People v. Navarro CA2/8

BACKGROUND

On the evening of July 23, 2003, Alvaro S. was hanging out in the courtyard of a Long Beach apartment building with his two sons and four other men. A group of males entered the courtyard. One of the intruding males asked who was “the one fucking with [his] sister” and in short order, a “melee ensued.” More than one of the assailants yelled out “This is BST,” referring to Barrio Small Town, a criminal street gang. Alvaro S. was fatally stabbed in the abdomen during the attack, and two of the other men who had been in the courtyard with him received nonfatal knife wounds. (People v. Navarro (B236494; July 19, 2013) [nonpub. opn.].) Defendant was charged, along with three codefendants, with one count of murder (Pen. Code, § 187, subd. (a)) and two counts of attempted murder (§§ 187, subd. (a), 664, subd. (a)) arising from the gang-related attack. Defendant’s codefendants were three of his fellow BST gang members, one of whom was his brother. (None of the codefendants is a party to this appeal.) At trial, there was no direct evidence presented that defendant wielded the knife that caused the injuries to the victims, or that he knew any codefendant was armed. There was…