People v. Solis CA4/3

Filed 6/2/16 P. v. Solis 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NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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, G050541, G050735

v. (Super. Ct. No. 13ZF0171)

WESLEY LEONEL SOLIS AND, OPINION GERARDO CHAVIRA, JR.,

Defendants and Appellants.

Appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court of Orange County, Steven D. Bromberg, Judge. Affirmed. Allison L. Ehlert, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant Wesley Leonel Solis. Patricia L. Brisbois, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant Gerardo Chavira. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Gerald A. Engler, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Julie L. Garland, Assistant Attorney General, Melisa Mandel, Donald Ostertag, and Stephanie H. Chow, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

The trial court found Wesley Leonel Solis and Gerardo Chavira, Jr., (defendants) guilty of assault by means likely to cause great bodily injury (Pen. Code, § 245, subd. (a)(4)), and found true a sentencing enhancement allegation that defendants committed the assault for the “benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with,” the Mexican Mafia (Pen. Code, § 186.22, subd. (b)(1)). The court sentenced defendants to three years for the assault, plus a consecutive three-year term for the gang enhancement, all to be served concurrently with sentences they were then serving in other cases. Defendants challenge the gang enhancement on grounds the court erroneously admitted the victim’s hearsay statements, and the admission of these statements violated both state evidentiary laws and their federal Sixth Amendment right to confront adverse witnesses. We disagree and affirm the judgment. FACTS In 2012, the Santa Ana Police Department participated in a multi-agency investigation into the Mexican Mafia. The investigation targeted Ralph “Rafa” Bernal, a Santa Nita street gang member. The task force believed Bernal was a “tax” collector for the Mexican Mafia. In other words, he extorted money from drug-dealing members of Hispanic street gangs, and he passed the proceeds to the Mexican Mafia. In February, a confidential informant wearing a wire met with Bernal to pay taxes on his drug sales. The informant had information John Alvarado, an associate of the McClay Street gang, had been buying drugs from Bernal and owed him money. During their conversation, Bernal told the informant “John-John” owed him money. In May, a group of jail inmates assaulted Alvarado, and he was moved into protective custody. Alvarado told Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy Brian Murray, a jail classification deputy investigating the assault, he had been targeted because he owed drug money to some “Southsiders.” Murray asked Alvarado what he planned to do about the situation. Alvarado said he was going to contact a few gang members, including Bernal, in an effort to clear the debt, but he needed to be in protective custody in the meantime.