P. v. Orozco CA3
The background facts are taken from our prior opinion in People v. Orozco (Jan. 4, 2012, C065146 [nonpub. opn.] (Orozco). Defendant and his codefendant Jose Jesus Gomez, both Norteño gang members, killed Juan Alberto Sanchez-Chavez. The killing occurred when defendant, Gomez, and two others drove to a gas station after an evening of drinking beer. Sanchez-Chavez, a Sureño gang member, encountered them at the station. After the defendant and Gomez exchanged words with Sanchez-Chavez, the three men physically fought. When Sanchez-Chavez fell to the ground, Gomez picked up a piece of wood and hit him in the head with it until it broke. Defendant picked up a 36-pound rock and dropped it on Sanchez-Chavez. Gomez picked up the victim’s phone and then drove away with defendant and the other two men. Gomez later tossed the phone away. Sanchez-Chavez died four days later of severe traumatic brain injury due to blunt force trauma to his head. (Orozco, supra, C065146.)
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