People v. Salinas CA2/8

Filed 2/18/26 P. v. Salinas CA2/8 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 EIGHT

THE PEOPLE, B341570

Plaintiff and Respondent, Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. TA128998 v.

GILBERTO SALINAS, et al.,

Defendants and Appellants.

APPEAL from orders of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Laura R. Walton, Judge. Reversed and remanded with instructions. Jennifer Peabody and Keilana Truong, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant Raul Garay. Jonathan Demson and Eric R. Larson, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant Gilberto Salinas. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Charles C. Ragland, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey, Assistant

Attorney General, Noah P. Hill and Heidi Salerno, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. ____________________ Pursuant to a plea bargain, Raul Garay and Gilberto Salinas pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter and one count of attempted murder. Both petitioned the court for resentencing pursuant to section 1172.6. The court denied each man’s petition. We affirm the trial court’s denial of the petitions as to the attempted murder charges. We reverse and remand for the trial court to hold another evidentiary hearing pursuant to section 1172.6, subdivision (d)(3) to determine whether Garay and Salinas would be guilty of murder beyond a reasonable doubt under current law. Code citations are to the Penal Code. I We begin with the pertinent factual and procedural background. Garay and Salinas both told police they were members of the Hangout Boys gang. The Hangout Boys and Playboys are rivals. Enrique Cardozo is a member of the Playboys criminal gang. His sister’s boyfriend, Javier Garcia, is also a member of the Playboys gang. His friend Rodolfo Alarcon is also a member. Garay, Salinas, Cardozo, Alarcon, and Garcia all attended a large baptismal party one evening. While dancing, a woman made a hand sign that represented the Hangout Boys. Shortly after, Alarcon got into a fistfight with a member of the Hangout Boys group toward the back of the party. When a crowd went toward the fight, it broke up. Garay had the following text message conversation with a contact labeled “LT” in his cell phone: