People v. Rodriguez Docket: F078864 (Fifth Appellate District), Opinion Date: March 1, 2022. Defendants Elijah and Michael Rodriguez, two brothers, were jointly tried and convicted of actively participating in a criminal street gang and gang-related, premeditated attempted murder plus attendant crimes and enhancements. The Court of Appeal concluded, and the People concede, that Assembly Bill 333 applies retroactively and requires the court to reverse the active participation

California v. Hall Docket: E072463A (Fourth Appellate District), Opinion Date: February 22, 2022. Defendant-appellant Elijah Hall was convicted by jury of six counts of robbery committed for the benefit of a criminal street gang and one count of active gang participation (all committed when he was 15 years old), and he received a sentence of 65 years to life in state prison. Hall appealed, and while his appeal was pending, Proposition 57 raised the minimum age a minor could b

People v. Delgado Docket: B299482 (Second Appellate District), Opinion Date: February 10, 2022. Delgado was convicted of shooting at an occupied vehicle, assault with an assault weapon, and possession of a firearm by a felon. The jury found true gang and firearm enhancements. The court had instructed the jury with CALCRIM 315 that an eyewitness’s degree of certainty can be considered when evaluating the reliability of the witness’s identification. The court of appeal affirmed

People v. Vasquez Docket: F078228A (Fifth Appellate District), Opinion Date: February 9, 2022. A jury convicted Vasquez and Carrillo of first-degree murder and found personal firearm use enhancements to be true as to both defendants and separately found true gang enhancements and discharge of a firearm by a principal causing death enhancements as to both defendants. The court found true prior prison term allegations against Vasquez, sentenced Vasquez to 25 years to life in pr

People v. Sek Docket: B309003 (Second Appellate District), Opinion Date: February 1, 2022. Assembly Bill No. 333, which altered both the substantive and procedural law regarding gang enhancements under Penal Code section 186.22, applies retroactively in this case. Under the new law, in order to prove that the defendant committed a crime for the benefit of a criminal street gang, the prosecution must show that the benefit to the gang was "more than reputational." Here, the ins

California v. Ramirez Docket: E074402 (Fourth Appellate District), Opinion Date: December 9, 2021. Defendants Jamie Ramirez and Albert...