People v. Grajeda CA2/6

Facts Because appellant raises only one issue relating to the closing arguments, our summary of the facts will be brief and will focus on the expert witness testimony and portions of the closing arguments relating to that testimony. After spending the evening out, Jorge Tejeda, his twin brother Daniel and two friends ended up at Taco de Mexico, a taco restaurant in downtown Oxnard. Their car was parked in

2 a nearby alley. The group left the restaurant after about an hour and walked back toward their car. On the way, they saw a group of men, including appellant, beating another man. Appellant was kicking and punching the man who was on the pavement. Christian Navarro, the victim of that beating, testified that appellant approached him in the alley and asked if Navarro was “messing with” his girlfriend. Someone hit Navarro who blacked out. As Tejeda and his companions walked to their car, appellant approached them very aggressively. He asked Antonio Zazueta, one of Tejeda’s companions, “Where are you from.” Zazueta replied that they weren’t from anywhere; they were just there to have fun and didn’t want any trouble. Appellant said they weren’t answering his question and reached…