At around 10 a.m. on March 24, 2013, plaintiff’s decedent Joseph Sotelo, 19, entered the family home of his best friend, Manuel Ortiz III, located in Santa Paula. Sotelo entered the home unannounced and encountered Ortiz. Sotelo and Ortiz had been close friends for approximately eight years. Ortiz’s father and sister were also in the home, but were in their respective bedrooms, watching television. Ortiz’s grandmother, who owned the house, was not home at the time. At approximately 11:50 a.m., the Santa Paula police arrived at the home after Ortiz’s father called 9-1-1. The police found Sotelo face down in the living room with a gunshot wound to the head and a revolver on the floor between his legs. An officer noted in the police report that the gun only had one bullet in the cylinder and that there were five live rounds located on a couch in the living room. He also noted that a leather gun case and a California Department of Justice-approved gun safety wire lock were located on a couch in the living room with the live rounds. The police officers on scene took photographs of the gun, gun case, gun safety wire lock, and ammunition. The gun used belonged to Ortiz’s father, and it had previously been located out of sight, hidden under the couch in the living room. The gun was stored, unloaded, in a black gun case with a “safety wire lock” placed through a bullet chamber to prevent an accidental shooting from taking place. Loose bullets were also stored in the case. The gun was placed under the couch only four days before incident, on March 20, 2013, because a shooting had taken place just outside the Ortiz family residence. Ortiz and his father agreed to move the gun location to underneath the couch, where Ortiz slept, so that he could quickly access the weapon if it was needed for self-defense. In the event that it was needed, the gun was immediately accessible to Ortiz (hidden out of sight, beneath the couch that he slept on), so that he could quickly remove the gun safety wire lock and load the gun with ammunition. The coroner’s report found Sotelo’s death to be “inconclusive,” which meant the coroner could not determine whether it was murder, suicide, or accident. Sotelo’s mother, Joanne Hernandez, sued Sotelo’s friend, Manuel Ortiz III; Ortiz III’s father, Manuel Ortiz II; Ortiz III’s sister, Miranda Ortiz; and Ortiz III’s grandmother, the homeowner, Clara Ortiz. Hernandez also sued the Santa Paula Police Department, Chief of Police Santa Paula Police Department, the city of Santa Paula, Detective Allen Macias, and the Glen Homes Homeowners Association. Several of the defendants were dismissed from the case. Thus, the matter only continued with Hernandez’s claims against the Ortiz family, which included the claims intent to murder and negligent gun storage in the third degree (in relation to storing a gun where a child (minor) is present in the home and known to likely gain access to the gun) in violation under the California Penal Code. Hernandez and the decedent’s two sisters testified that they all felt that Ortiz III either murdered Sotelo or conspired with his family members to murder Sotelo. Plaintiff’s counsel also tried to impeach Ortiz III by showing evidence of a Facebook post that Ortiz III made asking for suggestions of good places where Sotelo and him could get breakfast. Counsel argued that Ortiz III’s Facebook post was originally made after the shooting and then altered to reflect that it had been posted before the shooting in order to cover up the murder. Defense counsel argued that although the coroner’s report found Sotelo’s death to be “inconclusive,” the Santa Paula police officers determined, based on the statements of the Ortiz family and the evidence at the scene, that it was a suicide. Ortiz III claimed that after Sotelo arrived at his house, they watched some “You Tube” videos together before he asked Sotelo if he wanted to go get breakfast. He claimed that Sotelo said “sure,” so he made the Facebook post asking for suggestions of good places to get breakfast. Ortiz III claimed that he then left Sotelo alone in the living room as he went to take a shower. However, Ortiz III alleged that shortly after he went to take a shower, he heard a loud bang and then his father began knocking frantically on the bathroom door for him to come out. He claimed that once he exited the bathroom and entered the living room, he saw that Sotelo had shot himself in the living room. In addition, he claimed that his father had immediately called 9-1-1, and that the Santa Paula police arrived at shortly thereafter. Defense counsel contended that, although very unfortunate, Sotelo’s actions were not attributable to the Ortiz family and that the gun was safely stored with no bullets in the gun chamber and a safety wire threaded through one of the six cylinders of the gun, which rendered the gun inoperable, to prevent an accidental shooting, as required by the California Department of Justice and California Penal Code § 23635. Counsel contended that, prior to March 24, 2013, there was no requirement under the Penal Code that stated that the key to the gun safety wire lock be stored away from the gun or that the bullets be stored in a separate area than the gun. Counsel also contended that no criminal gun storage offense in the third degree existed under Penal Code § 21500 prior to March 24, 2013. Defense counsel further contended that the only “child” that was in the home was Miranda, age 17. However, counsel argued that Miranda’s father had previously asked her to accompany him to the shooting range to teach her how to handle the gun safely, but that Miranda had no interest in ever learning about shooting guns or handling them–she wanted nothing to do with them. Thus, counsel argued that Miranda never picked up a gun or handled a gun, and was not likely to gain access to the gun. In regard to Ortiz III’s Facebook post, defense counsel argued that the post changed by an hour due to it automatically changing for Daylight Savings the following year. Counsel attempted to prove this by showing that all other posts automatically changed by an hour after Daylight Savings. Defense counsel argued that Sotelo and Ortiz III were best friends and that Sotelo had a reputation for being “daring.” Counsel contended that Sotelo even told several friends that he had a “bucket list” of risky endeavors that he wanted to attempt. Defense counsel noted that Sotelo described himself as a “thrill seeker” on his own Twitter page biography and that in his short life, Sotelo had already engaged in several thrill seeking activities, including climbing the Santa Paula clock tower by himself at night and climbing out onto the hood of a moving vehicle. Counsel also noted that Sotelo jumped off a fishing boat while it was moving in the open ocean after he had been told not to do so. Sotelo even told a young passenger to film the event on Sotelo’s phone. Thus, defense counsel contended that one endeavor on Sotelo’s bucket list was to play “Russian Roulette” with a loaded gun, win, and brag about it to his friends. Counsel further contended that, shortly before his death, Sotelo told a witness that he had played “Russian roulette” with an unloaded gun and that he wanted to play “Russian roulette” with a loaded gun. This allegedly upset the witness, who told Sotelo that he should not engage in such activities. Thus, defense counsel argued that on the date of the incident, Sotelo used the opportunity he had while alone in the Ortiz family living room to attempt one of the risky endeavors on his bucket list–Russian roulette with a loaded gun. Counsel contended that Sotelo may have discovered the location of the gun under the couch because he was known to do “push-ups” often and could have seen the gun while performing the exercise on the living room floor of the Ortiz family home. Counsel also contended that Sotelo often helped clean the Ortiz family home, sometimes unsolicited, because he spent a lot of time at their home, and that Sotelo could have discovered the gun while cleaning. Defense counsel maintained that as a result, when Ortiz III went to take a shower, Sotelo must have grabbed the black gun case that was stowed away under the couch and removed the gun. Counsel also contended that after Sotelo removed the gun from its case, Sotelo must have unlocked the safety wire gun lock, taken the safety wire off the bullet chamber, and then loaded the gun with a single bullet. Counsel further contended that once Sotelo loaded the single bullet into the chamber, he proceeded to “play” Russian roulette. Although there were no witnesses, defense counsel argued that it appeared that Sotelo pointed the gun at his head by holding the gun in his right hand and pulled the trigger, causing his own death. It is not known how many times he allegedly pulled the trigger of the gun (possibly only once), before the single bullet discharged into his head. Thus, defense counsel argued that by undertaking that dangerous activity, Sotelo “assumed the risk” of causing his own death and that Sotelo’s own actions were the superseding cause of his death, for which the Ortiz family was not liable., Joseph Sotelo died on March 24, 2013. He was 19 years old. He was survived by his mother, two sisters, and a brother. Thus, Sotelo’s mother, Joanne Hernandez, sought recovery of wrongful death damages for the loss of her son.