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On January 27, 1994, around 2:30 p.m., a caravan of vehicles, including a white Datsun, drove by the residences of Jesus Mesa, Margarito (Mago) and Andres Reyes, and Antonio Gomez on Lotus Street in San Jose. Jesus Mesa heard Antonio yell “Sureño” at the caravan.
The vehicles returned and stopped. Several Hispanic males emerged and yelled “Norteño” back. At least one had a gun, and another had a knife. The one with the knife broke a house window and slashed the tires of a car. The group then ran back to their cars and drove off.
A short time later, the caravan went to the Washington Elementary School, circled for a while, and then stopped in front. The white Datsun pulled next to Osvaldo Rios’s blue car. Members of the caravan got out of their vehicles. Some of them yelled “norte,” “fourteen,” and gang names, and a group of them ran toward people who had been standing around the school. Meanwhile, defendant got out of the Datsun. He had a gun, which he held at his waist in both hands. He then raised it to eye level, displaying it to others, who began to run.
According to Stephanie Navarette, who was in the passenger seat next to Rios, defendant said “what’s up.” Rios responded, “What? I don’t even know you” and started rolling up his window. Navarette saw a gun and ducked. Defendant then fired several shots at Rios, hitting him in the head and arm. Navarette said defendant had a look of rage on his face. Members of the caravan quickly returned to their cars and sped away. Rios died at the hospital later that night.
Police searched the homes, jail cells, and vehicles of those interviewed and, except for that of codefendant Aguilera, found, among other things, gang-related graffiti such as the number “14,” or “XIV,” the word “Norteño” or “Norte,” and the initials of various Norteño gangs. Some of these people also had Norteño tattoos.
In defendant’s bedroom, police found a backpack, on which was inscribed “XIV,” “Mr. ESSJ,” “Eastside,” and “Cisco.” They also found undated papers with similar notations as well “ESF” and a card on a mirror containing “Norte” and “XIV“. In a shed behind the house, police found graffiti like that on defendant’s backpack.
Officer Michael Piscitello testified as an expert on gangs in San Jose.
He traced the origin of today’s Hispanic street gangs to prison gangs called the Mexican Mafia and the Nuestra Familia.
As noted, gangs are divided into two rival groups: Norteños and Sureños.
The two groups claim different colors and numbers and are in constant conflict for respect and turf. This often escalates from statements and handsigns to physical violence and killings.
Several years ago there was only one Sureño gang and the rest of the San Jose gangs were Norteño.
However, from 1989 on, the number of Sureño gangs increased. He opined that now there are 20 to 30 Norteño gangs and 10 to 15 Sureño gangs. As a result, conflict between them has escalated in certain neighborhoods.
For example, the Washington Elementary School area was originally Norteño turf but over the years has been taken over by Sureños. Thus, he noted a “rash” of cases emanating from this area during the transition.
Historically Norteño gangs often fought with each other. In response to the Sureño killing of a Norteño woman, a large number of Norteño gang members met on Cinco de Mayo in 1993 and agreed not to fight each other and instead to focus their attention on Sureños and reclaiming the city for Norteños.
As a result, a concept of uniting together to fight a common enemy was born. According to Piscitello, this was known as “San Jose or San Jo Familia, San Jose Family.”
Piscitello noted he now gets few Norteño-versus-Norteño cases and most conflicts are between Norteños and Sureños.
Piscitello described various levels of involvement in street gangs.
There are regular and part-time associates, hangers-on, and “wanna-be’s”; bona fide members, who have been formally inducted-“jumped in”-by being beaten by members; and the “hard core” leaders of the gang. One can also be a member of one gang and an associate of another. Members can resign and walk away. However, some are reluctant because it involves getting “jumped out,” a process that can be much worse than being “jumped in.”
Piscitello outlined formal criteria used by the San Jose Police Department to determine whether a person is involved with a gang. A credible claim of gang membership by itself is accepted at face value without further corroboration. Otherwise, the existence of two or more of the following circumstances validates gang membership: having tattoos related to specific gangs; wearing clothes adorned with gang-specific logos; possession of gang-specific paraphernalia; being observed associating with known gang members on two or more occasions; being credibly identified as a gang member by third parties; and participating in a gang-related crime.
Turning to this case, Piscitello opined that the caravan of Norteños included members of seven different gangs: Capital Park Locos (CPL), ESF, Barrio Mas Locos (BML), Barrio North Side (BNS), West Side Mob (WSM), El Hoyo Palmas (EHP), and Vario San Jo (VSJ).
Piscitello explained how long each of these gangs had been in existence and then observed that each participant in the caravan was a member or associate of one of these gangs.
Piscitello testified in detail concerning the bases of his opinion, which included: admissions by the participants; field identification cards, indicating gang association or involvement; items obtained in searches, such as letters, lists, magazines, and photographs; graffiti at their residences and on personal belongings and clothing; tattoos and nicknames; and statements to the police.
In particular, Piscitello opined that ESF was a “relatively new gang,” two to three years old, with five to ten members, including defendant. He based this opinion on the items and observations made at defendant’s residence; papers with Norteño inscriptions, nicknames, and Norteño gang initials written on them, including ESF; defendant’s tattoos; defendant’s admissions in 1992 and again in mid-1993 that he was a member of ESF; and evidence that “on his pager the night of the homicide were the numbers 373, which he told the investigating officer stood for ESF.”
Finally, Officer Piscitello opined that on January 27, the caravan acted for the benefit of, in association with, or at the direction of all seven gangs of which they were variously members or associates. To explain his opinion, Piscitello generally noted that members of seven different Norteño gangs, many of whom had had problems with Sureños, united together for a common purpose: to look for and fight Sureños.
Moreover, each member was there to support and back up the others. Referring to his testimony about the “San Jose Familia,” Piscitello said it helped show how and why the participants acted both for the benefit of their own gangs and for the benefit of each other’s gangs. Piscitello then specifically explained why each member of the caravan acted for the benefit of a street gang.
As to defendant, Piscitello based his opinion on the extensive gang-related material discovered at his residence, his “heavy involvement” with ESF, statements about the problems he and his sister had had with Sureños, his participation along with others, and evidence that after the incident, defendant paged another participant, leaving the message, “270418-373-408-187,” in which, as Piscitello explained, “373” referred to ESF and “408-187” referred to the San Jose Area and Penal Code section 187.
The People, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Francisco Valdez, Defendant and Appellant (1997). No. H014664. Sixth Dist. Oct 15, 1997. Opinion certified for partial publication. Superior Court of Santa Clara County, No. 171485, James H. Chang, Judge. Opinion by Wunderlich, J., with Elia, Acting P. J., and Mihara, J., concurring.
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