People v. Maurtua CA2/5

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Facts

On March 19, 2008, Megali Fernandez and Christine Alegre decided to skip high school. They called Maurtua’s sister to ask her to join them. She was asleep, but Maurtua said that he and Christopher Santana would drive over and pick up the girls. Maurtua knew that Santana associated with an El Monte criminal street gang and was known by the gang moniker “Vicious.”3 About a month prior to the murder, Santana told Maurtua, Alegre, Fernandez, and others that he had burgled

3 Maurtua confessed to the police in a recorded interview that was later played for the jury.

4 houses before, and that it was simple. He told them about a particular house. Santana said he knew the girl who lived there, and that the house was “loaded”. The girl had a “buff” brother. Santana said that if the girl and her brother happened to be home when he burgled the house “[h]e would just kill them”. Unbeknownst to Santana at the time, the girl he knew no longer lived at the house; rather, the house was occupied by Hsu Hong, who ultimately was the victim. Santana and Maurtua picked up the girls, and then drove to get Santana’s friend, Christopher Stratis. The group went to…