People v. Orozco CA5

INTRODUCTION

A jury convicted Eliseo Orozco (appellant) of second degree murder (§ 187, subd. (a); count 1)1 and willful, deliberate, and premeditated attempted murder (§§ 664/187, subd. (a); count 2). As to each count, the jury found true a gang enhancement (§ 186.22, subd. (b)(1)) and a firearm enhancement (§§ 12022.53, subd. (d), 12022.5, subd. (a)). The trial court sentenced appellant to 55 years to life plus four years in state prison. Appellant was not convicted until his third trial. His first trial ended in a mistrial because the jury deadlocked on the verdict. His second trial ended in a mistrial before the close of evidence because the trial court discharged several jurors for good cause and ran out of alternates. On appeal, appellant contends the trial court erred in admitting the prior testimony of three witnesses to the murder. We conclude the People exercised reasonable diligence in attempting to procure the attendance of the witnesses, and therefore, admission of the prior testimony was proper. We also reject appellant’s claims that defense counsel was ineffective for failing to object to the trial court’s facemask requirements, and that appellant is entitled to…