People v. Valdez
Court of Appeal of California
175 Cal. App. 3d 103 (1985)
Relevant factsFree
After a dispute over $1 in change, Valdez (defendant) pointed a loaded gun at gas station cashier Kenneth McKinley and, once McKinley called police, fired three shots at the bulletproof glass separating them, unaware the glass was bulletproof. Valdez was convicted of assault with a firearm and appealed, arguing there was insufficient evidence of present ability to injure McKinley given the glass.
IssueFree
Whether the present-ability element of assault can be satisfied even though an outside circumstance unknown to the defendant made it factually impossible to actually injure the victim.