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On the evening of the shooting, Raul Alatorre saw Petitioner, Risky, Flaco and Wicked in the area while he was playing basketball in his yard.
As Raul was going to retrieve his dog, he saw Petitioner running down the street toward Petitioner’s house and yelling, “Bakers, Bakers.”
A gang expert testified that Petitioner’s act of yelling “Bakers” served to warn his fellow gang members that members of the rival Loma Bakers gang were in the area.
As Raul was returning back to his house, he saw Petitioner running back to the mailbox location where his friends had confronted the victim.
Petitioner then fired a gun at the victim three times, and the victim fell to the ground.
Just before he died, the victim stated his attackers were four Hispanic males in their twenties with shaved heads.
The expert explained that there were numerous gangs in Bakersfield.
The Loma Bakers gang is a Hispanic gang that dominated the area of the shooting.
The Cycos 13 gang is a Los Angeles-based gang that moved into a small area in the 1000 block of Lake Street; this was in the center of the area traditionally controlled by the Loma Bakers.
The expert testified that Hispanic gangs consider it disrespectful for another gang to move into their territory, and they will generally respond with violence.
Further, when a gang is assaulted or attacked by another gang, the gang must answer in kind or lose power, respect and authority in the area.
The expert explained that graffiti is very important to gangs and serves to identify the areas over which a gang claims control. It also serves to instill fear in the neighborhood. If graffiti is marked out, it is considered disrespectful to those who placed the graffiti and can also serve as a threat.
In the area of the shooting, the Loma Bakers and Cycos 13 gangs had placed their own graffiti and marked out the other’s in 14 their ongoing turf war.
At the time of the shooting, the Cycos 13 gang was actively involved in continuous and ongoing criminal activities including drug sales, assaults, murders, and vandalism.
The group of individuals who Petitioner was with at the time of the shooting were members of the Cycos 13 gang.
On a brick wall in the area were graffiti of the 18 Street gang of Los Angeles and the Cycos 13 gang; the graffiti signified an alignment between the two.
There were also instances of graffiti crossed out which signified an ongoing rivalry with Bakersfield gangs.
Also on the wall in one foot high letters was written Petitioner’s moniker, “Whisper.”
The graffiti around his moniker demonstrated that Petitioner claimed membership in the 18th Street gang, claimed alignment with the Cycos 13 gang, and claimed the area for the two.
On other walls in the area, Petitioner’s moniker was written in graffiti along with Cycos 13 and 18 Street denoting Petitioner’s membership and alliance.
Petitioner had tattoos on his body showing his membership in the 18th Street gang of Los Angeles. Based on the expert’s review of the information, he opined that Petitioner was a member of the 18th Street gang. He also opined that Petitioner had aligned himself with the Cycos 13 gang.
The expert further opined that a gang member’s act of assaulting an uninvolved person, while in the company of fellow gang members, served to intimidate the neighborhood and solidify the presence and authority of the gang.
The expert opined by hypothetical that an act as that which was allegedly done by Petitioner served to benefit the Cycos 13 gang.
Clearly, there was ample circumstantial evidence from which a rational jury could find beyond a reasonable doubt that Petitioner committed the offense in association with a gang with the specific intent to promote, further, or assist his fellow gang members. Petitioner fails to demonstrate that the state court’s decision was “contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law,” or an “unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence.” The claim should be rejected.
Joaquin Ramon Quiroz, Petitioner, v. Ken Clark, Warden, Respondent. Eastern District of California. 1:09-CV-01131 AWI GSA HC. Findings and recommendation regarding petition for writ of habeas corpus.
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