Filed 3/22/22 P. v. Gonzalez CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115. IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Yolo) ---- THE PEOPLE, C086562 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. CRF-16-4909) v. JUSTIN MATTHEW GONZALEZ et al., Defendants and Appellants. A jury convicted defendants Justin Matthew Gonzalez and Alexis Ivan Velazquez of the murder of Ronald Antonio.1 Gonzalez and Velazquez, who belonged to the Varrio Bosque Norteño gang (also known as VBN), evidently mistook Antonio for a rival gang member. Gonzalez held Antonio and Velazquez stabbed him. 1 The defendants’ briefs refer to the victim as Ronald Antonio Fontanilla. Witnesses at trial, including the victim’s sister, refer to him as Ronald Antonio, as do we. 1 The jury found Gonzalez guilty of second degree murder (Pen. Code, § 187)2 and Velazquez guilty of first degree murder (§§ 187, 189). The jury also found Gonzalez guilty of criminal street gang activity (§ 186.22, subd. (a)) and found true the allegation that he murdered Antonio for the benefit of a criminal street gang (§ 186.22, subd. (b)(1)). In Velazquez’s case, the jury found that he personally used a dangerous or deadly weapon to kill Antonio (§ 12022, subd. (b)(1)) and committed the murder for the benefit of the gang (§ 186.22, subd. (b)(1)). Gonzalez was sentenced to 70 years to life plus 20 years for two prior convictions. Velazquez was sentenced to life without parole. Gonzalez contends that Senate Bill No. 1437 (2017-2018 Reg. Sess.), which adopted section 1170.95 eliminating the natural and probable consequences doctrine as it relates to murder, is retroactive to his case and requires reversal of his murder conviction. In supplemental briefing, Gonzalez further asserts that Senate Bill No. 775 (2021-2022 Reg. Sess.) also applies retroactively and permits him to raise the elimination of the natural and probable consequences doctrine on direct appeal. The Attorney General concedes Senate Bill No. 1437 and Senate Bill No. 775 apply retroactively, but argues that based on the record Gonzalez is not entitled to reversal. We disagree. Therefore, we reverse Gonzalez’s conviction for second degree murder. As Gonzalez’s other claims are moot in light of this conclusion, we do not address them. Velazquez’s sole contention on appeal is that the trial court erred in responding to the jury’s question regarding the meaning of the phrase “knowing the consequences” in CALCRIM No. 521, the pattern instruction on first degree murder. We find no error in the court’s answer, which was appropriately based on People v. Cordero (1989) 216 Cal.App.3d 275, 282 (Cordero). 2 All undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code. 2 FACTUAL BACKGROUND On August 30, 2016, Yair C., a former Norteño gang member, was living in the Casa del Sol mobile …
Original document
Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals