People v. Medina CA2/5

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 5, 2015
DocketB249059A
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. 2015).

Opinion

Filed 2/5/15 P. v. Medina CA2/5 Opinion following rehearing NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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, B249059

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. VA118471) v.

ENRIQUE MEDINA et al.,

Defendants and Appellants.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, John A. Torribio, Judge. Affirmed as modified. Eric R. Larson, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant Enrique Medina. Susan K. Shaler, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant Michael Anthony Barrios. J. Kahn, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant Thomas Arellanes. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Assistant Attorney General, Jonathan J. Kline and Taylor Nguyen, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. Appellants Enrique Medina, Michael Barrios, and Thomas Arellanes were convicted, following a jury trial, of one count of first degree murder in violation of Penal Code1 section 187, subdivision (a), and one count of attempted willful, deliberate and premeditated murder in violation of sections 664 and 187, subdivision (a). The jury found true the allegations that all three appellants committed the crimes for the benefit of a criminal street gang within the meaning of section 186.22. The jury found not true the allegation that Medina personally used a firearm in the commission of the offenses. The jury found true the allegations as to Barrios and Arellanes that a principal was armed in the commission of the offenses within the meaning of section 12022.53. The court sentenced Medina to 40 years to life in state prison, consisting of 25 years to life in state prison for the murder conviction, plus 15 years to life for the attempted murder conviction pursuant to section 186.22. The court sentenced Barrios and Arellanes to total terms of 82 years to life in state prison, consisting of 25 years to life for the murder plus 25 years to life for the firearm enhancement to the murder conviction plus 7 years to life for the attempted murder conviction plus 25 years to life for the firearm enhancement to the attempted murder conviction. The court stayed sentence on the gang enhancements for Barrios and Arellanes. Appellants appeal from the judgment of conviction, claiming numerous errors by the trial court. Each appellant joins in the others’ contentions to the extent it accrues to his benefit. Medina contends there is insufficient evidence to support his conviction for attempted murder, the trial court erred in instructing the jury on the kill zone theory of liability, the prosecutor committed misconduct when arguing the kill zone theory, and the trial court’s instructions on aiding and abetting contained multiple errors. Medina also contends the trial court incorrectly calculated his presentence custody credits and the abstract of judgment fails to show that his liability for direct victim restitution is joint and several with Barrios and Arellanes.

1 Further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated. 2 Barrios contends the trial court’s conduct was partisan and constituted misconduct, the court gave incorrect and incomplete instructions on second degree murder, and the court imposed restitution and parole revocation fines in unauthorized amounts. Arellanes contends there is insufficient evidence to support his convictions, the admission of text messages sent by Barrios violated Arellanes’s Sixth Amendment rights, the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury that it could convict him of the lesser included offense of second degree murder, the trial court erred in instructing the jury on the kill zone theory of liability, the prosecutor committed misconduct when arguing the kill zone theory and the cumulative effect of the errors was prejudicial. Arellanes also contends his presentence custody credits should be corrected. Respondent agrees Medina and Arellanes are entitled to additional presentence custody credits and the abstract of judgment should be corrected to show joint and several liability for victim restitution. We agree as well, and order the credits and liability corrected as set forth in more detail in the disposition. We affirm the judgment of conviction in all other respects.

Facts On November 1, 2010, Barrios lived with Sabrina Ruelas and their young son in Pomona. Barrios’s half brother, Medina, also lived with them. When Ruelas came home from work at 6:00 p.m. that day, Medina and Arellanes were at the house with Barrios. The three men were members of the Brown Assassin gang. The men left together when it began to get dark. Barrios drove a gold or light brown sports utility vehicle (“SUV”) during that period of time. At about 9:00 p.m. that night, Eric Caldera was in the front yard of a home on Dork Street in Pico Rivera with some friends when a brown SUV, later identified as Barrios’s SUV, stopped in front of the house. There were four occupants in the SUV. One got out of the front passenger door and approached Caldera. Caldera did not know the man, but described the man as being in his mid-twenties, Hispanic, 5’7” to 5’8” tall, and “husky” or muscularly built, wearing a hoodie or jacket and gloves. The man asked

3 Caldera where he was from and about his “Valero” tattoo. Caldera responded that “Valero” meant “love for the valley.” The man said “he had love for the valley” and walked away. As he walked away, the man said, “Fuck Viejo.” Pico Viejo is a gang in Pico Rivera. It was a rival of Brown Assassins. Caldera initially identified Medina as the man who had approached him on November 1. However, at trial, Caldera identified Barrios as the man who had approached him. Sometime later that evening, Medina, Barrios, and Arellanes arrived at Daniel Perez’s house in Pico Rivera. At around 9:45 p.m., Medina, Barrios, and Perez drove to a 7-Eleven store in Barrios’s SUV to buy beer. Medina entered the 7-Eleven to buy the beer while Barrios and Perez waited in the SUV. While they were waiting, Barrios asked a bald-headed man which gang he was from. After Medina returned to the car with the beer, the three men returned to Perez’s house to drink. At some point, Barrios stepped outside to speak to someone on his cell phone. Medina, Barrios, and Arellanes left Perez’s house sometime around 10:30 p.m. Perez saw Medina and Barrios give each other a “high-five[]” as they left the house. About five to ten minutes later, Perez’s mother, Tina Perez, heard police sirens and helicopters nearby. Sometime after 10:00 p.m., Jacque Bustamante and his brother-in-law were walking near the intersection of Rosemead Boulevard and Lindell Street in Pico Rivera when an armed man approached them. He was holding a black semiautomatic weapon near his waist. Bustamante described the man as being 5’8” to 5’10” tall, medium build, and Latino. He was wearing a black beanie, black gloves, shorts and a pull-over hoodie with blue or white lettering on the front and on the sleeves. Bustamante identified Medina as the armed man in an out-of-court photo lineup and at trial. Medina “hit up” Bustamante, asking him what gang he was from, because Bustamante was wearing Pico Viejo gang colors (a Pittsburgh Steelers black and gold T-shirt). Bustamante replied that he did not “gang bang.” Medina patted Bustamante’s

4 pockets and said that he was looking for drugs.

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Bluebook (online)
People v. Medina CA2/5, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-medina-ca25-calctapp-2015.