Zepeda

Defendant Santos Nieto Zepeda shot a rival gang member in the back, paralyzing him, and then shot and killed the rival’s son. On appeal, he claims the trial court erred by (1) instructing the jury with CALCRIM No. 220, an instruction he claims misstates the proof beyond a reasonable doubt standard by not referring to the conviction of proof being deeply “felt”; and (2) admitting unduly prejudicial evidence in the form of two tracks from a gangster rap CD (compact disc) he wrote.

We disagree with both of defendant’s claims and affirm the judgment. We publish our decision primarily to deter the defense bar from continuing to use defendant’s line of attack against CALCRIM No. 220, and we urge defense counsel to direct their resources to arguably meritorious grounds of appeal.

FACTS

Defendant was charged with murder (Pen. Code, § 187, subd. (a)), attempted murder (§§ 664, 187, subd. (a)), two assaults with a semiautomatic firearm (§ 254, subd. (b)), and, among other enhancements, that he committed the assaults for the benefit of a criminal street gang (§ 186.22, subd. (b)(1)).

In short, the victims and some friends had been partying in the foothills east of Chico. As they…