P. v. Contreras
A jury found defendants Esequiel Contreras and Victor M. Zermeno guilty of first degree murder in violation of Penal Code section 187, subdivision (a).[1] The jury found that the murder was committed for the benefit of, at the direction of, and in association with a criminal street gang, within the meaning of section 186.22, subdivision (b)(1)(C). In Contreras’s case the jury found that a principal personally and intentionally discharged a firearm in the commission of the murder, causing great bodily injury or death within the meaning of section 12022.53, subdivisions (b), (c), and (e)(1). With respect to Zermeno, the jury found that, in the commission of the murder, Zermeno personally and intentionally discharged a firearm causing great bodily injury or death within the meaning of section 12022.53, subdivisions (b), (c) and (d). The trial court sentenced both Contreras and Zermeno to state prison for 25 years to life plus 25 years on the firearm use enhancement.
Zermeno appeals on the grounds that: (1) there was insufficient evidence that he was guilty of first degree murder; and (2) the testimony of the gang expert was hearsay and should have been suppressed. Contreras appeals on the ground that the trial court’s erroneous admission of hearsay evidence of a jail phone call infringed upon his right to due process and a fair trial. Contreras also joins in the arguments made by Zermeno to the extent those arguments apply to him and affect the judgment in his case. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.200(a)(5).)
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