People v. Lozolla CA4/2

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On August 26, 1996, the victims, Antonio Reyes and Raymond Jaramillo, visited

Yvonne Mendez’s home in Colton. Daniel Lopez and defendant were already there, and

they told Reyes and Jaramillo that they were from “North Side Colton,” a local gang.

One of the victims said they were from “West Side Verdugo,” also known as

“Mt. Vernon,” a gang that had problems with the North Side Colton gang.

The victims left and said they would return later. When they returned, they went

to a bedroom and lay on the bed with Mendez. Defendant, Lopez, Michael Hernandez,

and Jesse Perez (all North Side Colton gang members) also entered the bedroom.

The four intruders asked the victims, “What are you punks doing here?” The

victims identified themselves as “Mt. Vernon” gang members and tried to leave the

bedroom. All four of the intruders pulled out guns and said, “You guys aren’t going no

All further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated. On our own motion we take judicial notice of the opinion from defendant’s appeal of the judgment. (People v. Lozolla (Dec. 12, 1998, E021055) [nonpub. opn.].) The opinion was…