People v. Valenzuela CA2/1

Filed 10/24/25 P. v. Valenzuela CA2/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

THE PEOPLE, B340254

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. XSCMA036245) v.

RICARDO VALENZUELA,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Kathleen Blanchard, Judge. Affirmed. Randy S. Kravis, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey, Assistant Attorney General, Kenneth C. Byrne and Allison H. Chung, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. ____________________________

Defendant Ricardo Valenzuela appeals from the denial of his resentencing petition under Penal Code1 section 1172.6, formerly section 1170.95. Defendant argues substantial evidence does not support the trial court’s conclusion that he directly aided and abetted murder and attempted murder. We disagree and affirm.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND Because defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence, we summarize that evidence in the light most favorable to the judgment. (See People v. Reyes (2023) 14 Cal.5th 981, 988.) Defendant was a member of Trust No Bitch (TNB), a criminal street gang. TNB was rivals with Young Boys Rifa (YBR), another gang.

1. May 6, 2006 incident On May 6, 2006, Oscar Flores was pulling out of a gas station in a white Nissan Sentra. In the car with him were YBR member Ezekiel Gonzalez and a person known as “Socko.” Flores denied being a gang member himself. Flores saw defendant driving alone in a white Ford Festiva.2 Defendant said, “TNB,” and began shooting at Flores’s car. Flores drove away. The shooting shattered three windows in Flores’s car and left multiple bullet holes.