Garcia

Introduction

Defendant Angel A. Garcia was convicted of carrying a loaded unregistered firearm in public and of street terrorism. The jury also found true that the firearm charge was committed for the benefit of a criminal street gang. Defendant raises three arguments on appeal. We reject each of those arguments and therefore affirm the judgment.

First, defendant argues there was insufficient evidence supporting the street terrorism conviction and the gang enhancement. There was sufficient evidence of defendant’s active participation in a criminal street gang at the time of the charged offenses, namely, evidence of defendant’s actual knowledge of information available only to active gang members regarding criminal activities of the gang. We publish this case because we hold that evidence of actual knowledge of a criminal street gang’s current activities, including information about where gang members had hidden gang guns and the identity of members who were engaged in gang shootings, when an expert testifies such information is available only to other active gang members, satisfies the statutory requirement of active participation in a gang. Additionally, sufficient…