People v. Peralta CA2/6

FACTS

The facts underlying appellant's convictions are not relevant to the issue raised on appeal, so we need not discuss them in detail. At the preliminary hearing, the prosecution presented evidence that appellant stole approximately $150 from the Perfect Party store in Oxnard with preplanned assistance from a friend, Jessica Velasco, who worked there. Appellant entered the store, approached Velasco at the cash register, and told her to give him the money, gesturing toward his waistband as if to indicate that he had a gun. Velasco later confessed her involvement in the burglary when confronted by the police with a series of incriminating text messages. Around two weeks later, appellant, a member of the El Rio Trouble gang, fired two rounds from a shotgun at a vehicle driven by Julio Hurtado, a member of the rival Can't Stop Rascals (KS) gang. A nearby resident heard the shots. Appellant sent text messages at the time of the shooting to a friend who lived nearby, stating that he "hit the car" and referencing Hurtado's gang moniker, Striker. Appellant's associate Charlie Cervantes told the police that he was driving appellant that evening and observed…