People v. Melendez CA2/3

Filed 3/23/15 P. v. Melendez CA2/3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 THREE

THE PEOPLE, B250067

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BA395226) v.

JAVIER MELENDEZ,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, George Gonzales Lomeli, Judge, Kathleen Kennedy, Judge. Affirmed with directions. Ava R. Stralla, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Assistant Attorney General, James William Bilderback II, and Kathy S. Pomerantz, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

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Defendant and appellant, Javier Melendez, appeals his conviction of assault with a firearm (two counts), attempted murder (two counts), carrying a concealed weapon, and shooting at an occupied vehicle, with criminal street gang and firearm enhancements (Pen. Code, §§ 245, 664, 187, 25400, 246, 186.22, subd. (b), 12022.5, 12022.53).1 He was sentenced to state prison for a term of 52 years to life. The judgment is affirmed with directions. BACKGROUND Viewed in accordance with the usual rule of appellate review (People v. Ochoa (1993) 6 Cal.4th 1199, 1206), the evidence established the following. 1. Prosecution evidence. On March 16, 2012, Erick Beltran and Faustino Zamudio were working as security guards at the Fallas Paredes Shopping Center. Beltran was driving a patrol car, a red Ford Fusion, and Zamudio was in the front passenger seat. Both men were armed. They saw defendant Melendez, his brother Mauricio2 and Jose Luis Luna “throwing” gang signs while drinking beer and screaming at passing cars. One of the three men threw a bottle at a passing car. Beltran drove slowly toward them, going about 10 miles per hour with his headlights illuminating the area. Mauricio and Luna said something to Melendez, who turned around, pulled a revolver from his waistband and pointed it at Beltran. Melendez yelled, “What’s up homie?” and fired two or three shots at the patrol car. Beltran jumped out of the patrol car, took cover behind the front car door, and fired back at Melendez. Mauricio and Luna started shooting at Beltran. Melendez also fired at Beltran two or three more times, and Beltran retreated to the rear of the car while shooting back at Melendez. Meanwhile, Zamudio had also jumped out of the patrol car. All three men shot at Zamudio and he shot back at Mauricio and Luna. Melendez began running away from the shootout, firing as he went. Mauricio and Luna ran toward an 1 All further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise specified. 2 Because defendant Melendez and Mauricio share the same last name, we refer to Mauricio by his first name to avoid confusion. 2