nuestra familia on death row
Rules of Court.) The San Jose spate of killings was allegedly set in motion on April 19, 1990, when Louie "Dumptruck" Chavez was paroled from Pelican Bay State Prison carrying a hit list allegedly drawn up behind bars by the Mesa, the Nuestra Familia's ruling council. The People correctly note that the evidence relating to gang membership is different than the "criminal propensity" character evidence prohibited by Evidence Code section 1101, subdivision (a). With his androgynous good looks and slender physique, Lopez hardly looks the lethal Romeo who prosecutors say ordered his lover shot, gunned down two men and, after being mistakenly released from San Quentin, was arrested after a high- speed chase that forced another car off a Fresno overpass. (hg. [20], Eventually, three new generals came to power at Pelican Bay, yet two were demoted, leaving only David "DC" Cervantes as the highest-ranking member of the gang in California. . A gang member sentenced to death in 1997 for multiple murders in San Jose died at San Quentin State Prison on Monday, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.. The Kern County Superior Court is directed to prepare a modified abstract of judgment indicating that appellant Castro is entitled to 228 days of custody credits and thereafter forward a copy of the modified abstract of judgment to the California Department of Corrections. Rptr. sub nom.,Baker v. California (1971) 400 U.S. 993 [27 L. Ed. The appellate court agreed stating, "As proof of the defendants' membership in the Hell's Angels was relevant to proof of motive and was material and necessary, we cannot say that the trial court erred in concluding that the evidence's probative value outweighed its prejudicial effect." Shelton was commander of the NF's San Jose regiment, and Lopez his newly minted second-in-command, prosecutors say. Click on the photos to learn more about the crimes that put them there. Code, 12022, subd. 20 Dominguez contends that the prejudicial evidence about Nuestra Familia activities outweighed its probative value in proving a motive for the killing. Second, Castro's contention is flawed on the merits. Each also was convicted of committing two or three of five murders. The People argue that there was a "continuing" conspiracy until information about the shootings was relayed to Salinas Lieutenant Lasolla. Rptr. Trujeque was once kidnapped and roughed up by fellow gang members who suspected him of not attending to gang business. Rptr. In the absence of a clear showing that its sentencing discretion was arbitrary or irrational, a trial court is presumed to have acted to achieve legitimate sentencing objectives and its discretionary determination to impose consecutive sentences will not be set aside on review. Moreover, even if the evidence was not admissible under the coconspirator exception, we believe its introduction at trial was not prejudicial to Dominguez. Although initially stating that both appellants made the statement, Villarreal clarified that it was only Dominguez who actually said "they had dropped a card and they had got them good and he had seen one of them drop." 3d 509] failed parole miserably. Overwhelming evidence independent of the references in the taped conversations showed the joint participation of Dominguez and Castro. Attorney General Kamala Harris announced the arrest of Nuestra Familia members on June 8, 2011 Since the written constitution of the Norteos stated that the gang's leaders resided in Pelican Bay State Prison in California; the relocation of the five leaders led to turmoil among its members. Hernandez asked for Castro's account because "as a squad leader I was obligated to get all the available information of what had happened so I could in turn inform my lieutenant." Similarly, Marina Cobos, a Nuestra Familia member acquainted with appellants, testified that gang members killing an enemy earned a "star," which represented respect and recognition within the Nuestra Familia organization. Among the group of people were Alex and Fred Santa Cruz, Steven Fierro and David Rodriguez. Before addressing these contentions, we believe the relevant facts should be set forth. "San Jose wasn't such a low-crime area before we began this prosecution," Constantinides said. The gang was an enemy of the Mexican Mafia, and it decreed that all Nortenos ("northerners") were members of the NF, granting them protection from "La Eme" (the Mexican Mafia) behind bars. Testimony by Cobos revealed that transmission of the details of the killing was a prerequisite to earning a "star" within the Nuestra Familia. Outside the Hall of Justice, Chavezs relatives expressed gratitude to the jury and praised prosecutor Matt Braker. Death row for men and women will soon be dismantled. Given the diverse testimony about the two .22 weapons, it cannot be said that the trial judge abused his discretion in admitting Farr's testimony; the evidence corroborated Hernandez' prior testimony and was independent proof of the origin of the guns. Newsom's proposed budget for the fiscal year starting 1 July seeks $1.5m to find new uses for the vacant death row housing. The court gave comprehensive instructions on the law of conspiracy. Membership in the gang extends beyond prison. In light of Thursdays Paniagua verdict, prosecutors also are all but certain to seek the death penalty in an upcoming trial against Samuel Corona for allegedly stomping 6-year-old Oscar Jimenez Jr. to death. 28 Since Castro has not included a transcript which shows the court's reasons for so sentencing Dominguez, we believe it would be improvident to strike the consecutive enhancement imposed upon Castro. 320].) Subsequently, however, Villarreal said that both appellants remembered seeing someone drop at the scene of the shooting. For 25 years no prisoners were condemned in the facility - until 1992. Nuestro General Gerald "Cuete" Rubelcaba ordered the assassination of former NF member Robert "Brown Bob" Viramontes in early 1998, a member of the leading council for the NF and a 20-year veteran who had covered up his NF tattoo on his back and also educated young kids about the dangers of gang life. Moreover, unlike the situation in Perez, the court below took careful pains to note that it would not allow wholesale introduction of unrelated criminal activities of the Nuestra Familia. FN 28. App. fn. 2d 518.) Two more trials with one defendant apiece are still pending. 2d 223, 248 [32 Cal. "Those individuals were assaulted to the point where their injuries were extremely severe and they were never, ever able to return to duty.. FN 3. In the summer of 1991, that came up a few times.". Rptr. In addition to the defendants, whose ankles are shackled to bolts in the courtroom floor, the cast includes seven defense lawyers -- two apiece for the death penalty defendants and one for Vargas; Kitty Constantinides and her husband and co- counsel, Deputy District Attorney Charles Constantinides; and four or five armed and watchful bailiffs. fn. Not so. June 12, 1981. 764-765). 3d 706, 713-716 [173 Cal.Rptr. Since aggravating circumstances can also be considered for purposes of imposing consecutive terms, the trial judge correctly took note that the crime involved great violence, planning, and sophistication (rule 421 (a)(1), (8), Cal. As noted earlier, David Hernandez was told to accompany Dominguez and Castro to Bakersfield and was given three orders to carry out. 23 [121 Cal. The purpose behind this visit was to obtain a third gun so that each of the men would be armed during the planned robbery and so that each would be armed if they encountered Nuestra Familia enemies. Furthermore, given the other substantial evidence pointing to Dominguez' identity as a participant in the shooting, it is not reasonably probable that he would have obtained a more favorable result had the remarks about his parole status not been made. Rptr. He was a witness to a murder at San Quentin and knew the Nuestra Familia . 11, 1981). Hernandez also fired at the vehicle once. And after they call a hit, you gotta do it.". ", Attorney Guerin Provini, who represents Bobby Lopez, chafes at the unfairness of cutting deals with the gang leaders, then using their testimony in seeking the death penalty against "the Munchkins. To this extent, we believe the evidence did aid jurors in identifying appellants (who traveled to Bakersfield from the Salinas regiment) as the individuals who did the shooting on October 21. FN 15. 1997-09-13 04:00:00 PDT SAN JOSE -- Three members of the Nuestra Familia prison gang were sentenced to death by a San Jose jury yesterday, bringing to an end a grueling yearlong murder and . 9.5% of death-row prisoners had a prior homicide conviction. You can explore additional available newsletters here. [19], Since the written constitution of the Norteos stated that the gang's leaders resided in Pelican Bay State Prison in California; the relocation of the five leaders led to turmoil among its members. Since 1978, when California reinstated capital punishment, 79 condemned inmates have died of natural causes, 24 have committed suicide, 15 have been executed, 11 have died of other causes and three including Serna are pending a cause of death, according to the CDCR. for cert.,sub nom., McGautha v. California (1971) 402 U.S. 183, 186 [28 L. Ed. fn. Two of the defendants face the death penalty for ordering murders related to the drug trade. "At one point, I really did believe in the Northern Structure and Nuestra Familia," Salazar said. Wolfie left Fred Santa Cruz' presence, and Fred crawled underneath a car. In arguing that the court abused its discretion under Evidence Code section 352, fn. FN 20. If they did not retaliate, Hernandez indicated they would be branded as cowards and killed by their gang. 3d 500], The lower court did not abuse its discretion by admitting limited evidence about the Nuestra Familia's criminal purposes. Hernandez opined that the fleeing person "was trying to dodge bullets." [121 Cal. Sign up for our free summaries and get the latest delivered directly to you. The Mexican Mafia, referred to as La Eme (the Spanish pronunciation for the letter M), is undisputedly at the top of the gang roster, with the most members, affiliates and turf in California. The Chemistry of Death - 1 Temporada Legendado. Furthermore, "A motion for a mistrial presupposes that the effect of the objectionable evidence 'is so prejudicial as to be incurable by striking it and admonishing the jury to disregard it.'" 2d 213, 222-224, 91 S. Ct. 210]; People v. Brawley (1969) 1 Cal. Even if the evidence should have been excluded, its admission was harmless in the present case. Pero todo se complicar cuando un peligroso asesino en serie comience a dar caza a los no humanos. 3d 441, 448-449 [112 Cal. Castro has failed to show that the trial court's sentence was arbitrarily imposed or the product of whimsical thinking. [5] Also at the trial, Colleen Farr, owner of the Country Cousin's Sporting Goods in Watsonville (near the Salinas area), testified that the two .22 weapons used at the Virginia Street shooting had been stolen from her store on September 7, 1977. 6.13, 6.22)--also made it unlikely that jurors convicted Dominguez because [121 Cal. Hernandez had to get information from Castro so that he could accurately relay a synopsis of the shooting incident to Lieutenant Lasolla. 3d 489], Sometime during October 1977, Hernandez, Marina Christina "Chris" Cobos, Marian Saballa Maldonado, Marian Martinez, and Dominguez went to San Jose. The trial court denied defense counsel's oral motion to exclude references to the "probation" or "parole" officer. [14] At the time of Operation Black Widow, law enforcement officials had estimated that Nuestra Familia was responsible for at least 600 murders in the previous 30 years. Grade A are individuals who are programming and follow our rules, for the most part. In particular, the judge instructed jurors that "No act or declaration of a conspirator that is committed or made after the conspiracy has been terminated is binding upon his coconspirators, and they are not criminally liable for any such act." (Harrington v. California (1969) 395 U.S. 250, 254 [23 L. Ed. September 24, 1977 Death Row Joe Gonzales's order to murder of Nuestra soldier Eddie Serna for cooperating with authorities is passed on by Lieutenant Richard Din Castro to Robert Flores and Robert "Brown Bob" Viramontes. The killings have been so painful for Chavezs family that many of her relatives remain in therapy, including the teenage cousin staying with her at the time of the killings, who woke up to find the house on fire and the little girls slain.