Briceno

Certified for Partial Publication. [*]

A jury convicted Alberto Briceno and Evaristo Landin of four counts of second degree robbery and street terrorism and found allegations the robberies were committed for the benefit of a criminal street gang were true. The court found Briceno had suffered two prior serious felony convictions and a prior prison term. Defendants complain of the admission of gang expert testimony, instructional error, and the insufficiency of the evidence to support various convictions and enhancements.

Because a criminal street gang enhancement (Pen.Code, § 186.22, subd. (b)(1)) cannot be used to transform an unenumerated offense into a "serious" felony, we agree the prosecution failed to prove Briceno suffered a "strike" prior under the Three Strikes law, and remand for a new sentencing hearing. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the balance of the judgment.

Briceno and Landin launched a grinchly crime wave on Christmas Day 2000, divesting four individuals of their cash and property. Around 1:00 a.m., defendants stopped their first victim, Ross Lambert, at gunpoint outside a Costa Mesa bar. Lambert relinquished the cash in his pocket…