People v. Gonzales CA5

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Defendant Benny Benito Gonzales was charged in an information with assault with a firearm (Pen. Code,1 § 245, subd. (a)(2); count 1), making a criminal threat (§ 422; count 2), possession of a firearm by a felon (§ 29800, subd. (a)(1); count 3), and conspiracy to dissuade a witness (§ 136.1, subd. (c)(2); count 4). He was charged in the same information with a codefendant, Emily Andrade, whose appeal we decided in a separate opinion. (People v. Andrade (July 23, 2025, F087955) [nonpub. opn.].) As to each count, the information alleged that Gonzales committed the offense for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal street gang (§ 186.22, subd. (b)(1)) and that Gonzales personally used a firearm in the commission of counts 1 and 2 (§ 12022.5, subd. (a)). The information further alleged that Gonzales had previously suffered a prior serious felony conviction (§ 667, subd. (a)(1)) as well as a strike conviction under the Three Strikes law (§§ 667, subds. (b)–(i), 1170.12, subds. (a)– (d)). The jury convicted Gonzales on counts 1 through 3 and acquitted him on count 4. The jury also found true that he personally used a firearm in the…