People v. Barker CA5

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 9, 2025
DocketF087524
StatusUnpublished

This text of People v. Barker CA5 (People v. Barker CA5) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Barker CA5, (Cal. Ct. App. 2025).

Opinion

Filed 7/9/25 P. v. Barker CA5

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

THE PEOPLE, F087524 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. BF189972B) v.

JOSEPH BARKER, OPINION Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Kern County. John D. Oglesby, Judge. Sylvia W. Beckham, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Kimberley A. Donohue, Assistant Attorney General, Louis M. Vasquez, Amanda D. Cary, and Joseph Penney, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. -ooOoo- INTRODUCTION A jury convicted Joseph Barker (appellant) of second degree murder (Pen. Code, §§ 187, subd. (a), 189, subd. (b); count 1)1 with an enhancement for the intentional discharge of a firearm proximately causing great bodily injury or death (§ 12022.53, subd. (d); hereinafter section 12022.53(d)), willful, deliberate, and premeditated attempted murder (§§ 664, subd. (a), 187, subd. (a); count 2) with an enhancement for the intentional discharge of a firearm (§ 12022.53, subd. (c)), and assault with a semiautomatic firearm (§ 245, subd. (b); count 3) with an enhancement for the personal use of a firearm (§ 12022.5, subd. (a)). The trial court sentenced appellant to 47 years to life plus 20 years in state prison. On appeal, appellant claims there was insufficient evidence to sustain the section 12022.53(d) firearm enhancement on count 1, and the finding on count 2 that the attempted murder was willful, deliberate, and premeditated. We conclude substantial evidence supported the jury’s findings. We affirm. FACTUAL BACKGROUND I. Surveillance Videos. On May 4, 2022, appellant drove to a gas station in his black Chrysler sedan. Erica Gonzalez, his codefendant and girlfriend, was sitting in the front passenger’s seat.2 The events at the gas station were captured on high resolution surveillance video cameras. Recordings from two different camera angles were admitted into evidence and played for the jury. The videos show appellant exit the gas station market with a soda cup and return to his car, which is parallel parked between the market and a set of gas pumps. Gonzalez is still in the front passenger’s seat. After appellant enters, the car does not move.

1 All further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated. 2 Gonzalez filed a separate appeal (case No. F087704).

2. Approximately 30 seconds later, a grey sedan drives forward and stops facing the front of appellant’s car, approximately one car length away. The grey sedan’s path forward appears to be blocked by appellant’s car and an SUV that had parked at the gas pumps next to appellant’s car. Angel Bowdey (Angel) is in the driver’s seat of the grey sedan. Her sister, Ammie Bowdey (Ammie), is in the front passenger’s seat.3 After about 45 seconds, Angel drives the grey sedan forward and stops a few feet from appellant’s car. Angel exits the grey sedan and approaches the front of appellant’s car. She angrily bangs on the hood several times while appearing to yell. Appellant and Gonzalez open their respective car doors. Gonzalez exits, stands between the car and the open car door, and argues with Angel. Angel takes several steps toward Gonzalez, moving around the hood toward the passenger’s side of the car. Ammie exits the grey sedan and walks behind Angel. Appellant, who was still seated in the driver’s seat, reaches through the car and hands Gonzalez a silver semiautomatic handgun. Gonzalez points the handgun in the direction of Angel and Ammie and pulls back the slide. Ammie grabs Angel by the arm and attempts to move her back, but Angel pulls her arm away. Appellant steps out of the driver’s side of the car and points a black semiautomatic handgun at Angel. Ammie takes a step back, and appellant and Gonzalez open fire. It is unclear from the surveillance videos who fires first. Angel collapses to the ground. Appellant then sweeps his handgun to his left and briefly points it at Ammie as she retreats behind the grey sedan. It is unclear from the surveillance videos whether appellant discharges the handgun when he moves it in Ammie’s direction. However, an officer who recovered and reviewed the surveillance videos testified it appears appellant “pointed his firearm at Ammie and shot.”

3 For clarity, we refer to Angel Bowdey and Ammie Bowdey by their first names. No disrespect is intended.

3. Appellant and Gonzalez get back into appellant’s car and flee. As they exit the gas station parking lot, Gonzalez rolls down her window and fires two additional shots. The bullets strike the wall of the gas station market, several feet away from Angel and Ammie. II. Ammie’s Testimony. Ammie testified she went with Angel to the gas station to pump gas. Angel stopped her car in front of appellant’s car because she was trying to access the gas pump, but appellant’s car was blocking her path. Angel started honking her horn, but appellant’s car did not move. Angel then exited her car, banged on the hood of appellant’s car, and asked them to move. Gonzalez stepped out of appellant’s car and told Angel, “[B]ang on my hood one more time.” Angel responded, “[Y]ou’re not going to do nothing.” Gonzalez pointed her handgun at Angel, and Angel stated, “[D]on’t point it if you ain’t going to use it.” Ammie tried to pull Angel away when she saw that Gonzalez had a handgun. Appellant then exited his car with his own handgun, and appellant and Gonzalez both started shooting. Ammie testified appellant and Gonzalez pointed their guns at both her and Angel. She stated appellant and Gonzalez shot Angel and tried to shoot her, but she ran behind the grey sedan. Ammie went to check on Angel after appellant and Gonzalez began to drive away. She saw that Angel had been shot. She briefly backed away from Angel when Gonzalez fired shots from appellant’s car while exiting the parking lot. Emergency responders arrived and transported Angel to the hospital via ambulance, where she was pronounced deceased. III. Appellants Are Arrested Outside of Their Residence. An officer arrived at the gas station soon after the shooting. He reviewed the surveillance footage from the gas station, which revealed the license plate number on appellant’s black Chrysler sedan.

4. Minutes later, a police aerial unit located appellant’s car parked outside of the residence to which it was registered. Officers in the aerial unit observed appellant and Gonzalez exit appellant’s car and walk toward a silver Ford, which was also parked nearby. They entered and exited the silver Ford, then ran toward the residence. Appellant jumped over a fence into a nearby yard, where he was contacted and arrested by officers on the ground. Gonzalez hid in a crawl space under the residence. After numerous callouts by officers, she exited from the crawl space and surrendered. Officers conducted a search of the silver Ford. In the trunk, they discovered a silver nine-millimeter caliber semiautomatic handgun, consistent with the firearm used by Gonzalez, and a black .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun, consistent with the firearm used by appellant. Both handguns were loaded. IV. Subsequent Investigation. The handguns recovered from the trunk of the silver Ford were swabbed and tested for DNA. Appellant and Gonzalez could not be excluded as contributors to DNA on both handguns. A forensic pathologist conducted an autopsy on Angel’s body. He testified he observed two gunshot wounds.

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People v. Barker CA5, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-barker-ca5-calctapp-2025.