In re Loza

238 Cal. Rptr. 3d 516, 27 Cal. App. 5th 797
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal, 5th District
DecidedSeptember 28, 2018
DocketG054978
StatusPublished
Cited by44 cases

This text of 238 Cal. Rptr. 3d 516 (In re Loza) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal, 5th District primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Loza, 238 Cal. Rptr. 3d 516, 27 Cal. App. 5th 797 (Cal. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

MOORE, ACTING P. J.

In 2004, Cesar Loza handed a gun to a fellow gang member, who shot and killed a rival gang member. A jury convicted Loza of first degree premeditated murder after being instructed on two derivative liability theories: direct aider and abettor liability, and the natural and probable consequences theory. In 2014, our Supreme Court held that the natural and probable consequences theory can no longer support a premeditated murder conviction. ( People v. Chiu (2014) 59 Cal.4th 155, 172 Cal.Rptr.3d 438, 325 P.3d 972 ( Chiu ).)

In this habeas corpus proceeding, we cannot conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the jury relied on the legally valid direct aider and abettor liability theory; therefore, we must vacate Loza's first *519degree murder conviction. On remand, the prosecution may retry Loza for first degree murder (with proper jury instructions), or accept a second degree murder conviction. We also order the trial court to stay Loza's sentence on a substantive gang offense and to conduct a hearing, allowing the parties to make a record for any future youth related parole reviews. ( People v. Franklin (2016) 63 Cal.4th 261, 269, 202 Cal.Rptr.3d 496, 370 P.3d 1053 ( Franklin ).)

I

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On February 27, 2004, a group of Family Mob (FM) criminal street gang members approached Loza, a member of Southside Raza (SSR), a rival Orange County gang.1 The FMs chased Loza into his apartment, where he lived with his mother and his brother Luis Loza (Luis), who was also SSR. The FMs stood outside of the apartment, while taunting and threatening to kill Loza. Luis and Loza yelled at the FMs, telling them to stop "disrespecting" their house. Eventually, the rival FM gang members left in their cars.

The Loza brothers wanted to retaliate and began calling other SSR gang members and affiliates, explaining the perceived "disrespect" of their house. A group of SSRs eventually met up outside at the apartment complex, including Oscar Andrade, Peter Rizo, and Oscar Flores. Loza had a knife, Rizo had an aluminum baseball bat, and Flores was armed with a .38 caliber semi-automatic handgun. They waited on a grassy knoll overlooking the parking lot and scanned the area for FMs.

A group of FMs eventually showed up. They carried baseball bats, brass knuckles, and a knife. As the FMs climbed out of their cars, the SSRs descended on them. At one point, Flores passed his gun to Loza, but it failed to work when Loza tried to shoot it. During the ensuing melee, Loza then passed the gun to Andrade who turned and fired into Edward Mauricio Rendon's chest, killing him.

Loza, Luis and Andrade were under 18 years of age. The prosecution filed murder and related charges against Loza, Luis, Andrade, and Rizo in "adult" criminal court. The jury convicted Loza and the other defendants of first degree premeditated murder, a substantive gang offense, and found true the related gang and firearm enhancements. The court sentenced Loza to a prison term of 50 years to life, including a two-year concurrent sentence for the substantive gang offense.

II

DISCUSSION

Loza contends the trial court committed a prejudicial instructional error, his concurrent sentence for the substantive gang offense should be stayed, and he is entitled to a hearing to present evidence for use in a future youthful offender parole hearing. We shall address each contention in turn.

A. Instructional Error

We review instructional error claims de novo. ( People v. Posey (2004) 32 Cal.4th 193, 218, 8 Cal.Rptr.3d 551, 82 P.3d 755.) We determine whether the trial court *520fully and fairly instructed the jury on the applicable law. ( People v. Ramos (2008) 163 Cal.App.4th 1082, 1088, 78 Cal.Rptr.3d 186.) When making this determination, we consider the instructions taken as a whole; we also presume jurors are intelligent people capable of understanding and correlating all of the instructions they were given. ( People v. Hajek and Vo (2014) 58 Cal.4th 1144, 1220, 171 Cal.Rptr.3d 234, 324 P.3d 88, abrogated on another point by People v. Rangel (2016) 62 Cal.4th 1192, 1216, 200 Cal.Rptr.3d 265, 367 P.3d 649.)

Loza argues that the instructions allowed the jury to convict him of premeditated murder based on a natural and probable consequences theory, or what is now commonly referred to as a " Chiu error." ( Chiu , supra , 59 Cal.4th 155, 172 Cal.Rptr.3d 438, 325 P.3d 972.) We agree.

1. Applicable Law

Generally, a defendant may be convicted of a crime either as a perpetrator or as an aider and abettor. ( Pen.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

People v. Garcia CA6
California Court of Appeal, 2026
People v. Thompson CA4/3
California Court of Appeal, 2025
People v. Mancera CA2/2
California Court of Appeal, 2025
People v. Rubio CA1/4
California Court of Appeal, 2024
People v. Farias CA5
California Court of Appeal, 2024
People v. George CA4/1
California Court of Appeal, 2024
People v. Gomez CA5
California Court of Appeal, 2024
People v. Valle CA2/2
California Court of Appeal, 2023
People v. Carrillo CA6
California Court of Appeal, 2023
People v. Lopez CA5
California Court of Appeal, 2023
People v. Pimentel CA4/3
California Court of Appeal, 2023
In re Lopez
California Supreme Court, 2023
People v. Vindiola CA5
California Court of Appeal, 2023
People v. Moreno CA1/1
California Court of Appeal, 2022
People v. Alardin CA5
California Court of Appeal, 2022
People v. Lubrin CA4/3
California Court of Appeal, 2022
People v. Vargas CA2/4
California Court of Appeal, 2022
People v. Hunter CA5
California Court of Appeal, 2022
People v. Galafate CA5
California Court of Appeal, 2022
People v. Alley CA5
California Court of Appeal, 2022

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
238 Cal. Rptr. 3d 516, 27 Cal. App. 5th 797, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-loza-calctapp5d-2018.