"He shot two unarmed men in the back who were running away"

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In his cross examination of EPD Detective John Gordon, Public Defender Casey Russo questioned Detective Gordon and said that in his testimony earlier, statements he made were not direct quotes from Derek Payton and Brittany Thompson but a summary of what they said. While Detective Gordon agreed with that, he said that certain statements like Payton telling him he was tired of being ripped off, were actual quotes.

Eliot Walin, the gunshot victim who died, was described by Mr. Russo as a large guy. Detective Gordon said yes, that Walin was taller than him and he is 6 ft 2 inches tall. Walin had a lot of tattoos, some were prison tattoos and some white pride tattoos, which included swastikas. From jail photos, Detective Gordon had seen tattoos on Doug Camili that said HCG, which stands for Humboldt County Gang.

Mr. Russo showed Detective Gordon a transcript with a statement from Payton. "They said they were going to take her car keys, fucking rob us and do crap shit." Then, Mr. Russo brought up that Nikolas Deremer did "grab a box with 6 pounds of marijuana."

Mr. Russo asked Detective Gordon about two statements that Thompson made. "They held a gun to her head and said if she said anything, they would kill her," said Mr. Russo. She believed that "Mr. Payton was trying to protect her."

During the cross examination, it came out that none of the neighbors saw the shooting. Camili was questioned by Officer Ben Altic and he told Officer Altic that "he was just walking on 15th street and heard gunshots." Camili was not searched. There was a pocket knife found next to Walin's body. When Mr. Russo showed Detective Gordon a photograph of that knife, Detective Gordon said that the knife had been moved by law enforcement "a bit further" than where it was found. The stolen box of marijuana was "never recovered," said Detective Gordon.

Camili told Detective Gordon that he went to get money owed from Payton. He took Walin and Deremer with him. They took the box of marijuana from Payton. Camili said he walked out the door, heard commotion behind him, "saw the laser dot, ducked and ran" and heard gunshots.

"Camili knew Walin had been shot?" asked Mr. Russo.

"Yes," responded Detective Gordon.

"Camili was a friend of Walin's," said Mr. Russo.

 Again, Detective Gordon said, "Yes."

"He did not call the police. He did not tell Officer Altic that Walin had been shot," asked Mr. Russo.

Mr. Russo tried to argue for self defense or voluntary manslaughter. Mr. Christiansen dsaid that for the purpose of the preliminary hearing, the People had provided the evidence necessary for the charges. Mr. Christiansen said that when Payton was shooting at the three men, he did not know about the alleged sexual assault on Thompson. As for the self defense argument, Mr. Christiansen said,"He shot two unarmed men in the back who were running away.".

Judge Feeney read and referred to CALCRIM code 505 Right to self defense or justifiable homicide. He also read CALCRIM code 520 Murder; talked about express and implied malice. Judge Feeney said "that from what I have heard in this hearing, this case does not show expressed malice but it does show implied malice. The shooting did not occur in the residence."

Judge Feeney also agreed with the People that in jury instructions, Mr. Russo could ask for lesser options to be included.