Opinion ID: 2675341
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Gang Evidence Claims

Text: Defendant contends the trial court erred in admitting the gang evidence presented at trial. Additionally, assuming certain gang evidence was admissible, defendant claims the prosecution violated its discovery obligation by untimely disclosing its gang expert witness, and that the trial court erred in denying the defense a continuance to prepare for voir dire of the expert. Defendant also contends the proffered gang testimony should have been excluded because the gang expert witness was not qualified to testify. For the reasons discussed below, we find no reversible error based on the admission of the gang expert’s testimony.

Defendant filed a motion to exclude any gang evidence under Evidence Code section 352,24 and argued that the introduction of such evidence would violate his state and federal constitutional rights. The prosecutor argued evidence of the codefendants’ membership in the VBR gang was relevant to show the social association between the codefendants before, during, and after the murder, and that their association was relevant to the issue of aiding and abetting. The prosecutor also argued gang evidence was necessary to explain the meaning of defendant’s statement after the murder regarding his “earning a stripe.” Defendant argued the codefendants’ association was not a contested issue because numerous 24 Evidence Code section 352 provides: “The court in its discretion may exclude evidence if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the probability that its admission will (a) necessitate undue consumption of time or (b) create substantial danger of undue prejudice, of confusing the issues, or of misleading the jury.” 55 witnesses had identified them as being together on the night of the murder. The trial court overruled the defense objections, but agreed to give appropriate limiting instructions about the gang evidence. Later, after the hearing on Sergeant Beard’s qualification as an expert witness, defendant unsuccessfully renewed his objection to the admission of gang evidence. The prosecution presented its gang evidence through the testimony of Sergeant Beard, who testified that VBR was a gang operating in 1994 on the south side of Beaumont. He testified that two address books, one taken from the residence of Hawkins and one taken from defendant’s residence, contained gangstyle lettering and lists of gang monikers. He described tattoos on defendant, Hawkins, and Gallegos, including one on defendant reading “SUR XIII,” a tattoo commonly associated with Hispanic street gangs in Southern California, and another that read “E.S.C.,” which stood for East Side Colton.25 Over defendant’s objection, Sergeant Beard testified a person could be “jumped” into a gang by committing a crime for the group or by being beaten up. He testified Hawkins was a VBR member and Gallegos was an “associate,” but neither defendant nor Varela were members. At the end of Sergeant Beard’s testimony, the trial court instructed the jury that “testimony relating to gang membership was admitted for the limited purpose of showing, if believed, that there existed an association between two or more of the defendants at the time of the alleged crimes. It cannot be considered for any other purpose.” 25 Defense counsel argued defendant’s E.S.C. tattoo showed that, if defendant had any connections to a gang, it was to one from his hometown of Colton, rather than to a gang from Beaumont such as VBR. 56
While gang membership evidence does create a risk the jury will impermissibly infer a defendant has a criminal disposition and is therefore guilty of the offense charged (People v. Williams (1997) 16 Cal.4th 153, 193 (Williams)), “nothing bars evidence of gang affiliation that is directly relevant to a material issue.” (People v. Tuilaepa (1992) 4 Cal.4th 569, 588.) Here, the gang affiliation evidence was relevant to show the codefendants’ relationship with each other and that defendant and the codefendants were part of the group that attacked and killed Walker. Defendant argues the evidence of association was cumulative because other witnesses provided uncontradicted testimony that the codefendants were together on the evening of the murder. However, as defendant acknowledges, codefendant Hawkins tried to raise a doubt about whether he left the party with the group that killed Walker and disposed of his car. Furthermore, prosecution witness Hanvey was unable to identify defendant or Gallegos in a photographic lineup as having been part of the group of Hispanic men at Jay’s Market where the codefendants may have met Walker before kidnapping him and going to the party. The gang affiliation evidence therefore was highly relevant, and not cumulative, in proving the codefendants’ relationship with each other and their involvement in the charged crimes. Evidence of gang affiliation also served to explain defendant’s motive for committing the crimes, particularly the murder. After the killing, defendant bragged about “earning his stripes,” which suggests he intentionally killed Walker to gain membership in a gang. Defendant contends the gang association evidence was not particularly probative because only Hawkins was a VBR member and Gallegos only was identified as an “associate.” However, because the evidence suggests defendant may have committed the murder in order to gain membership 57 in the gang, his lack of membership in VBR at the time of the murder does not affect the probative value of the proffered evidence. We conclude the probative value of the gang evidence was not substantially outweighed by the risk of undue prejudice. We have observed that, because gang evidence may have a highly inflammatory impact on the jury, trial courts should carefully scrutinize such evidence before admitting it. (Williams, supra, 16 Cal.4th at p. 193.) Here, the trial court weighed the probative value of the evidence against its prejudicial impact, and reasonably concluded the evidence should be admitted. “The admission of gang evidence over an Evidence Code section 352 objection will not be disturbed on appeal unless the trial court’s decision exceeds the bounds of reason. [Citation.]” ( People v. Olguin (1994) 31 Cal.App.4th 1355, 1369.) Because the gang evidence was highly probative in this case, and the trial court gave a limiting instruction designed to lessen the risk of undue prejudice, we cannot say the trial court’s decision to allow the gang affiliation evidence exceeded the bounds of reason.

On September 5, 1996, at the hearing on defendant’s motion to exclude gang evidence from his trial, the trial court told the prosecutor he must use an expert witness to present gang evidence, and it directed him to provide the defense with information on his gang expert within the next four days. Defendant’s trial began on September 13, 1996, but the defense did not receive information about the proposed gang expert until the morning of November 4, 1996, well into the presentation of the prosecutor’s case-in-chief. That same day, the trial court held an Evidence Code section 402 hearing on the expert’s qualifications and the admissibility of his testimony. When defendant’s counsel was offered the 58 opportunity to cross-examine Sergeant Beard, she told the court she was not ready because she only learned about the proposed expert that morning. The trial court denied counsel’s request for a continuance, noting this was “a very limited area.” Defendant’s counsel then cross-examined Sergeant Beard. At the end of the hearing, the trial court found the sergeant was qualified to testify as a gang expert.
Defendant contends the trial court’s denial of counsel’s request for a continuance constituted an abuse of discretion and a denial of due process.26 He argues that had the defense been afforded sufficient time to prepare for the in limine hearing, it could have established that Sergeant Beard was not qualified to testify as an expert. Defendant’s claim of prejudice based on the denial of the continuance therefore rests on his argument that Sergeant Beard was not qualified to testify as a gang expert. (People v. Beames (2007) 40 Cal.4th 907, 921.) We need not decide whether the trial court abused its discretion by failing to grant defense counsel a continuance because, as discussed in the next section, the record reflects that Sergeant Beard was amply qualified to testify as a gang expert. Even if the trial court erred in denying the continuance, defendant was not prejudiced, and therefore the error was harmless.
At the end of the in limine hearing, defendant contended Sergeant Beard was unqualified to testify as an expert witness on gangs. The trial court ruled Sergeant Beard could testify as a gang expert. 26 The People acknowledge that, pursuant to sections 1054.1 and 1054.7, a prosecutor is required to disclose to the defense at least 30 days prior to the trial the names and addresses of witnesses the prosecutor intends to call, unless the prosecutor shows good cause. Under section 1054.5, one remedy for late disclosure is a continuance of the matter. 59 At the in limine hearing, Sergeant Beard testified to having the following qualifications: He was a Beaumont police officer for six years, during which time he gained familiarity with the active street gangs in the area. He was specifically familiar with the Hispanic street gang VBR, its members, their monikers (nicknames), and their tattoos. He had undergone 20-to-30 hours of training on the identification of gang members and Hispanic youth gangs through the Department of Justice and the San Bernardino and Riverside County Sheriff’s Departments. “ ‘A person is qualified to testify as an expert if he has special knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education sufficient to qualify him as an expert on the subject to which his testimony relates.’ (Evid. Code, § 720, subd. (a).) ‘ “The trial court is given considerable latitude in determining the qualifications of an expert and its ruling will not be disturbed on appeal unless a manifest abuse of discretion is shown.” ’ [Citation.]” (People v. Davenport (1995) 11 Cal.4th 1171, 1207.) Defendant notes that, at the time of his testimony in defendant’s case, Sergeant Beard had never before qualified to testify in court as a gang expert. Defendant points to Williams, in which the officers who qualified as gang experts had more years of experience with gangs and more hours of specialized training, and had qualified as gang experts in prior trials. (Williams, supra, 16 Cal.4th at p. 195.) Although Sergeant Beard’s experience and training was not as extensive as that of the officers in Williams, we conclude that, given Sergeant Beard’s experience, training, and specific knowledge of a gang involved in this case, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing him to testify as a gang expert. 60