C. CRIMINALLY THREATENING DEFENDANT'S WIFE (COUNT 5). Before defendant went into custody, he said to Debbie that if she ever talked to the police, it would be the last time she talked. The remaining leadership of the organization in Pelican Bay consists of Daniel Stork Perez, Anthony Chuco Guillen and George Puppet Franco. (Health & Saf. 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. The cases linked on your profile facilitate Casemine's artificial intelligence engine in recommending you to potential clients who might be interested in availing your services for similar matters. The film is based upon an original screenplay by Floyd Mutrux and Desmond Nakano. Clark kept returning to prison after being released. He said, "I'm not going to, that's what I'm not gonna do. I didn't discuss it with Lorenzo Guzman. 539, 543), various NF members testified about the organization and its criminal activities between approximately 1989 and 1993. ['] ", He continued, it was "not the law" that her fear upon cooperating with law enforcement related back to the letter. Sergeant Lewis, Sergeant Livingston, and Correctional Officer Valdez testified The Inner Mendoza described what he considered to be an indirect communication by Guillen to defendant. A fourth person, Antonio "Chuco" Guillen, the San Jose NF underboss, supervised from another car parked down the street. Clark dealt with four people, each of whom had a crew working for him. For the same reason we will do the same for other individuals, such as defendant's brother Greg. Carlos Roman brought the drugs to Cervantes and went to retrieve them when Cervantes failed to act. 1337.) (People v. Bolin (1998) 18 Cal.4th 297, 340.) After they married, defendant told her he was in Category II of the NF and ran the local streets. Mendoza was also the commander of a NF regiment in San Jose in 2003 until his incarceration in June 2004. A more significant factual difference is that Vargas described an organization in which NF members on the street made regular contributions to the NF bank. We do not believe the jury could have reasonably reached these conclusions based on the evidence. 'Claims challenging the sufficiency of the evidence to uphold a judgment are generally reviewed under the substantial evidence standard. The remaining leadership of the organization in In other words, defendant is asking this court to believe the testimony of Ruiz, apparently rejected by the jury, that when he wrote the kite in October 2008, defendant had been temporarily stripped of authority and placed "on freeze" by a mysterious kite that Ruiz destroyed after reading. " (Id. Citation. As this court has said before, "a conspiracy can have multiple criminal objectives." at p. Defendant had also served prior prison terms for the possession offenses. On appeal Vargas argued that the trial court deprived him "of his state and federal constitutional rights to a trial by jury and due process by failing to instruct the jury to determine the essential factual question whether one or multiple conspiracies existed." He once said a wife could not testify against her husband. One objective of the NF is " 'to build the organization on the outside, become self-supporting, work with those in alliance, any and all illegal ventures to build the funds that can be utilized to take care of members behind the walls or drug deals on the streets.' Debbie agreed to record phone calls with a digital recorder. A telephone conversation on April 3, 2007 beginning at 10:36 p.m. became a three-way call. That day Debbie went to the office of the investigators and agreed to cooperate. [']" "I don't even think a conspiracy has been proved[] [i]f you give Frank Ruiz any credence whatsoever[. " Another two questions posed whether a statement not initially considered a threat may later be considered a threat under changed circumstances. In the end it's all about money, and how they go about it. Algunas ), We accept the premise that when there is a factual dispute about whether a criminal defendant's conduct was among the causes of a victim's fear, injury, or death, the trial court sua sponte must give instructions about proximate causation and intervening, superseding causes. The remaining leadership of the organization in Pelican Bay consists of Daniel Stork Perez, Anthony Chuco Guillen and George Puppet Franco. ." This is mere argument on appeal. I always thought I was going to be with him, so I wasn't really afraid at that time.". ), At trial the prosecutor argued to the jury: "A threat which may appear to be conditional on its face is unconditional under its circumstances. That's really what it all comes down to when you're talking about [NF]. He said gang leaders who are serving life sentences have been able to orchestrate crimes, including murders, throughout California from their cells at a secure housing unit at the Pelican Bay State Prison in Del Norte County by using cell phones that have been smuggled into the prison. (Ibid. It is up to the conspirators to establish the primary goal or goals of the conspiracy. They reminisced about how Ochoa used to sell a cut pound of methamphetamine to defendant for $6,500, but he said no one wanted cut stuff anymore and a pure pound cost $20,000. It is not the role of an appellate court to redetermine questions of credibility. . At the close of evidence, defendant argued to the jury that the phone calls containing no threats by him, such as their initial laughter-filled discussion of his letter and his later phone conversations with Debbie in December 2007 about other topics such as the search of their residence, were more emblematic of his feelings and intent. (a).) Suffice it to say that the jury had reason to disbelieve each one of them. After defendant was incarcerated, Ramirez contacted defendant's PCP supplier, Mario, and obtained PCP from him. We have reviewed the testimony of Cervantes and Ruiz above (in part II.D) and need not summarize it in detail here. It is a question for the fact-finder to determine when a charged conspiracy has ended, "considering the unique circumstances and the nature and purpose of the conspiracy of each case." He had another message from "Junior," a nickname for defendant. One jury question was " 'Does the threatening statement have to be the sole cause of the fear for her safety?' NF members on the street were expected to contribute money to the NF " 'bank,' " which was the NF fund held for the benefit of the NF members. I don't think they have proven an agreement. The Attorney General also explains how federal decisions have differentiated " 'vertical' " or " 'chain' " conspiracies from " 'hub and spoke' " conspiracies, while acknowledging the distinction "is of only limited value in determining whether an illegal drug distribution network is one or more conspiracies. According to gang expert Valdez, when an inmate comes to an institution, the prison gang will ask for the inmate's paperwork. [16] While members of the Norteos gang are considered to be affiliated with Nuestra Familia, being a member of Nuestra Familia itself does not signify association as a Norteo. Shortly after they met again he moved in with her. "[I]f a defendant, again acting with the requisite intent, makes a sufficient threat that is received and understood by the threatened person, but, for whatever reason, the threat does not actually cause the threatened person to be in sustained fear for his or her safety even though, under the circumstances, that person reasonably could have been placed in such fear, the defendant properly may be found to have committed the offense of attempted criminal threat." Jack Ochoa supplied defendant with "ice," methamphetamine. This dialog followed. Defendant does not elaborate on what that peculiar meaning is. CALCRIM No. Debbie said she would put him out if he went out on her "[a]nd you'd better ask somebody." 1012.) Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world 1272. (Id. In that conversation she again brought up whether he meant what he had written, even though they had laughed about it during a conversation two days earlier. ", Two of these three disputed counts involved conspiracies to assault two individuals with deadly weapons. He did not investigate the claim that Leyvas had tried to rape someone's sister. Anthony "Chavo" Jacobs is currently in prison, . Debbie was concerned about giving information to the police with Frost present, as Frost would have notified defendant. Gillotte attempted to locate Cervantes, but he was not in custody. . . Aside from Barba, those indicted as a result of Operation Red October were Arlindo "Gino" Silva, 44; Benjamin "Big Happy" Mendez, 37; Carlos Roman, 40; Cassey Klauer, 27; Colleen Dunn, 51; Daniel "Bird" Millich, 37; Diego "Chucky" Mendoza, 25; Fidadelfo "Lil Sav" Ortiz, 17; Frank "Digit" Cruz, 29; Fred "Maton" Macias, 35; Freddie DeLaCruz, 33; Herman "Chango" Sifuentes, 34; Jacob "Tank" Dominguez, 29, James "Pistol" Gonzales, 33; Jesus "Yoosh" Varela, 30; Juan "Monster" Garcia," 22; Juanita Rivera, 48; Karlee Ochoa, 35; Peter "Payaso" Avila, 29; Raymond "Oldies" Garcia, 35; Rodolfo "Zeke" Rodriguez, 36; Shawn Vernon "Bam-Bam" Lee, 34; and Sonya "Giggles" Rodriguez, 49. Ruiz told him not to worry about it and just pay it off after his release. In 2009, Tirri and defendant were housed together in administrative segregation. People v. Toledo (2001) 26 Cal.4th 221 identified three situations that would amount to an attempted, but not completed, criminal threat. He wouldn't be here if he wasn't helping him . At defendant's request after his arrest, Clark arranged that Sammy Ramirez would sell 1.5 ounces of PCP that defendant had left behind. In later phone calls Debbie asked Rodriguez to put her in contact with Clark, who was in Mexico. The informant, who agreed to turn state's evidence, is a convict currently in protective custody in the Santa Clara County jail, where his name has appeared on a "hit list" due his assisting law enforcement, she said. Count 1 alleged that defendant, along with the 25 individuals named in count 2 and one other, had actively participated in NF and willfully promoted, further, and assisted in felonious criminal conduct by gang members. When Debbie told Clark about the call on February 5, 2008, she said Rodriguez was drunk, "acting smart" and "rude."