Velazquez

The victim in this case, in which defendant Jonathan Velazquez was charged with three counts of criminal threats (Pen. Code, 1 § 422) and three counts of dissuading a witness (§ 136.1, subd. (b)(2)) for the benefit of a criminal street gang (§ 186.22, subd. (b)(1)(B), (4)), failed to appear to testify during the prosecution’s case-in-chief. Although there was a witness to the first instance in which defendant threatened the victim and attempted to dissuade her from assisting in the prosecution of his fellow gang members, and that witness testified in the prosecution’s case-in-chief, there was no witness to testify as to the other instances until the victim (who was not under subpoena) came forward to testify in rebuttal—after the trial court denied defendant’s motion for acquittal on the counts related to those instances. Defendant was convicted on all counts and appeals on the ground (among others) that the trial court erred by denying his motion for acquittal. Because there was insufficient evidence at the time of defendant’s motion to support the charges related to those other incidents, we are compelled under Supreme Court precedent to conclude that the trial court…