Gallegos

A jury convicted Edward Alvarado Gallegos of second degree murder (Pen. Code, § 187), willful, deliberate and premeditated attempted murder (Pen. Code, §§ 664, 187), possession of heroin (Health & Saf. Code, § 11350) and six counts of assault with a handgun (Pen. Code, § 245, subd. (a)(1)). The jury further found that during all the nondrug offenses, Gallegos had used a handgun. (Pen. Code, § 12022.5.) He was sentenced to prison for 15 years to life, with a consecutive life term, and appeals, claiming jury instruction error and insufficiency of the evidence. We reject all his contentions, save his insufficiency of the evidence argument as to three of the assaults.

Facts

On January 24, 1992, Gallegos was among a crowd of hundreds at a Coachella nightclub where a Tejano singer and his band were performing. Gallegos, who was standing inches from the stage at the front of the very crowded dance floor, leapt up onto the stage, pulled out a .25-caliber handgun, approached the singer and began firing from about three feet away, hitting him in the upper body. The singer, hereinafter referred to as the attempted murder victim, tried to run from Gallegos, who continued to fire at…