P. v. Garza CA4/1
Defendant Joseph Alex Garza appeals from a conviction after a jury found him guilty of voluntary manslaughter. Garza shot the victim, a member of a rival gang, after Garza spotted the victim and some friends walking down Garza's street, toward his residence.
On appeal, Garza raises two claims. First, he challenges the trial court's admission of the testimony of a gang expert who was called by the prosecutor during the prosecution's case-in-chief. Garza contends that the trial court abused its discretion in permitting the prosecutor to present the testimony of a gang expert because there was no gang offense charged and no gang enhancement alleged. He asserts that the gang expert's testimony was cumulative and unduly prejudicial, and therefore, should have been excluded.
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