Although a "continuing" conspiracy is not probable in some situations (see People v. Pic'l (1981) 114 Cal. He looks keenly at everyone who enters or leaves the courtroom, though spectators are warned not to look back, because communication with the accused is strictly forbidden. (SeeBruton v. United States (1968) 391 U.S. 123 [20 L. Ed. App. (See People v. McGautha (1969) 70 Cal. This evidence was relevant because (1) it explained the presence of the three men in Bakersfield on October 21, and (2) it showed that the men dutifully followed the orders given by Nuestra Familia superiors. "The gangsters who remain are becoming very paranoid," said Charles Constantinides. Herminio Spankio Serna, 53, was found unresponsive in his one-person cell on death row, said CDCR spokeswoman Terry Thornton. The Rise and Fall of the Nuestra Familia - Goodreads (b). According to Mrs. Cobos, the car was purchased so that some Nuestra Familia "brothers" could "go back to their home town to report in to their parole officers." The trio did not see any of the Fierros; accordingly, they left the park around midnight. East Block - home to 500 convicts - is a towering five storeys high. This testimony was introduced over defense objection. fn. They claim the bloodletting didn't begin for several months, not until Bobby "Silent" Lopez and Ronald "Lucky" Shelton were paroled and meshed their murderous energies in an attempt to assert control. App. They just said they had a shoot out with police officers. 5. [3] Dominguez next contends that the trial judge abused his discretion when he refused to bar evidence on the criminal purposes of the Nuestra Familia on the ground that it was unduly prejudicial. In addition, Hernandez testified that he was ordered, among other things, to accompany Dominguez and Castro to Bakersfield so that they could report to their parole officer. 2d 518.) 3d 441, 448-449 [112 Cal. Rptr. 21 For these reasons, we find Perez inapposite to the present circumstances. 907].) Death-row inmate dies at San Quentin of unknown causes, corrections Thanks to frequent stretches in custody -- and occasional 10,000-word essays assigned by gang leaders -- the art of the handwritten letter flourishes in Nuestra Familia. App. Serna belonged to the notorious Northern California Latino prison gang Nuestra Familia. People v. Leach, supra, 15 Cal.3d at pp. 532].). Membership in the gang extends beyond prison. She was 21 when she died. Under these circumstances, the municipal court was not required to suspend proceedings [121 Cal. 2 Hernandez described the Nuestra Familia as a rigid, militaristic organization in which members are required to follow orders and to remain loyal to the group under penalty of death. Testimony by Cobos revealed that transmission of the details of the killing was a prerequisite to earning a "star" within the Nuestra Familia. Members of the organization are considered to have taken a "blood oath" to join the gang, and are considered lifelong participants. He was validated as a member of the Nuestra Familia prison gang in December 1997. "But now they come to us, and we think, 'Well, how much use are you going to be to us?' (People v. Owens (1980) 112 Cal. 18 (Evid. Code, 604.) FN 23. Nuestra Familia gang member Armando Frias noticed him in Cap's Saloon, but although he was on the hit list, he needed Casper's permission. Lasolla instructed that, while in Bakersfield, the men were to commit a robbery and kill one named Chollo Hernandez, a dropout from the Nuestra Familia organization. We are not persuaded. Hernandez responded by firing a .22 revolver at a person who had crawled underneath a nearby parked car. At the liquor store, Dominguez saw a friend, Alex Santa Cruz, and asked him if Steve "Wolfie" Fierro was with him. Rachel and another one of Paniaguas sisters, Cynthia, testified during the trial about severe abuse they and their brother endured at the hands of their father. In the instant case, joinder of the murder and assault charges was necessary in order to avoid the prohibition against multiple prosecution. 20 Dominguez contends that the prejudicial evidence about Nuestra Familia activities outweighed its probative value in proving a motive for the killing. "They were not the kind of guys who would have killed Sheila Apodaca. Babo Sosa, his brothers Manos and Buggy, and Art the Rock Beltran are discussed in this exclusive. [5] Also at the trial, Colleen Farr, owner of the Country Cousin's Sporting Goods in Watsonville (near the Salinas area), testified that the two .22 weapons used at the Virginia Street shooting had been stolen from her store on September 7, 1977. (hg. Nuestra Familia is a Mexican - American prison gang that was founded in Soledad prison, California in 1968. The purpose behind this visit was to obtain a third gun so that each of the men would be armed during the planned robbery and so that each would be armed if they encountered Nuestra Familia enemies. Two former death row employees testified that defendant had been trouble free while they were there. This motion was denied by the judge hearing the section 995 motion. 13 One of Hernandez' orders was to kill any Nuestra Familia enemies which he and appellants might encounter while in Bakersfield. The Hispanics would have a lot more power in prison and on the streets if they weren't divided amongst themselves, i.e. Before addressing these contentions, we believe the relevant facts should be set forth. Now San Quentin State Prison is in danger of losing its hardline reputation - with officials planning to dismantle its death row and move prisoners into the general population. (Harrington v. California (1969) 395 U.S. 250, 254 [23 L. Ed. But "Everybody did it," Salazar shrugged. When compared with the enormous growth of California's prison industry, the effect of the Nuestra Familia trials in San Jose -- and a recent federal prosecution of the Mexican Mafia -- are hard to measure. (1969)393 U.S. 1104 [2 L. Ed. Defendants Bobby Lopez, James "Huevo" Trujeque and Herminio "Spanky" Serna all face the death penalty. "I guess a homicidal maniac could be telling the truth," said Provini. Since no reasonable expectation of privacy exists in jail telephone conversations and the [121 Cal. After enduring testimony about the grisly way Rodrigo Paniagua Jr. slaughtered his family, a Santa Clara County jury today took the rare step of voting for his execution the first time a local panel has imposed the death penalty in 13 years. That's ridiculous." 3d 333, 336 [124 Cal. He is one of three men sentenced to death for slayings during the Nuestra Familia gang's alleged efforts to take over the drug trade in San Jose. September 24, 1977 Death Row Joe Gonzales's order to murder of Nuestra soldier Eddie Serna for cooperating with authorities is passed on by Lieutenant Richard Din Castro to Robert Flores and Robert "Brown Bob" Viramontes. the Nuestra Familia/Nortenos vs. the Mexican Mafia/Surenos. App. granted June 25, 1980); De Lancie v. Superior Court (Cal.App.) On the day after the shooting, Castro went to the Briseno residence and Hernandez asked him to relate his version of what had transpired at the Virginia Street residence. (See Welf. App. Although the crimes as a juvenile are not major generally, nevertheless he had been to CYA and it hadn't done any good. He admits that the details of his former life -- and the tattoos covering his arms, chest, neck and face -- probably didn't impress the jury when he testified against his former friends in Murphy's courtroom. Hernandez did testify that Dominguez did not fire any weapon on this occasion. His job was to make sure that San Francisco, Sacramento, Oakland, and San Jose all had a regiment in place, and made sure that the regiments were going by the gang's rules. Casper was not allowed to put a hit on Armando Frias, as he was a government informant, but he said that he would have killed him if he was a regular NF member. App. Hernandez was then put in contact with other individuals and made a trip to Fresno on October 13. fn. But he was determined to repudiate the gang. As of 2020, the average age of death row inmates nationally was 52 years . In arguing that the court abused its discretion under Evidence Code section 352, fn. 28 Since Castro has not included a transcript which shows the court's reasons for so sentencing Dominguez, we believe it would be improvident to strike the consecutive enhancement imposed upon Castro. "San Jose wasn't such a low-crime area before we began this prosecution," Constantinides said. fn. In October 1977, appellants Sammy Dominguez and Anthony "Tonito" Castro, as well as one named David Hernandez, were members of the Nuestra Familia, an organized gang. Two of the defendants face the death penalty for ordering murders related to the drug trade. Thirteen of the defendants faced the death penalty. Appellant now contends that the evidence about his parole status was irrelevant to the case and was tantamount to introduction of "criminal propensity" character evidence banned by Evidence Code section 1101, subdivision (a). Northern District of California | Top Nuestra Familia Leader And Three Texas, USA 1996 Date of Execution: September 18, 1996 Offender: Joe F. Gonzalez, Jr. #999177 Last Statement: There are people all over the world who face things worse than death on a daily basis, and in that sense I consider myself lucky. Arizona, Florida,[2] Georgia, Idaho,[3] Nevada,[4] Kansas,[5] New Mexico, Northern California, 3d 531, 547-548 [166 Cal. We note that none of the jurors raised their hands when the court asked if they needed clarification in regard to its admonition. Hernandez had to get information from Castro so that he could accurately relay a synopsis of the shooting incident to Lieutenant Lasolla. He was on parole from the Youth Authority and of course had [121 Cal. 195.) As stated cogently in People v. Epps (1973) 34 Cal. Rptr. 22 We are not persuaded. Hernandez reported the information from Castro, as well as other information about the shooting, to Salinas Lieutenant Lasolla. "At first, when (gang members) would come to our side, we'd throw a party," said Kitty Constantinides. A pretty girl with lustrous brown hair, Sheila Apodaca had lived all her life in the tiny Central Valley town of San Lorenzo before she hooked up with Bobby Lopez and moved to San Jose.