P. v. Taylor CA3
Following a joint trial, a jury convicted Ruben Ramon Guajardo, the shooter, and his cousin Gino Wayne Taylor, an aider and abettor, of the first degree murder of Victor Aranda. Guajardo confessed during the investigation and the jury rejected his claim of self-defense. Both defendants challenge the admissibility of Instagram posts on multiple grounds. We conclude the trial court did not abuse its discretion by admitting the social media evidence; nor did the admission of the evidence violate either defendants’ constitutional right to due process. We accept the Attorney General’s concession that Guajardo’s prior juvenile adjudication does not qualify as a strike under the three strikes law and remand for resentencing. We reject, however, the remaining instructional and sentencing challenges, and in all other respects, affirm the judgments.
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