Ocegueda

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. Facts of the Offense 1. Overview Defendant did not deny shooting Martin Garcia on at a New Year’s Eve party in 2011. Defendant gave a statement to police in which he admitted shooting Garcia, but he claimed he did so out of fear because he believed Garcia was pulling a gun on him. At trial, the prosecution offered evidence that defendant was a member of the Vagos, a subset of the Sureño criminal street gang in Salinas. The prosecution’s gang expert opined that defendant shot Garcia for the benefit of the gang. Defendant put forth the theory that Garcia and other persons at the party were Norteño gang members, such that defendant feared for his safety just before the shooting. 2. Testimony of Dulce Meraz Dulce Meraz testified as follows. On December 31, 2011, her family was hosting a New Year’s Eve party at their house in Watsonville. About 15 to 25 people attended, including older relatives and young children. The party was intended to be a family gathering and, to Meraz’s knowledge, nobody at the party was associated with gangs. The invitees included Jesse Renteria and his girlfriend Niniana Rivera. Martin Garcia came with Renteria and…