People v. Ambriz CA2/2

FACTS

The Shooting In the early afternoon of October 3, 2012, appellant, a member of the Carmelas gang, and his girlfriend Crystal Martinez (Martinez) left the motel where they were staying in Buena Park and drove around in a white Ford Expedition (the SUV).2 Appellant received a phone call from a man, and spoke with him through a feature on his cell phone that operated like a walkie-talkie. After speaking with the man, appellant

1 All further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated. 2 Martinez was handcuffed and wearing county jail blues while testifying. She had been arrested for failing to respond to a subpoena to appear in court for this case. She failed to appear because she was scared; she did not want to testify and had been harassed in custody.

2 drove to the parking lot of a Jack-in-the-Box restaurant in Bellflower. As appellant and Martinez sat in the parking lot, appellant continued to speak with the man on the walkie- talkie. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sergeant Marc Boskovich was also in the parking lot as part of an undercover narcotics sting operation. He was inside a green Ford Windstar minivan (the minivan) with tinted windows,…