Saucedo

Defendant and appellant Luis Saucedo argues on appeal that his robbery convictions (Pen. Code, § 211) should be reversed on the basis of instructional error, prosecutorial misconduct, ineffective assistance of counsel, and juror misconduct. We affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On the evening of June 14, 2002, Saucedo confronted Jesus Pineda, Joseph Castro, and George Cabrera as they left a La Puente apartment building. Saucedo demanded to know where Pineda and the others were from; Pineda answered that he was from nowhere and was a “paisa,” a person from Mexico who does not speak English. Saucedo accused him of lying, put a gun to Pineda’s forehead, and announced that the men were in his barrio. Saucedo and his companion, Nicholas Papp, held the men at gunpoint, took their possessions, ordered them out of their van, and beat them, kicked them, and pistol-whipped them before threatening to kill them if they called the police.

As a result of the attacks, Pineda was unconscious and bloodied to the point of being unrecognizable. He suffered a seizure, a dislocated jaw, and permanent vision damage, and was hospitalized for a week after the attack. Cabrera’s face was…