People v. Cardenas CA4/3

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On October 19, 1995, Juan L. (Juan) lived in his home on Grant Street in Santa Ana. Juan was 20 years old, and an associate member of a gang aligned with the Grant Street gang. At this time, the Grant Street gang had an ongoing rivalry with the Eastside gang, which frequently involved the use of firearms to shoot at each other. In fact, Juan’s house had been shot up

1 Effective June 30, 2022, Penal Code section 1170.95 was renumbered section 1172.6, with no change in text (Stats. 2022, ch. 58, § 10); all further undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code. 2 several times. Cardenas, an Eastside gang member, lived about a block away in Eastside territory. At about 7:00 p.m., Juan was outside of his home with a fellow gang associate, George S., and two females. A group of three to five young males were seen walking in the street corner, about 140 feet away from the home. The young men were wearing dark, baggy clothing and carrying guns. The guns were pointed down, and the young men were walking together very slowly. A witness described the group’s behavior as “unusual -- it’s kind of like, I don’t know if you have cats. But usually if a…