People v. Ramirez CA4/3

STATEMENT OF FACTS

I.

RAMIREZ’S TRIAL

The following facts are provided for background purposes. They have been taken from this division’s unpublished opinion, People v. Ramirez, et al. (Jan. 18, 2006, G033858) [nonpub. opn.] (Ramirez I), which affirmed Ramirez’s murder conviction. Ramirez was a drug dealer and member of the Hawaiian Gardens gang, which was “‘at war’” with an Artesia gang. Seventeen-year-old Guillermo Carvajal went to Ramirez’s house to pay off a relative’s debt. Carvajal was from Artesia but was not in a gang. According to an eyewitness, codefendants Javen Anthony Cervantes and Stanley Dean Cruz were at

1 All further unspecified statutory references are to the Penal Code. Former section 1170.95 was renumbered section 1172.6 without substantive change, effective June 30, 2022. For clarity, we refer to the statutory provision as section 1172.6. (Stats. 2022, ch. 58, § 10.)

2 Ramirez’s house and were members of gangs that were hostile to the same Artesia gang. Cervantes, Cruz, and an unidentified man accused Carvajal of being from Artesia and asked about his gang affiliation. Carvajal turned to leave but Cruz and Cervantes blocked his exit and summoned Ramirez.…