P. v. Martinez


Filed 6/1/11 P. v. Martinez CA2/3





NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 THREE

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. ISAI PABLO MARTINEZ, Defendant and Appellant.

B224713 (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BA301794)

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Larry P. Fidler, Judge. Affirmed.

Landra E. Rosenthal, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Pamela C. Hamanaka, Assistant Attorney General, Paul M. Roadarmel, Jr. and Baine P. Kerr, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

Defendant and appellant Isai Pablo Martinez appeals from the judgment entered following a jury trial that resulted in his convictions for multiple counts of first degree murder and attempted murder, and carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm. The trial court sentenced Martinez to two terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus an indeterminate term of 170 years to life, plus a determinate term of seven years.
Martinez contends the evidence was insufficient to establish he was the shooter in two of the crimes. We affirm.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
1. Facts.
a. People's case.
Viewed in accordance with the usual rules governing appellate review (People v. Rodriguez (1999) 20 Cal.4th 1, 11; People v. Johnston (2003) 113 Cal.App.4th 1299, 1303-1304), the evidence relevant to the issues presented on appeal established the following. Appellant Martinez was a member of the 18th Street criminal street gang, as evidenced by, inter alia, his own admissions and his tattoos. The 18th Street gang is a large Los Angeles gang. In 2006, it claimed territory in an area that overlapped that of a rival gang, the Geer Gangster Crips, a predominantly African-American gang. In 2006, the Geer and 18th Street gangs were involved in a violent feud, and numerous gang-related homicides and shootings had transpired as a result. The Unos Sin Verguenza (USV) gang was also a rival of the 18th Street gang.
(i) January 15, 2006 murder of Williams and attempted murder of Cooper.
On January 15, 2006, at approximately 4:15 p.m., Lamont Cooper and his friend Leon Williams were in a red car at the T-intersection of Smiley Drive and Duray Place in Los Angeles. Williams was driving. The corner was in an area claimed by both the Geer and 18th Street gangs.
A car pulled up alongside Williams's vehicle; two male Hispanics were seated inside. One or both of them began shooting at Williams and Cooper, firing over a dozen shots. Cooper dove beneath the dashboard. When the other car drove off, Cooper ran to his mother's home; she called 911. Cooper returned to the corner, where he found Williams slumped over onto the passenger seat.
Williams had suffered gunshot wounds to his head, neck, face, shoulder, arm, and upper and lower back, and died from his injuries. Four bullets were recovered from his body. Cooper had been shot in the left torso, but was treated at a hospital and survived. A bullet remained lodged in Cooper's back at the time of trial. Forensic investigation revealed that at least 22 bullet paths had travelled from the front to the rear of Williams's car. Five .45-caliber cartridge cases, twenty-eight .9-millimeter cartridge cases, a loaded magazine, bullets, and bullet fragments were recovered from the crime scene and Williams's car. Forensic examination determined that shots had been fired from at least two guns, a .9-millimeter and a .45-caliber.
Veronica Perez lived approximately one-half block from the corner where the shooting occurred. She testified that she had been outside her home, with her children, shortly after 4:00 p.m. on the date of the shooting. She heard shots, turned, and saw a small white car stopped on the street. She grabbed the children, ducked, and ran inside the house.
Marco Castillo was visiting a friend in a second-floor apartment at the corner of Roseland and Duray Streets at approximately 4:15 on the afternoon of January 15, when he heard shots being fired.^[1] He looked out the window and observed a small, white, two-door coupe stopped in the street, with two men inside. There was a black or gray primer spot on the vehicle's front passenger side. Castillo was unsure whether the car was a convertible. Both the driver and the passenger exited the white car. The passenger fired shots at Williams's car; Castillo was unsure whether the driver of the white car also fired shots. The assailants re-entered the white car, which backed up, reversed course, and drove away. The assailant who exited the passenger side was a male Hispanic, and was a â€