the
revelers did not go home. Instead, they filed into several cars and headed to a pool hall in
Westminster where several members of a rival gang were hanging out. Appellant drove
to the pool hall in a white sedan with other members of his gang. As they were heading
out, the front passenger gave appellant a gun, and he tucked it away in his car.
                When appellant arrived at the pool hall, he parked by the other cars in his
group. Then he and Jonathan Tieu walked up to the pool hall and made themselves
visible to their rivals. It didn’t take long before the two groups were exchanging hostile
words in the parking lot. Witnesses to the exchange     There were eight people inside the SUV, including passengers Scottie Bui
and Roger James. As the vehicle travelled along Westminster Boulevard, appellant
pulled alongside it. Nguyen rolled down his window and began yelling out gang-related
taunts, and the people in the SUV did the same. Nguyen then pulled a gun and began
firing at the SUV. One of the shots hit Bui in the head, killing him. Another shot hit
James in the neck, but he survived. Investigators later recovered five expended cartridges
at the scene.
                Appellant was arrested shortly after the shooting. He initially denied any
wrongdoing but eventually admitted his role in the incident, as described above. He also
admitted having a history of