P.v. Delcastillo CA6

I. INTRODUCTION

A jury convicted defendant Randy Delcastillo in 1997 of two counts of first degree murder (Pen. Code, § 187)1 and two counts of robbery (§§ 211, 212.5, former subd. (b)). For the first degree murder counts, the jury found true special circumstances regarding multiple murders, murder while lying in wait, and murder during commission of a felony (robbery) (§§ 190.2, subd. (a)(3), (a)(15), 211, 212.5). For all four counts, the jury found not true allegations that defendant was armed with a handgun but found true allegations that defendant committed the offenses to benefit a criminal street gang, while for the two murder counts and one of the robbery counts, the jury found true allegations that defendant carried a handgun on his person or in a vehicle (§§ 186.22, subd. (b), 12021.5, 12022, subd. (a)(1)). The trial court sentenced defendant to life without the possibility of parole plus five years.

1 All further statutory references are to the Penal Code. In defendant’s direct appeal from the judgment, this court reversed defendant’s conviction on one of the robbery counts and the robbery-murder special circumstances for lack of substantial evidence, and struck the…