P. v. Martinez CA2/5

Filed 3/28/13 P. v. Martinez CA2/5 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 FIVE

THE PEOPLE, B239357

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. MA046718) v.

JONATHAN MARTINEZ,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Lisa M. Chung, Judge. Affirmed. Lynda A. Romero, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Scott A. Taryle and John Yang, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. _______________

Appellant Jonathan Martinez was convicted, following a jury trial, of two counts of second degree murder in violation of Penal Code section 187, subdivision (a).1 The jury found true the allegations that the murders were committed for the benefit of a criminal street gang within the meaning of section 186.22, subdivision (b)(4) and also found true various firearm allegations, including one pursuant to section 12022.53, subdivision (d). The trial court sentenced appellant to 15 years to life in state prison for each murder conviction, plus a 25 years to life enhancement term for each conviction for the firearm allegation, for a total of 80 years to life in state prison. Appellant appeals from the judgment of conviction, contending that there is insufficient evidence to support his convictions. We affirm the judgment of conviction.

Facts On August 30, 2009, a group of people were gathered at the Giron home on Poseidon Drive in Palmdale. The gathering was a continuation of a birthday party which had begun at another house. About 1:00 a.m., five of the attendees were in the garage with the door open. Francisco Govea saw two women and three or four men standing around his Suzuki, which was parked across the street. One of the men was appellant. Some members of the group were leaning on the Suziki or sitting on it. Francisco asked the group to get off his "Mercedes-Benz." They did not. Francisco's girlfriend, Ashley, yelled at the women to get off the car. The women across the street then became involved in a verbal exchange with Ashley, Candice Giron and Candice's sister, Stephanie. The women began to walk toward each other. Francisco and two other men from the party, Pablo Reyes and David Martinez, walked out to make peace. Just as it appeared that the confrontation had been resolved, Candice's brother-in-law, Chris Flores, took off his shirt and yelled his gang affiliation, "CKF." The men in the group by the car all responded "DAF." DAF was a rival gang. One of the men, Jorge Linares, took off his shirt and ran toward Flores. They met in the