Preparation changes outcomes.

After returning home from an overnight shift, the client found another man inside with his girlfriend and young child. The client retrieved a lawfully registered firearm and confronted the man. According to the published account, the man made threatening gestures and said he would retrieve his own gun. The client fired one shot, striking the man in the back and shoulder area. The wound was not fatal, and the client called 911.

Prosecutors filed several strike felonies and maintained an eight-year state-prison offer despite the client’s self-defense claim. After years of preparation and with jury selection approaching, the matter resolved as a misdemeanor with no additional jail time.

“Our trial preparation and his fortitude came together to achieve this result.”

Smith was charged with two counts of attempted murder with a firearm, two counts of assault with a semiautomatic weapon, possession of a firearm by a person with a prior felony conviction, and felony child endangerment. He faced multiple life sentences and a maximum exposure of 38 years to life.

After a nine-day jury trial, the jury returned not-guilty verdicts on every felony charge. Smith was released that day. The prosecution’s lowest pretrial offer had been 14 years in state prison.

A Kern County jury acquitted Flippo of assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury and battery causing serious bodily injury. He had faced up to seven years in prison.

Raimondo reported that Flippo was relieved following the verdict. Flippo was the sole breadwinner for his family.

A local jury found Rhines not guilty of inflicting corporal injury on a spouse. The prosecution had offered 14 years in state prison. Following the acquittal, Rhines was released from the Kern County Jail the same day.

“Sometimes a case simply needs to be brought to trial. It is the innocent who risk so much, and Mr. Rhines was brave enough to trust us with his freedom and future.”

Luna was charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder, and conspiracy in September 2020 after surveillance footage placed him near the scene shortly before a fatal shooting outside an illegal gambling casino.

Raimondo Law reported that its investigation and case preparation persuaded prosecutors that Luna was innocent. The District Attorney dismissed all charges on March 29, 2021.

The case dated to 2016, when Meda entered his parents’ home armed with a knife and his father suffered a stab wound. He was charged with five felonies, including attempted murder, burglary, assault, and criminal threats, and faced a possible life sentence.

The resolution resulted in felony probation, 800 hours of community service, and no jail time. Raimondo described the disposition as the culmination of two years of work by Meda, compassion from his family, and a prosecution willing to consider a second chance.

Gonzalez was 18 when he was arrested on first-degree murder, assault, and gang allegations arising from a late-night fight between two groups of young men. Several people were stabbed, including a 14-year-old boy who died at the scene. Gonzalez was tried as an adult under a theory of first-degree murder with a gang special circumstance carrying mandatory life without parole.

After a five-week trial, the jury found him not guilty on all counts and enhancements. He was released from the Kern County Jail shortly after the verdict.

Before the case, Gonzalez had been an honor student who worked full time to help support his family and had received a national scholastic award for creative writing. After his release, the firm reported that he reunited with his family and began working toward college.

Dean was arrested following the 2014 shooting death of his adopted son. A co-defendant alleged that Dean paid another person, who was a teenager at the time, to commit the killing. Dean later pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter and oral copulation with a person under 18; the murder and conspiracy counts were dismissed.

Dean was sentenced to more than six years in prison, received credit for time already served, and was ordered to register as a sex offender. Probation was denied.

Margarito Madueno was prosecuted after an SD card containing unlawful images was found in his possession. The defense argued that he had found the card and did not know its contents. An FBI search of his computers and electronic devices found no additional unlawful material and no indication that the card had been used in his devices.

The first trial ended in a hung jury, with nine jurors favoring acquittal. Prosecutors later dismissed the charge for insufficient evidence. Madueno had refused an offer to plead to a lesser charge and maintained that he had done nothing wrong.

Feezell pleaded guilty to robbery with a firearm enhancement and faced as much as 15 years in state prison. According to the published account, she entered a Walgreens pharmacy with her father’s firearm and demanded oxycodone while experiencing severe opioid withdrawal. She was arrested after fleeing with her parents.

The court noted that Feezell had no prior criminal record, had been a university junior, and had successfully completed long-term rehabilitation during the nine months the case was pending. The judge imposed five years of felony probation rather than a prison sentence.