People v. Medina CA2/5

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 6, 2013
DocketB246519
StatusUnpublished

This text of People v. Medina CA2/5 (People v. Medina CA2/5) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Medina CA2/5, (Cal. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

Filed 11/6/13 P. v. Medina CA2/5 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 FIVE

THE PEOPLE, B246519

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. TA120336) v.

DAVID MEDINA,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Laura R. Walton, Judge. Affirmed in part, modified in part, and remanded with directions. Edward H. Schulman, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Assistant Attorney General, James William Bilderback II and Stephanie C. Santoro, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. I. INTRODUCTION

A jury convicted defendant, David Medina, of first degree murder (Pen. Code, § 187, subd. (a))1 and two counts of attempted willful, deliberate, premeditated murder (§§ 664, 187, subd. (a).) The jury further found criminal street gang and firearm use allegations to be true. (§§186.22, subd. (b)(1)(C); 12022.53, subds. (b), (c) & (d).) The trial court found a single prior serious felony conviction and two prior separate prison term allegations were true. (§§ 667, subds. (b)-(i); 667.5, subd. (b); 1170.12.) Defendant was sentenced to 185 years to life in state prison. We affirm in part, modify in part, and remand with directions to impose or strike prior separate prison term enhancements.

II. THE EVIDENCE A. The Prosecution Case 1. The shootings

Defendant and Jesse Medina are brothers.2 On October 9, 2011, defendant and Jesse Medina were in Hollywood. Defendant was a gang member, but Jesse was not. Jesse was shot and died at the hospital. The primary suspect was arrested that night and remained in custody at the time of trial. There were no other potential suspects. The suspect was not a documented gang member, but his father was a hard-core “original gangster” from a rival gang. On October 10, 2011, defendant armed himself with a loaded weapon and rode a bicycle to a park in South Central Los Angeles. There were a number of people in the park—men, women and children. The park was frequented by members of the rival gang. Defendant approached three individuals—rival gang members Christian Perez and

1 Future statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated. 2To avoid confusion, because defendant and his brother have the same surname, we refer to Jesse Medina by his first name.

2 Oscar Valenciano and a companion, Johanna Gonzalez. Mr. Perez had conspicuous gang tattoos. Because he was not wearing a shirt, his gang tattoos were visible to people walking past. Defendant walked up to the three individuals and uttered words disrespectful of the rival gang. He pointed the gun at Ms. Gonzalez’s face from 18 inches away. Ms. Gonzalez said she “wasn’t from nowhere” in response to the gun being pointed at her. Defendant then shot Mr. Valenciano and Mr. Perez. When Ms. Gonzalez heard the first gunshot, she tried to run. Defendant shot Ms. Gonzalez in the leg and hip, causing her to fall to the ground. As she lay on the ground, defendant shot her in the back. He also tried to shoot her in the head, but the gun misfired. Ms. Gonzalez heard a clicking sound. Defendant rode away on his bicycle. With police officers in pursuit, defendant threw the gun under a school bus. Mr. Valenciano died of multiple gunshot wounds. Ms. Gonzalez underwent a hip replacement and had a metal plate in her leg. She had residual numbness in her back. Mr. Perez was shot through the knee. The injury caused him to limp.

2. The gang evidence

Detective Roberto Bourbois testified as to the rival gangs. Detective Bourbois was an experienced gang homicide investigator. Detective Bourbois was familiar with defendant’s gang. It was a very small gang of about 60 members spread out across southeast Los Angeles. The gang was associated with the Mexican Mafia. The gang’s primary activities included attempted murder and street robberies. The victims’ gang was one of the oldest Hispanic gangs in Los Angeles. It had been aligned with the Mexican Mafia from time to time. Gang members were found in Hollywood as well as west of downtown and other areas. Detective Bourbois described the importance of respect in gang culture: “[T]o have respect is above all important in the gang culture. If you don’t have respect, you’re not much of a gang. [¶] Respect is taken. It’s taken . . . through intimidating the public. It’s taken through standing up to the rivals, being involved in criminal activity. That’s

3 one of the components of what makes a gang. [¶] . . . I think respect in reality is more fear. It’s an atmosphere where you create that fear in the community and, therefore, it’s translated into respect. [¶] But if you don’t have that respect, then you’re not a gang. You can’t function.” Detective Bourbois further explained that retaliation is key to maintaining respect: “[I]f an individual gang member is disrespected and he doesn’t immediately get retaliation or pay back, if that doesn’t happen then they lose respect not only in the eyes of their rivals but in their own gang. [¶] If you start to lose that respect, you start getting kind of out of the circle of this gang environment where you’re not trusted because you’re not willing to defend the honor of the gang.” When a gang member uses a catch phrase to put down a rival gang member, the rival gang member is expected to retaliate. Detective Bourbois also explained that gang members, whether perpetrator or victim, do not cooperate with the authorities. A snitch will be severely hurt or killed. Community members are also expected not to cooperate with the authorities. The gang creates an atmosphere of intimidation to prevent community members from assisting law enforcement. Defendant’s gang and the victims’ gang had been rivals for at least 10 years. The park where the shooting occurred was frequented by the victims’ gang. Defendant had multiple gang tattoos on his head and torso, including his gang’s name. He also had the initials of the gang’s name tattooed on his chest covering the entire front of his torso. Detective Bourbois testified that a person who puts tattoos on his or her head and neck is demonstrating a great deal of loyalty to the gang. A day after Jesse’s death, defendant got a tattoo near his eye. The tattoo was of a crossed-out number signifying the rival gang with a “K” next to it. According to Detective Bourbois, the tattoo showed defendant was an enemy of the rival gang. The K was for kill. It meant defendant wanted to harm or kill members of the rival gang. In response to a hypothetical question tracking the facts of this case, Detective Bourbois testified in his opinion the crime was committed for the benefit of the assailant’s gang. The detective relied on the following hypothetical facts: the assailant

4 and the victims were rival gang members; the park was a known rival gang hangout; if you wanted to find a member of the rival gang, you would go to that park; and the shooting itself and the manner in which it was executed elevated the status of the assailant’s gang. Detective Bourbois stated there could be a revenge component to the crime. But when a gang, especially a small gang, is attacked by a rival, they must retaliate or lose respect.

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People v. Medina CA2/5, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-medina-ca25-calctapp-2013.