store. [2] He got up, saw the two boys lying in pools of blood, went to the rear door which opens into the parking lot, and saw defendant getting into a car in which the second robber was already seated. A resident of an adjacent apartment testified he heard gunshots and then saw two Black men leave the liquor store and get into what appeared to be a rust or tan-colored Chevy Nova with heavy oxidation. The witness identified a picture of defendant's car as being of the same body style, color and condition of the robbers' vehicle. Both Romero and Zamora positively identified defendant at trial; Romero had previously identified him at a physical lineup. Another witness, William Cisco, testified that at a party in late September 1979, he had heard defendant talking about his involvement in a robbery. Defendant said that during the robbery some punk got in the way, and so he took him out of the game. Defendant had a gun tucked in his waistband at the time he made the statement.