Two convicted felons fired 21 shots at four bounty hunters who went to a mobile home on the Soboba Indian Reservation in 2004 to arrest a man already charged with evading arrest, a prosecutor told jurors Monday.

The lead bounty hunter kicked down the home's door Aug. 25, 2004, in an attempt to arrest Dino Allen Moreno, now 42, unaware that there was a small arsenal inside the home.

The bounty hunters took cover when Moreno and his girlfriend opened fire with semiautomatic weapons and Moreno was able to get away, prosecutor Chris Bouffard told jurors during opening statements in the trial of Moreno and Shaundeen Theresa Boniface.

"He was more than prepared ... Mr. Moreno was telling people he wasn't going back to jail this time around," Bouffard said.

Moreno had failed to show up for court in connection with a 2003 case for evading arrest, according to Riverside County court records.

Boniface, 29, was arrested at the mobile home while Moreno, a Coachella resident, was arrested two months later. Both are on trial at the Southwest Justice Center, facing life in prison if convicted of charges including attempted murder and assault with a semiautomatic weapon, Bouffard said outside of court.

Defense attorney James Bender told jurors the bounty hunters went to the mobile home looking for a bald-headed man, and reported seeing a man with a ponytail.

"I think the evidence is going to show that these bounty hunters made a mistake," Bender said. "They ran into the wrong guy."

Defense attorney Brent Romney said his client, Boniface, was acting in self-defense when she fired at the men who barged into the home, which is used by many people.

"She's a Native American woman who doesn't know about weapons," he said.

She is not a violent person, Romney said, noting that Boniface has a prior conviction for possession of stolen property.

Boniface was eating dinner that night and watching television when she saw the light from a laser beam on her chest, Romney said. She knew her life was in immediate danger, he said. Boniface got down on the floor, found a gun and started to fire in self-defense, he said.

"She's scared for her life and she does whatever she can to defend herself from these people," Romney said. "She picked up that rifle to protect herself. ... These weapons are not at their feet ready for quick use."

Prosecutor Bouffard said Boniface and Moreno fired a total of 21 rounds at the four bounty hunters.

"It's an impressive arsenal," he said. "This was a very concerted action to make sure that Mr. Moreno got away and wasn't arrested that day."

In response to the semiautomatic gunfire, one of the bounty hunters fired two bullets through a window and another fired a less-than-lethal round that hit Boniface in the abdomen, Bouffard said.

An expert from the Department of Justice will testify about which shots were fired from which weapon, he said.

Testimony is expected to begin today at Southwest Justice Center in French Valley.

Reach Tammy J. McCoy at 951-375-3729 or tmccoy@PE.com