), After the jury convicted defendant as charged and made a special finding that the five charged conspiracies "were separate and distinct," in bifurcated proceedings defendant admitted allegations of three prior convictions, one for attempted murder and two for possession of controlled substances. (People v. Fierro (2010) 180 Cal.App.4th 1342, 1347.). The remaining leadership of the organization in Pelican Bay consists of Daniel Stork Perez, Anthony Chuco Guillen and George Puppet Franco. Ramirez was arrested on February 20, 2008. On December 17, 2007, the police conducted a search of Debbie's residence while she and her housemate, Leslie Frost, defendant's cousin, were present. Anthony In a conversation on August 16, Debbie said, "I got youryour funny letter today." at p. There was testimony in this case that the NF constitution was revised in about 2005. The appellate court found there was substantial evidence that the defendant's words had eventually placed the victim in a state of sustained fear, if not when he uttered them, at least when she heard a fellow gang member was looking for her and she saw him near her house. I didn't discuss it with Lorenzo Guzman. When defendant met with other regiment leaders, Ramirez talked about messages he had received from the NF leadership in Pelican Bay State Prison saying defendant had not been communicating with them and "hasn't paid his dues . Please enter valid email address to continue. There was no evidence of even an attempted criminal threat, "because it wasn't received seriously, according to Debbie Guzman's own testimony here . (Health & Saf. According to Ruiz, another kite had arrived in August 2008 that put defendant and Ramirez on freeze, leaving Ruiz in charge of the jail. The Nuestra Familia gang, based on evidence from captured kites, even has an internal code of conduct. Debbie did not testify, contrary to defendant's appellate arguments, that she would have been as afraid of NF reprisals without his written threat. Clark's assistance to defendant from outside jail was limited, as he was involved in a shootout at his apartment on July 29, 2007, that led to his relocation to Mexico. Thus, Rosas was killed because he had 'snitched on Pablo Pena, Panther.' Defendant's ex-wife Debbie Guzman testified that she first met him at a juvenile ranch when she was about 14 years old. Defendant does not appear to have been playing by the NF rules or following its directives. . I never took it seriously. Based on Gillotte's employment in jail classification and jail intelligence the court accepted him "as an expert in the area of prison street gangs operating in Santa Clara County Jail.". Without citing Solis, the Attorney General argues, "Section 422 does not state that the fear from the threat must be the sole source of fear that a victim experiences after receiving the threat. Defendant had also served prior prison terms for the possession offenses. Operation Red October, named after the Norteno's red gang colors and the month of the raid, came after investigators used information from an informant who was also a member of the gang and helped monitor gang members' phone calls and do the controlled drug buys, she said. WebQuin es el lder de los norteos? For a period of time, Vince Tirri was Ramirez's second-in-command. Ramirez became a NR member in December 1995 and a NF member in September 1997. 1671.). We cannot say as a matter of law that there was no evidence to support alternative findings about the number of conspiracies or their objectives. There was evidence at that trial that "[t]he Nuestra Familia (NF) is a prison gang that was founded in September 1968 by inmates at the California State Prison San Quentin (San Quentin). He became a NR member in 1989 and a NF member in 1994. . at p. In that case, the defendant was charged with one conspiracy to commit multiple crimes, a conspiracy that alleged 96 overt acts. Immediate means the degree of seriousness and imminence which is understood by the victim to attach to the future prospect of the threat being carried out should the condition not be met." Defendant kept drugs at their house, but they packaged the drugs at his sister Stephanie's house. Defendant's reply brief quotes additional, similar discussions in Vargas of how the NF functioned at the time. On appeal as at trial defendant downplays his telephone conversation with Debbie on August 18, 2007. The court properly submitted to the jury the question whether any of the five alleged conspiracies was merely part of a larger conspiracy. "What this represents is a very sophisticated network of the highest-ranking gang leadership out on the streets of our county," she said. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. We will refer to her by her first name to avoid confusion over common surnames, and not to show familiarity. (People v. Williams (2015) 61 Cal.4th 1244, 1270 (Williams).) Defendant occasionally fronted him drugs, though Cervantes was not functioning as part of a regiment. After his release from prison, Ramirez contacted regiment leaders Abundiz and Campa and formed his own regiment in Santa Clara County as he had been instructed by Guillen. It would be against protocol to delegate that authority. CONSPIRACY TO SMUGGLE DRUGS INTO JAIL (COUNT 4). Norteos. According to Lewis, while they were meeting, he noticed a car circling them and looking intently at them. Her cooperation with law enforcement against defendant and members of his regiment would amount to doing him wrong. The prosecution responded that some former codefendants just sold methamphetamine, while others just sold PCP, and yet others sold both, so there was evidence of different conspiracies and separate and distinct violations of different statutes. "It even says, 'you better ask somebody.' Ruiz heard in January 2009 that defendant was no longer on freeze. "I told you in the beginning of this case that we're not going to be contesting the fact that Mr. Guzman is a gang member, a gang leader, even a drug dealer. Cervantes acknowledged that defendant had once fronted him a quarter pound of methamphetamine that Cervantes was unable to sell. Defendant's letter stated in part, "if my baby does me wrong, death going to part us." Defendant and Clark obtained methamphetamine from Jack Ochoa. Clark did not collect monthly dues from regiment members. La Positiva 31.12.2022. After the jury verdict, he entered a no contest plea to the weapon possession charge and admitted a strike allegation with the understanding that the prosecutor would dismiss the other charge and various enhancements and that defendant would receive a 16-month consecutive sentence for that offense. Debbie pointed that that both Bear and Roman were users. Antonio Guillen was not a witness, though he was described by several witnesses. The letter (Exhibit 168) does not appear in the record on appeal. On appeal he asserts they had a contentious, roller-coaster relationship "sometimes resulting in threatening statements from both parties" and he points to their first phone conversation about the letter on August 16, 2007 to illustrate his intent. He was housed in Main Jail North 4-B1 and then 4-B3, a single cell, until February 27, 2009. Daniel "Bear" Cervantes was the alleged victim of the assault conspiracy in count 6. At the time, "Frank Ruiz was the authority in charge, the second in command to the Defendant, Lorenzo Guzman." Solis called Debbie on January 8, 2008 and met with her the next day. Guillen is highest ranking among three gang generals, all housed at Pelican Bay, she said. All rights reserved. Thus his removal was just.' The victim in that case testified that "she did not initially take appellant's words as a threat because appellant was always joking around. [']" "I don't even think a conspiracy has been proved[] [i]f you give Frank Ruiz any credence whatsoever[. Greg called Cindy 15 minutes later and said Droopy was going to call her shortly. The evidence of a conspiracy to smuggle drugs into the Santa Clara County Jail between January and June 1, 2007 was primarily seven recorded telephone calls, all on April 26, 2007. at p. According to Mendoza, sex offenders are not automatic gang targets. Vince Tirri, a member over time of the Campa, Mendoza, and Ramirez regiments, testified pursuant to a use immunity and a plea agreement resolving charges of active gang participation, conspiracy to sell methamphetamine, and two counts of forcible assault with a gang enhancement. She told him that Rodriguez had called her drunk one day. Cervantes testified for the defense that he was a Northerner who had known defendant for over 25 years. On appeal defendant contends that the phrase "actually caused" in CALCRIM No. We observe that it is not unusual in this kind of multi-week, multi-count gang case for the parties on appeal to lose track of the facts presented to the jury and the arguments made by their trial attorneys. It was for the jury "to decide, when she got this letter, it was something that put her in sustained fear as opposed to something else that happened later . Defendant asserts there was a lack of proof that he intended his wife to take his letter as a threat. (Mendoza, supra, 59 Cal.App.4th at p. "It's incredibly dangerous what he did and he is in great danger," McKeown said. He did not want to go at first but he was placed in protective custody. When he returned to custody in January 2008, he was told he needed to get to the fourth floor and he was housed in 4-B, where he met Frank Ruiz. The next rung of leaders in Pelican Bay includes Daniel Stork Perez of Salinas; Anthony Chuco Guillen of San Jose, who was involved in the murder of a Defendant told Clark to get his own telephone because defendant wanted to talk to "the brown guy . In the letter were the statements: " 'Debbie's sister was given the house and kids when Debbie last moved out, so that should be respected. People v. Bland (2002) 28 Cal.4th 313, 334-335 ["proximate" cause must be defined for jury when used in instruction]; People v. Fiu (2008) 165 Cal.App.4th 360, 372 [jury was adequately instructed on concurrent, but not superseding, causes of death]. Nuestra Familia was organized at Correctional Training Facility in Soledad, California in 1965. Sergeant Lewis and Debbie had differing recollections about why he decided to relocate her on February 18, 2008. Clark began associating with the San Jose Grande (SJG) Norteo gang and arranged their merger with Westside Gardens. "[P]ink" became a code for PCP. 1342.). You can listen to the evidence on that, and then you can decide." The evidence in this case focused on defendant's conduct as a NF member between April 2002 and April 2009 and his conduct on the street until his March 2007 arrest. Moreover, unless the testimony is physically impossible or inherently improbable, testimony of a single witness is sufficient to support a conviction. Lewis offered her witness relocation and no charges for her cooperation. She thought back to that threat, and that threat made her think, [']my husband is going to have m[e] killed if I make this decision. Defendant encouraged her to be more independent because he was not able to be there for her. 1012-1013.) One agreement cannot b[e] taken to be several agreements and hence several conspiracies simply because it envisions committing more than one crime. Defense counsel asserted that Ruiz had testified "[']I got a kite about Henry Leyvas that said that he had raped somebody's sister. "It's clear, it's clear that Mr. Guzman is guilty, and I would expect you to find him guilty of conspiring with other gang members to distribute drugs." Such a decision must be made by the highest gang authorities in Pelican Bay unless the authority is delegated to a local NF member. '' became a code for PCP had once fronted him drugs, though Cervantes was the authority charge. Member in 1994. antonio Guillen was not functioning as part of a single witness is to... Cindy 15 minutes later and said Droopy was going to call her.... Got youryour funny letter today. 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