People v. Pedroza CA4/1

I.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The People charged Pedroza with one count of murder, pursuant to Penal Code section 187, subdivision (a), as to victim Kyle K., and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon pursuant to Penal Code section 245, subdivision (a)(1), as to victims Edwin R. and Kevin B. They further alleged that Pedroza committed the crimes for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal street gang, and that he personally used a dangerous and deadly weapon, to wit: a knife, in the commission of each. Pedroza pled not guilty and the trial court granted a motion to bifurcate the gang allegations pursuant to Penal Code section 1109.

2 At trial, Pedroza conceded that he went to the park on December 12, 2017, looking to start a fistfight with members of the 380 Block Gang; that he had a knife in his pocket; and that, during the fight, he took out his knife and started swinging it around, ultimately stabbing Kyle, Kevin, and Edwin. However, he claimed that he did so in lawful self-defense, after being surrounded and outnumbered, struck in the head with a bat, and almost run over by a car. Accordingly, much of the evidence at trial centered…