People v. Molina CA1/2

BACKGROUND

It will not be necessary to recapitulate the trial record of more than 4,000 pages. Defendant directly challenges only two of his nine convictions. He does not challenge the gang-related count and enhancements, evidencing that he does dispute his gang membership or that a number of crimes were committed “with the specific intent to promote, further, or assist in any criminal conduct” by a criminal street gang (Pen. Code, § 186.22, subd. (b)). The evidence in connection with the two challenged murder counts will be recounted when the merits of defendant’s attack are considered at a later point in this opinion. A narrative encompassing the unchallenged convictions may therefore be reduced to the following: According to the prosecution’s gang expert witness and former gang members, by 2007, the VFL and ML Sureño gangs were encountering hard times. Gang members were breaking the prohibition on killing other members, and successive leaders were forced to leave the country. Following an informal amalgamation, VFL and ML members sought to boost their waning prestige with a strategy of killing rival Norteño gang members. Defendant was a member of VFL and one of the members…