P. v. Perez
Two gang members brutally beat a rival gang member to unconsciousness and rolled him in a trash can to an empty lot where their fellow gang members hang out. A third gang member at the lot “finished the job” by swinging a t-shirt full of cinderblock shards at the rival’s head, moving the rival’s body to a park, and setting it ablaze. A jury convicted the first two gang members of kidnapping and second degree murder and the third of first degree murder. They all appeal. We conclude the trial court properly admitted the jailhouse confessions of two of the three gang members, properly instructed the jury, and properly imposed separate sentences for the kidnapping and murder. We further conclude that the convictions are supported by substantial evidence. Thus, we affirm the convictions and sentences, except to direct that clerical errors in two of the sentences be corrected.
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