People v. Villareal CA4/3

California Court of Appeal·Decided August 23, 2022·No. G060236·Unpublished

Opinion

Filed 8/23/22 P. v. Villareal CA4/3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent, G060236

v. (Super. Ct. No. 17CF1471)

CHRISTOPHER VILLAREAL, OPI NION

Defendant and Appellant.

Appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court of Orange County, Steven D. Bromberg, Judge. Affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded with directions. Jennifer A. Gambale, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Charles C. Ragland, Assistant Attorney General, Arlene A. Sevidal and Andrew Mestman, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. This is another case requiring interpretation and application of changing statutes in cases already tried. While we can find no basis upon which to disparage the performance of the court or counsel below, we must reverse in order to comply with statutory directives legislated after their trial of the matter. Appellant Christopher Villareal was convicted of attempted premeditated murder and other crimes for facilitating a gang-related shooting. On appeal, he contends his convictions must be reversed due to recent changes in the laws governing criminal street gangs and because the prosecution used improper methods to prove the gang charges. Appellant also seeks the benefit of a new sentencing law. We reverse appellant’s gang-related convictions – and the resulting sentence – and remand the matter for further proceedings. In all other respects, we affirm the judgment. FACTS The Locotes and the Lopers are rival Santa Ana street gangs. In 2017, appellant, a self-admitted Locotes member, drove his car into an alley in Lopers territory where Loper Brandon Z. was hanging out with his friends. When Brandon saw the car, he took off running, but appellant’s front passenger Jesus Casarrubias fired multiple gunshots out his window, hitting him in the wrist and ankle. The police were summoned, and Brandon was taken to the hospital and treated for his wounds. Appellant fled the scene but was soon spotted driving in Locotes territory with Casarrubias and backseat passenger Rafael Marin. When officers tried to pull them over, appellant refused to yield and led police on a high-speed chase. At one point during the pursuit, appellant stopped to let Casarrubias and Marin out at the apartment of Marin’s girlfriend Daisy Aveldanez. Then he sped off again before eventually pulling over and surrendering. Meanwhile, the police surrounded Aveldanez’s apartment and captured Marin and Casarrubias. They also took Aveldanez into custody and discovered she was in possession of the gun Casarrubias used to shoot Brandon.

2 Appellant, Casarrubias and Marin were jointly charged with a variety of crimes. In counts 1 thru 4, the information alleged appellant committed attempted premeditated murder, assault with a semiautomatic firearm, street terrorism, and reckless evasion. (Pen. Code, §§ 664/187, subd. (a); 245, subd. (b); 186.22, subd. (a); Veh. Code, 1 § 2800.2.) The information further alleged as sentence enhancements that appellant committed the crimes in counts 1, 2 and 4 to benefit a criminal street gang (§ 186.22, subd. (b)), and in committing the attempted murder he vicariously discharged a firearm causing great bodily injury to Brandon (§ 12022.53, subds. (d), (e)(1)). At trial, the prosecution’s gang expert Salvador Lopez testified criminal street gangs earn respect by committing violent crimes, which spread fear in the community and signal toughness to their rivals. He also said gang members tend to stick together and only commit crimes with people they trust. And when a gang member has a gun, he is expected to tell everyone in the gang so they know where it is and can use it when needed. Regarding the Locotes gang, Lopez testified its primary activities at the time of the shooting were unlawfully possessing firearms and armed assault. The gang was also known for committing attempted murder with semiautomatic firearms. Lopez opined appellant and Casarrubias were members of the Locotes gang when the shooting occurred, and Marin was a member of the Bishop Street gang. He said the Locotes and Bishop Street were on neutral terms with each other and shared a common enemy in the Lopers. In response to a hypothetical question, Lopez said that if two Locotes gang members and a Bishop Street member carried out a drive-by shooting in Lopers territory in a manner similar to how the defendants did in this case, they would be acting in association with each other and benefiting the Locotes gang by striking fear in their rivals

1 Unless noted otherwise, all further statutory references are to the Penal Code.

3 and enhancing the gang’s reputation for violence. And, they would be promoting, furthering and assisting criminal conduct by Locotes members. Appellant did not present any evidence in his defense. After the jury convicted him as charged, the trial court sentenced him to 40 years to life in prison. DISCUSSION New Definition of a Criminal Street Gang Appellant argues there is insufficient evidence the Locotes constituted a criminal street gang as that term is currently defined under California law. Respondent agrees, and so do we. To prove the street terrorism charge in count 3, the prosecution had to establish appellant actively participated in a criminal street gang. (§ 186.22, subd. (a).) And to prove the two sentencing enhancement allegations, the prosecution had to establish appellant acted for the benefit of a criminal street gang. (§§ 186.22, subd. (b); 12022.53, subds. (d), (e)(1).) We will refer to these three charges collectively as the gang charges. At the time of appellant’s trial in 2020, a criminal street gang was defined as a group whose members “individually or collectively” have engaged in a pattern of criminal activity involving two or more enumerated offenses. (Former § 186.22, subd. (f).) However, effective January 1, 2022, the Legislature narrowed that definition to require collective engagement in a pattern of criminal activity involving such offenses. (Assembly Bill No. 333 (2021-2022 Reg. Sess.) Stats. 2021, ch. 699, § 3, amending § 186.22, subd. (f).) As respondent concedes, appellant is entitled to the benefit of this change because it redefined the scope of the gang statutes in his favor, and his case is not yet final. (People v. Lopez (2021) 73 Cal.App.5th 327, 343-344.) Respondent also admits the evidence at appellant’s trial was insufficient to satisfy this more restrictive definition. While the prosecution presented evidence Locotes members have individually engaged in a pattern of criminal activity, there was no

4 evidence of collective engagement by the gang. Therefore, we must reverse the jury’s guilty verdict and true findings on the gang charges and remand the matter to give the prosecution the opportunity to retry those charges under current law. (People v. Lopez, supra, 73 Cal.App.5th at p. 346.) New Procedural Requirement in Gang Cases Another change in the law that became effective this year relates to how gang cases are tried. Pursuant to newly-enacted section 1109, the trial court must 2 bifurcate gang charges from nongang charges when requested by the defense. Appellant contends this new law mandates reversal of his convictions for attempted premeditated murder and assault with a semiautomatic firearm, but we are not persuaded.

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

People v. Villareal CA4/3, (Cal. Ct. App. 2022).

People v. Villareal CA4/3 (People v. Villareal CA4/3) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

People v. Xue Vang
262 P.3d 581 (California Supreme Court, 2011)
People v. Jennings
760 P.2d 475 (California Supreme Court, 1988)
People v. Bolin
956 P.2d 374 (California Supreme Court, 1998)
People v. Williams
93 Cal. Rptr. 2d 356 (California Court of Appeal, 2000)
People v. Hernandez
94 P.3d 1080 (California Supreme Court, 2004)
People v. Hinton
126 P.3d 981 (California Supreme Court, 2006)
People v. Gutierrez
324 P.3d 245 (California Supreme Court, 2014)
People v. Goldsmith
326 P.3d 239 (California Supreme Court, 2014)
People v. Perez
226 Cal. Rptr. 3d 820 (California Court of Appeals, 5th District, 2017)
People v. Jones
243 Cal. Rptr. 3d 722 (California Court of Appeals, 5th District, 2019)