People v. Rodriguez

I agree with the majority’s memorandum but write separately to emphasize certain points. At the outset of the gunpoint robbery committed by defendant and his two accomplices, defendant brandished a gun and demanded the victim’s gold chain. Even though the victim was in the act of complying with that demand, defendant shot him in the leg. Defendant’s gratuitous and brutal violence only escalated from that point. As the victim continued his efforts to take off the chain, defendant shot him in the torso. The victim fell against a fence and defendant shot him a third time, in the back. The second…