Avila

Defendant Joseph Avila was convicted of the first degree murders of Raul Moneada and Robert Navarro, and the attempted murder, of David Montoya. (Pen. Code, §§ 187, 189, 664.) The jury also found true the multiple-murder special-circumstance allegation, and allegations that the murders and attempted murder were willful, deliberate, and premeditated, defendant inflicted great bodily injury on Montoya, and defendant personally used a dangerous or deadly weapon, i.e., a knife, in each crime. (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(3); former § 664, subd. (1), now § 664, subd. (a); § 1192.7, subd. (c)(8), (23); § 12022, subd. (b); former § 12022.7, now § 12022.7, subd. (a).) It returned a death verdict, and the trial court entered a judgment of death. This appeal is automatic. (Cal. Const., art. VI, § 11; Pen. Code, § 1239, subd. (b).) For the reasons that follow, we affirm the judgment.

I. Factual Background

A. Guilt Phase

1. Prosecution Evidence

In the early morning hours of Saturday, January 12, 1991, a group of friends including Raul Moneada, Robert (“Bobby”) Navarro, David Montoya, Jeffrey Winn, Anthony Padilla, Manuel Moreno, Luis Robledo, Lawrence (“Larry”) Casas, Anthony (“Tony”)…