People v. Cortez CA2/6

FACTS

Cortez, Ricardo Magaña, and Christian Castaneda were members of the 12th Street Locos, a violent Santa Paula Street gang. One evening, Cortez and Magaña “were hanging out in [a] friend’s backyard” around a bonfire. Castaneda came over. He said “he had a stolen car” and asked Magaña if he “wanted to go ride around with him.” Since Magaña “was [Cortez’s] ride home” and the gang has a rule—“don’t leave a homey on the hang”—Magaña “asked Cortez if he wanted to roll with [them].” Cortez said, “Yeah.” They drove to Steckel Park where Magaña tagged a utility box with their gang monikers and “X3LS”—an abbreviation for 12th Street Locos. Next they drove to Cortez’s house, where Cortez changed into jeans and a hooded sweater and picked up his .38 revolver. Cortez once told Magaña that he liked that type of gun because “it doesn’t leave shell casings,” which “makes it more difficult for a crime to be solved.” Cortez said, “Let’s go to Fillmore.” He said that members of Little Boys, a rival gang, “hang out” in front of a liquor store there. Cortez thought that the three of them “might catch [the Little Boys] slipping,” meaning that they “could find [the Little Boys] off guard, maybe…