People v. Martinez CA2/3

INTRODUCTION

A jury found defendant and appellant Jimmy M. Martinez (defendant) guilty of murder and attempted murder and found true gun and gang allegations. The main evidence against defendant consisted of his incriminating jailhouse statements to undercover deputies. On appeal, defendant contends that his statements are insufficient to support the judgment and that their admission violated his due process rights. He also argues that the evidence is insufficient to show that the crimes were premeditated and deliberate and to support the true finding on the gang allegation. We reject all contentions and affirm the judgment.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

I. Factual background.

A. June 25, 2012: the murder of Guillermo Reyes and attempted murder of Jaime Martinez.1 At approximately 10:40 p.m. on June 25, 2012, Reyes was shot and killed while driving a Honda on Center Street in Baldwin Park. Martinez was with Reyes. Reyes was a North Side Bolen Parque gang member, and Martinez was either a member or an associate of the gang. One of the gang’s rivals was Kings Have Arrived (KHA), to which defendant belonged. Martinez testified at trial that he didn’t recall what…