People v. Gutierrez CA2/3

California Court of Appeal·Decided July 13, 2022·No. B250333B·Unpublished

Opinion

Filed 7/13/22 P. v. Gutierrez CA2/3 Opinion following transfer from Supreme Court NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS

California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

THE PEOPLE, B250333

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BA388274) v.

JOSE JUAN GUTIERREZ et al.,

Defendants and Appellants.

APPEALS from judgments of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Monica Bachner, Judge. Affirmed in part, reversed and remanded in part with directions. Carlo Andreani, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant Gerardo Jacobo. James M. Crawford, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant Jose Juan Gutierrez. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey, Assistant Attorney General, Noah P. Hill and Nima Razfar, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. _________________________

In 2013, Jose Juan Gutierrez and Gerardo Jacobo were convicted of, among other crimes, premeditated attempted murder with gang and firearm use enhancements. They appealed their convictions, raising numerous claims, all of which this Division rejected. As we explain in greater detail below, since then, Gutierrez and Jacobo have been pursuing, successfully in large part, their appellate remedies. Here is where we are in that pursuit: the California Supreme Court has vacated a prior opinion we issued in 2019 and directed us to reconsider the cause in light of recently-enacted Senate Bill No. 775 (2021–2022 Reg. Sess.) (Senate Bill 775). In accordance with that order, we have reconsidered the matter in light of Senate Bill 775, as well as Assembly Bill No. 333.1 We find both statutes applicable, and, accordingly, remand the matter for a potential retrial on the attempted murder count (Jacobo only) and the gang allegations (Jacobo and Gutierrez) and for resentencing.

1 While the matter has been pending on appeal, the legislature also passed Assembly Bill No. 333 (2021–2022 Reg. Sess.) (Assembly Bill 333). We consider the impact of that new law as well.

2 BACKGROUND I. Evidence from the 2013 trial2 A. The shooting Gutierrez and Jacobo were members of the City Terrace gang, whose main rival was the Geraghty Lomas gang. On August 7, 2011, at about 1:30 a.m., Martha G. drove her van to Duke’s liquor store. Martha’s passengers included her husband Joel, her stepson Santiago, and Santiago’s friend, Ernie. The liquor store was within territory claimed by the Geraghty Lomas gang. Ernie and Santiago went into the store to buy beer while Martha and Joel waited in the van. Santiago was walking with a crutch. Just after Ernie and Santiago entered the liquor store, a pickup truck parked at the front entrance. Jacobo got out of the truck and went into the liquor store, where he appeared to exchange words with either Ernie or Santiago, or both of them.3 Jacobo made his purchase and left the store. Immediately afterward, Santiago and Ernie completed their purchase and left the store. As they were walking out the front entrance, Jacobo was sitting in the truck’s front passenger seat and was in the act of pulling the truck door closed. Santiago gestured toward Jacobo

2 Our summary of the facts underlying the crimes is largely as stated in our vacated 2016 and 2019 opinions. 3 Much of the evidence at trial came from video surveillance cameras that were mounted in and around the liquor store. The jury was shown a series of video clips of what occurred inside and outside the store during the incident. We have viewed the video clips, which do not have sound.

3 and appeared to say something to him. In response, Jacobo and Gutierrez (who was sitting in the rear passenger seat) immediately got out of the truck. Initially, Jacobo and Gutierrez both approached Santiago, who was standing just a few steps away. Jacobo punched Santiago in the face and grabbed his crutch. Santiago began running down the sidewalk in the direction of Martha’s van. Meanwhile, Gutierrez turned and approached Ernie, who had been standing slightly behind Santiago. Gutierrez swung at Ernie’s head with a handgun and kicked him. Ernie fell to the ground. Gutierrez kicked Ernie again and then joined Jacobo in chasing Santiago down the sidewalk. With Gutierrez running right behind him, Jacobo chased Santiago while swinging the crutch at him. As the three men were running down the sidewalk, Joel got out of Martha’s van and joined the fray in an effort to protect Santiago. The melee spilled over into an intersection. Joel and Gutierrez apparently began to fight and then Gutierrez fired his gun six times at Joel, hitting him twice.4 Joel ran back to the van, which sped off. Jacobo and Gutierrez returned to the pickup truck and the driver sped off.

4 On the videotape, Martha’s van is partially obscured from view by some fencing and Joel cannot be seen getting out of the van. However, a fourth figure suddenly comes into view in the intersection. The gunshots cannot be seen on the videotape. Because Ernie remained close to the liquor store entrance after being attacked by Gutierrez, it is apparent that Joel must be the fourth figure on the videotape. Joel was subsequently deported to Mexico and he did not testify at trial. Neither Santiago nor Ernie testified at trial.

4 Martha testified that she was sitting in the van talking to Joel when the fight broke out. She watched Santiago and Ernie leave the liquor store, and she saw the defendants attack them. When Joel got out of the van to help Santiago, he began fighting with Gutierrez. Martha saw Gutierrez shoot at Joel five or six times. Joel ran back to the van and said he had been shot. Martha drove off, leaving Ernie behind. She drove Joel to the hospital where he was treated for gunshot wounds to his leg and hip. According to Martha, neither Joel, Santiago nor Ernie were armed that night. Alfonso E. was working at Duke’s liquor store that night and he recognized Ernie as a regular customer. Alfonso saw Jacobo walk in, approach Ernie and exchange words with him. Jacobo said, “Where are you [from]? This is City Terrace.” Alfonso testified that Ernie replied by saying, “That’s cool. No problem.” However, when Alfonso was interviewed by the police, he told them that Ernie had responded: “This is Geraghty.” Moments after Ernie and Santiago left the store, Alfonso heard gunfire. The police found six expended .380-caliber shell casings in the street, five or six car lengths from Duke’s liquor store. B. The gang evidence Detective Eduardo Aguirre testified as the prosecution’s gang expert. He was familiar with the City Terrace gang, whose primary activities included murders, shootings, robberies, drug sales, possession of handguns, burglaries, vandalism, and stealing cars. Duke’s liquor store is located at the north end of territory belonging to the Geraghty Lomas gang, about a quarter mile from the border with City Terrace territory. Geraghty

5 Lomas is City Terrace’s main rival. Their contiguous border was a source of tension between the two gangs. Aguirre testified it would constitute a sign of disrespect for a gang member to venture into a rival gang’s territory. When a gang member “hits up” a potential rival by inquiring where he is from, this is a confrontational challenge (the speaker is asking the other person to reveal his gang affiliation) that is considered a provocation and can lead to a physical assault or a shooting if the person answers with the name of a rival gang.

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