Esquivias

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

I. Facts1

A. Murder In June 2013, defendant walked up to Manuel Haro (Haro) and shot him several times, killing him. This shooting was the culmination of an internecine feud among members of the “818” clique of the Wicked Insane Diablos street gang. Defendant and his friend Kimberly Garcia (Garcia) had a falling out with Haro and Haro’s friend James Posey (Posey). Before acting on his soured feelings, Esquivias got permission from the “older homies” overseeing the Wicked Insane Diablos to “handle” the problem; he also got “the okay” to kill Haro and Posey. After defendant, Garcia, and Alondra Salinas (Salinas) spent a few weeks taunting and threatening to kill Haro and Posey, defendant ultimately had Garcia and Salinas drive him to Haro’s location, where he got out of the car, walked up to an unarmed Haro, and shot him repeatedly. B. Armed robberies Fifteen days after killing Haro, defendant and Garcia robbed two people at gunpoint. In the midst of one of the robberies, defendant asked one victim for his gang affiliation.

We draw these facts from our prior opinion affirming defendant’s convictions. (People v. Esquivias (July 26,…