People v. Lara CA4/1

INTRODUCTION

Jose Ramon Lara and codefendants John David Salazar and Anthony John Legaspi are members of the Varrio Redlands (VR) criminal street gang. One day, Legaspi was attacked by a group of 10 to 15 Black men, which humiliated him in the eyes of his fellow gang members. Later that day, Lara provided a loaded firearm to Legaspi and Salazar drove him to the area where he had been jumped. There, Legaspi shot at five Black teenagers he mistakenly believed to have been involved in the attack, killing two of them. A jury found all three defendants guilty of the murders of two of the teenagers, Quinn McCaleb and Andrew Jackson, and it found them guilty of the attempted murders of the remaining three teenagers, T.T., J.H., and A.P. In this postjudgment proceeding, Lara appeals an order denying a petition seeking vacatur of his convictions and resentencing under Penal

Code section 1172.6.1 He argues the trial court erred by denying his petition because substantial evidence does not support the court’s finding that he remains guilty of the two murders and three attempted murders under current law. We reject this argument and affirm the order denying the resentencing petition.…