SANTA ANA (CNS) - A felon who was prohibited from possessing a gun shot a man in the stomach in a Stanton motel parking lot when the victim intervened in the defendant's argument with his girlfriend, a prosecutor told jurors Monday, but the accused gunman's attorney said his client acted in self- defense.
Chad Jamal Richardson, 32, is charged with attempted murder, assault with a firearm, possession of a firearm by a felon and being a prohibited person owning ammunition, all felonies. He also faces sentencing enhancements for attempted premeditated murder, discharge of a firearm causing great bodily injury or death, inflicting great bodily injury, and personal use of a firearm.
"We are here today because the defendant, Chad Richardson, used a gun, a gun he's not supposed to have because he's a felon, to shoot Marvin Eli in the stomach because he intervened in an argument," Deputy District Attorney Taylor Krone said in his opening statement of the trial.
Richardson is accused of shooting Eli about 1 p.m. Nov. 17 in the parking lot of the Riviera Motel at 11892 Beach Blvd. The victim survived a wound to his stomach.
Richardson had multiple "heated exchanges" with his girlfriend, Amy Ramey, in the parking lot before Eli got in the middle of it, Krone said.
Ramey is a main witness in the trial, but she has gone missing. Opening statements in the trial had been scheduled for last Thursday, but when Ramey didn't show for court and investigators could not find her, Krone moved to dismiss charges and refile the case. Orange County Superior Court Judge Larry Yellin denied the request but postponed the beginning of the trial's testimony to Monday.
Krone showed jurors surveillance video of the shooting, which is partially blocked by a car.
Eli can be seen looking down and reaching for his waist band moments before the shooting. But Krone noted that Eli was "pulling up his pants."
Eli's glance downward shows that "either the defendant already had a gun in his hand or was in a position to shoot that instantaneously," Krone said.
The prosecutor said Eli's "lethargic move" to his waist did not pose an "imminent danger" to anyone.
"You're going to have the video, which speaks for itself," Krone said.
The prosecutor also noted how Richardson ran away following the shooting, moves to a motel three miles away and later took an "Uber ride" to a hospital to see his son being born. Richardson gave the driver $200 to drive him to the hospital, the prosecutor said.
Joel Garson, the defendant's attorney, said, "What this case is really about is a guy who finally couldn't bully anyone else. He finally met someone who wouldn't back down and could defend himself."
Garson noted Eli had tattoos on his leg, which the attorney said represented the street gang he was associated with.
The motel was "dilapidated" to such a degree the county was taking it over, Garson said.
"It's not the place you take your family for Knott's Berry Farm," he said. "Maybe in the 1950s, but not now."
Richardson and Ramey were like all of the other guests who were under "pressure" to leave the motel as the owners were "shooing everyone out" before the county took it over, Garson said.
The couple had been staying "long term" at the motel, Garson said.
Richardson had to hire a mechanic to help him fix his BMW in the parking lot because the battery was not working right, Garson said. Richardson sent Ramey over to another motel to get a room they could move into, but she returned saying she couldn't do it, Garson said.
"She tells Mr. Richardson she couldn't get the room and they get in a fight," Garson said.
It got so heated, Richardson said he was "fed up" and told his girlfriend he was leaving her and wanted back the $50 he had given her to rent the room, Garson said.
Richardson began moving her stuff into the car of the friend who helped her look for a new room, including her purse, which contained a gun, Garson said.
"At this time Marvin Eli gets involved and walks up to them acting all gangster with tattoos on his legs," Garson said.
Eli told Richardson, "This is my territory," Garson said.
Richardson replied that he was from Los Angeles and had no beef with Eli's gang, but Eli cursed Richardson and continued threatening him, Garson said.
Ramey told him, "This is none of your business, stay out of this," according to Garson.
Garson also showed the surveillance video to jurors, saying it shows Eli reaching to his waist and something tumbling out when he is shot.
Richardson had pulled the gun out of his girlfriend's purse and defended himself, Garson said.
"This is not Mr. Eli's first rodeo," Garson said of the victim's lengthy criminal past.
Eli has been charged multiple times with having a knife, Garson said. He was also charged with leading police on a high-speed chase and punching a fellow jail inmate and knocking him out because he felt the victim made disparaging remarks about the movie star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Garson said. Eli was in jail at the time for getting into a bar fight over allegations a female patron was "disrespected," Garson said.
There's also surveillance video showing Eli motioning two companions over toward the shooting scene, where one man fetched a rag out of a dumpster to pick something up and throw it away, Garson said.
"We believe it was the weapon he was pulling out" before the shooting, Garson said.
The defense attorney added, "The prosecution has to prove it was not self-defense."
"When Mr. Marvin Eli decided to inject himself and be the tough out at the motel he escalated this," Garson said. "And Mr. Richardson had Amy Ramey's purse at the ready or else he might have been the one on the ground."
Richardson was convicted of burglary in September of 2012 in Orange County and burglary in April of 2012 in Los Angeles County, according to court records.
Eli has a criminal history that includes car theft in 2017, carrying a dirk or dagger in 2019, felony battery last year and a misdemeanor battery and assault case this year, according to court records.
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