People v. Gallardo CA4/3

Filed 1/23/25 P. v. Gallardo CA4/3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS

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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent, G062981

v. (Super. Ct. No. 16WF2497)

ROBERTO RAFAEL SAAVEDRA OPINION GALLARDO,

Defendant and Appellant.

Appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court of Orange County, Richard M. King, Judge. Affirmed as modified. Joshua L. Siegel, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters and Charles C. Ragland, Assistant Attorneys General, Melissa Mandel and Seth M. Friedman, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. * * *

A jury convicted defendant Roberto Rafael Saavedra Gallardo (defendant) of one count of first degree murder (Pen. Code, § 187, subd. (a); count 1) and found true the special circumstance of murder for financial gain 1 (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(1)). The court sentenced defendant to life without the possibility of parole. Defendant raises two issues on appeal. First, he contends the court incorrectly instructed the jury on motive as it pertained to the financial gain special circumstance. Second, he argues the court imposed an unauthorized parole revocation fine. We agree with defendant’s latter contention and modify the judgment by striking the $300 parole revocation fine. In all other respects, the judgment is affirmed. FACTS2 Defendant met Olga Vasquez-Collazos (Olga) in Peru. Defendant and Olga dated, but Olga ultimately married another man, Adrian Zapata (Adrian). Adrian owned a condominium in Peru and lived in the United States. After their marriage, Olga remained in Peru, where she had an ongoing affair with defendant. In 2013, Olga and her two sons moved from Peru to Westminster to be with Adrian. About a year later, defendant moved from Peru to Van Nuys and continued to see Olga, who communicated with him via a secret cell phone. In May 2014, two months after defendant arrived in California, Adrian was murdered in his apartment.