People v. Cervantes CA4/3

FACTS

Seventeen-year-old G.C. went to codefendant Richard Ramirez’s house to pay off a debt owed by a family member. Ramirez was a drug dealer. When G.C. arrived, Cervantes and Stanley Cruz (another codefendant) accosted G.C., asking him where he was from, and demanding that he show any gang tattoos. When G.C. said he was from the City of Artesia but not in any gangs, Cervantes and Cruz blocked G.C.’s exit path. The defendants were members of gangs hostile to a gang from Artesia. Cervantes went to summon Ramirez. When Ramirez learned that G.C. was from Artesia, he told Cervantes to fetch some rope and tape, which he did, and ultimately G.C. was killed with a lethal dose of heroin. Cervantes then helped dispose of the body and later attempted to clean the scene of the crime to destroy any evidence.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

At trial, the prosecutor presented three theories of murder: felony murder, natural and probable consequences, and direct aiding and abetting. Cervantes was convicted of street terrorism and first degree murder. As to the murder, the jury found true a special circumstance of intentionally killing as an active participant in, and for the benefit of, a criminal…