Opinion
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED
Super. Ct. No. 2006013197
ORDER MODIFYING OPINION AND DENYING REHEARING [NO CHANGE IN JUDGMENT]
THE COURT:
It is ordered that the opinion filed herein on March 24, 2008, be modified as follows:
1. On page 2, the first full paragraph is deleted and the following paragraphs are inserted in its place:
Appellant was born in June 1989. In 2006, he lived with his family in Ventura County, where the Lemonwood Chiques and Colonia Chiques were rival street gangs. In February 2006, he admitted to Oxnard police officers that he was a Lemonwood gang member, and "Lemonwood" was scratched into a bench in his yard. In March 2006, Oxnard Police Officer Adam Wittkins, a gang investigator, searched appellant's room and found that it was "replete" with Lemonwood tagging. Wittkins took special notice of a shirt that displayed the name "Eastside," with an "X" through it. Wearing that shirt in public would be equivalent to challenging Colonia gang members to fight.
On June 19, 2006, police officers stopped appellant as he was driving a stolen vehicle without a driver's license. The officers searched him and found two knives and marijuana. Appellant was detained in the juvenile facility (JF). On June 21, a wardship petition was filed pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 602, alleging that appellant had unlawfully driven or taken a vehicle (Veh. Code, § 10851, subd. (a)), a felony, with a gang enhancement (§ 186.22, subd. (d)); carried a switch-blade knife (§ 653k); driven while unlicensed (Veh. Code, § 12500, subd. (a)); and possessed 28.5 or fewer grams of marijuana (Health & Saf. Code, § 11357, subd. (b)). On July 12, the court sustained the allegation that appellant unlawfully drove or took a vehicle, but did not sustain any other allegation of the petition. The court set a total maximum term of confinement of three years two months, and placed appellant in the care of the probation officer, to remain in the JF, pending disposition of the petition.
2. On page 3, the first sentence of the first complete paragraph is deleted and the following sentence is inserted in its place:
During a contested adjudication hearing, Wittkins, an expert on Ventura County street gangs, testified regarding the Lemonwood Chiques and its rivalry with the Colonia Chiques.
3. On page 5, the second full paragraph is deleted and the following paragraphs are inserted in its place:
Appellant admitted his association with the Lemonwood Chiques gang in February and March of 2006. Police officers observed Lemonwood graffiti in his home and yard. While searching appellant's room in March 2006, Wittkins found a shirt that Colonia gang members would perceive as "a challenge to fight" if appellant had worn it. While detained at the JF in July, appellant admitted that he etched "LW," the Lemonwood gang's initials, on the sink in his room. On September 20, 2006, appellant hit Juan O., an affiliate of Colonia, Lemonwood's rival gang, on the back of the head with a plastic tray, without any apparent provocation. A note or graffiti saying "187 Colonia Chiques" was found in appellant's cell after the attack.
The evidence established that a gang member or associate must "put in work" for the gang, which includes assaulting members of rival gangs. The gang expert explained that, because many minors witnessed the incident, appellant's assault on Juan O., a member of a rival gang, would enhance the reputation of appellant's gang. Substantial evidence supports the finding that appellant battered Juan O. with the specific intent to promote future crimes by other gang members. (See People v. Gardeley, supra, 14 Cal.4th 605, 619; People v. Sengpadychith (2001) 26 Cal.4th 316, 323-324; compare In re Frank S. (2006) 141 Cal.App.4th 1192, 1196.)
There is no change in the judgment.
Appellant's petition for rehearing is denied.