People v. Maravilla CA1/5

BACKGROUND

Castrejon, whose nickname is “Tito,” grew up in East Oakland, where the Border Brothers gang operates. Appellant is a member of the 81st Avenue Locos, a subset of that gang. Though not a member himself, Castrejon had friends in the Border Brothers. On March 3, 2012, Border Brothers gang member William “Koon” Mejia was murdered, and on May 14, 2012, police issued an arrest warrant for Manuel “Tito” Calderon in connection with that case. Castrejon did not know Mejia, but he had heard about the murder and had been warned by his friends to be careful. Castrejon was not concerned because he had no problems with anyone. In 2012, Castrejon was selling small amounts of marijuana to three or four regular customers to supplement his income from his full-time job. When his customers called, he would arrange to meet them at Tolins Market & Liquor, a store on International Boulevard, because he did not want to disrespect his uncle’s house by selling drugs there. On March 17, 2012, at about 8:00 p.m., Castrejon was waiting for a customer near the store entrance when appellant approached. Castrejon recognized appellant from having met him a year and a half earlier, when they hung out…