Vargas

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND3

On July 12, 2002, James Barbosa (James) walked to Rivera Park to meet his brother, John Barbosa (John), and Pedro Brache. None was a member of any gang. The park, however, was in territory claimed by the Rivera gang, of which Vargas was an associate or a full member, and her codefendant, Cesar Alcantar, and 15-year-old Daniel Luna were members. As James walked over to join John and Brache, Alcantar blocked his path and repeatedly asked him where he was from. James understood Alcantar was asking whether he was from another gang, and James responded he was not from anywhere, meaning he was not a gang member. But Alcantar accused James of lying and punched him in the jaw. James turned and walked away to avoid any further trouble, and Alcantar, Vargas and Luna went to the back of the park where they spray painted Rivera gang graffiti on a wall.

Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code. 2 Effective June 30, 2022, Penal Code section 1170.95 was renumbered section 1172.6, with no change in text. (Stats. 2022, ch. 58, § 10.) 3 We have granted the parties’ requests to take judicial notice of the record in the appeal from Vargas’s…