People v. Salazar CA2/1

BACKGROUND

“Salazar, De[H]errera and Hiriarte were members of the Maywood Locos gang. On May 31, 1997, Salazar (wearing a

1 All further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated.

2 yellow and blue jacket) met up with De[H]errera and Hiriarte a few blocks away from Slauson Avenue (the ‘boundary’ between the Locos gang’s ‘territory’ and the ‘territory’ occupied by the 18th Street gang). The three men walked across Slauson, into an area they knew was 18th Street territory. Meanwhile, Victor Vaca (the victim) and three other men (Javier Perez, Juan Vaca and Pedro Marin) were ‘socializing’ in a parking lot. Perez saw two men approach, heard one ask Vaca something about ‘18,’ then heard and saw a shot. Perez ducked behind a van, then heard more shots that sounded as though they were coming from two different guns. Perez stood up and saw two people run through the parking lot toward the street. One of the shooters (later identified as Salazar) was wearing a yellow and blue jacket. “A security guard (Daniel Gonzalez) driving through the area heard approximately 10 gunshots fired in rapid succession. He then saw three men dart in front of his car, running…