People v. Valerio CA2/8

INTRODUCTION

A jury convicted defendant Ramiro Alberto Valerio of 12 counts of first degree murder, and it found true multiple- murder and felony-murder special-circumstance allegations as to each count. The court sentenced Valerio to 12 consecutive terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole. On appeal, Valerio contends: (1) insufficient evidence supports his murder convictions and the felony-murder special-circumstance allegations because the People failed to prove that he was a major participant who acted with reckless indifference to human life during the underlying arson that resulted in the victims’ deaths; and (2) the court erred when it allowed one of the prosecution’s expert witnesses to relay case-specific hearsay. We reject each of Valerio’s contentions and affirm.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

1. Prosecution evidence 1.1. The arson In the early 1990’s, Valerio was a member of Colombia Lil Cycos, known as CLCS, a clique of the 18th Street gang. CLCS’s main source of income at the time was drug sales. Valerio and Juan Manuel Romero Lopez, known as “Termite,”1 were two of CLCS’s shot callers. Valerio was known as the “big boss,” and Termite was known as the…