People v. Santana CA5

FACTS

On March 25, 2011, at approximately 2:15 p.m. on Kings Canyon Road in Fresno, Sebastian Cruz, Juan Lopez, and 17-year-old Santana, became involved in a fight with Junior Villarreal and Juan Garcia. During the fight, Santana pulled out a knife and stabbed Villarreal in the chest, mortally wounding him. On March 6, 2012, the district attorney filed a first amended complaint charging Santana with the murder of Villarreal (count 1/§ 187, subd. (a)), the assault with a deadly weapon of Garcia (count 2), street terrorism (count 3/§ 186.22, subd. (a)), a personal use of a knife enhancement in count 1, and a gang enhancement in counts 1 and 2. Also on March 6, 2012, as part of a plea bargain, Santana pled no contest to an amended charge of voluntary manslaughter in count 1 and assault with a deadly weapon in count 2 and he admitted the arming enhancement in count 1. In exchange for his plea

All further statutory references are to the Penal Code, unless otherwise indicated.

2 Santana was to receive a stipulated 12-year term on those two counts and the weapon enhancement. The agreement also provided that the gang enhancement in count 1 would be tried by the court and that…