I. BACKGROUND/PRIOR PROCEEDINGS On January 30, 2009, Jones, along with Nickerson and Cassel Meadors, was charged with one count of attempted murder. The information alleged that all three individuals committed the offense for the benefit of the Crips street gang. It further alleged that Meadors personally discharged a firearm and that all three were principals in the offense, at least one of whom used afirearm. Jones and Nickerson each were additionally charged with two counts of attempting to dissuade a witness. As to those crimes, the information alleged that Jones and Nickerson committed the crimes by force or an express or implied threat of force or violence and for the benefit of a street gang.
On direct appeal of his conviction, the California Court of Appeal recounted the following facts underlying Jones's indictment:
The attempted murder occurred on July 25, 2008, at an apartment complex in the northern part of Sacramento, an area "infested with Crips" that had become "hot" for gang-related crimes. At the time, [Jones and Nickerson] were living in the apartment complex and were members of the Crips gang.
Also living in the apartment complex at the time was Alisha S. Alisha, her sister, Ieisha S., their children, and Alisha's boyfriend, Mauryea A. shared an apartment. Alisha was friends with [Jones and Nickerson].
On the night of July 25, 2008, Alisha, Mauryea, and two of Alisha's friends, Felicia T. and Melissa B., were at Alisha's apartment. A little before 10:00 p.m., they heard a knock at the door and Alisha answered it. Outside were [Jones and Nickerson] and a third individual, Cassell Meadors, who was also a Crips member. [Jones and Nickerson] entered the apartment, but Meadors remained outside. Nickerson walked into the kitchen and Jones stayed in the living room area with Mauryea.
While conversing with Jones, Mauryea said something about "cuz" or "blood," and that upset Jones. An argument ensued between them. Alisha later reported to police that Mauryea said something like, "Blood, can you get out of my girlfriend's house? She gets an attitude every time you come over here, and she takes that out on everybody when you come over here." According to the prosecution's gang expert, calling a Crip gang member a Blood is considered a challenge. Mauryea reported to police that [Jones and Nickerson] had been talking about "guns and things" and he thought this was disrespectful to the house. He told them so and that he wanted them to leave.
Meadors entered the apartment, got in Mauryea's face and started yelling at him. Meadors said, "Don't talk to my motherfucking brother like that." Alisha yelled to them from the kitchen to take their argument outside. Nickerson emerged from the kitchen and the four men walked outside the apartment. Alisha closed and locked the door behind them.
When Mauryea walked outside, he found the other three standing in a semi-circle facing him. [Jones and Nickerson] were "posturing like they [had] guns." They continued to argue with Mauryea. At one point, Alisha stepped outside and tried to get Mauryea to come back inside, but he refused. Meadors told Mauryea he was going to shoot him and was making hand signs. Although Mauryea was not being aggressive toward the other three, he also refused to be intimidated by them. Mauryea heardsomeone say that they were the "Trigga Mob." Meadors said to Mauryea he would "bust [him] out right now" and would "shoot this whole house up." Meadors also brandished a handgun. When he saw the gun, Mauryea asked, "Are you going to shoot me?"
At some point during all of this, Mauryea apologized and offered to shake hands with Jones and "squash it." Jones responded that, "We're cool," but he refused to shake Mauryea's hand.
Mauryea eventually walked past the other three and, when he turned back toward them, found Jones "dead in [his] face." Mauryea saw that Jones held one hand behind the back of his leg. Jones made an overhand motion with that arm and struck Mauryea in the eye with what Mauryea believed to be the butt of a gun. Mauryea immediately lost sight in that eye.
Mauryea grabbed Jones and the two wrestled around. Mauryea got Jones in a headlock. Nickerson and Meadors shouted encouragement to Jones and assisted him by hitting Mauryea in the back and the back of the head. As they wrestled, Mauryea could see a gun being handed off from one to another of the assailants. Mauryea then heard a shot and felt a burn on his shoulder.
Mauryea immediately released his hold on Jones and fell down on "all fours." He heard Nickerson say something to him like, "I told you," and then saw the three walk away together. He also saw one of them pass a gun to Nickerson.
Mauryea struggled to his feet and returned to the apartment, where he told the others he had been shot.
Mauryea was taken to the hospital and examined. He had injuries to his eye, the back of his head, and his shoulder. There were multiple fractures to the orbit around his eye and he suffered vision loss due to damage to the optic nerve. There were scratch marks on his shoulder and two penetrating wounds consistent with gunshots. X-rays also revealed metallic fragments near the shoulder blade, which were not removed by medical personnel.
[Jones, Nickerson,] and Meadors were later arrested. On August 6, 2008, Ieisha received a call on her cell phone while she was walking her daughter to school. The caller identified himself as John John, but she recognized the voice as that of Jones. Jones said, "My boy's in jail. You guys got him in trouble. Come outside." He also said, "[H]i bitch. Nigga, my homeboy's in jail and you guys are snitches." He also said, "I'm gonna shoot your fucking house. I'm in front your [ sic ] apartment. Come out now." Ieisha immediately reported this to the police.
That same day, Alisha called the police and reported she had received a threatening call from Nickerson on August 4. Alisha reported that Nickerson said to her, "You're going to get it. I'm 29th Street, Cuz. You're gonna get it. You better watch your backs." Alisha also heard from "this dude named Sean" that "the word on the street was that these guys, if [she] snitched, were going to kidnap and torture [her] kids." Alisha also heard on the street that [Jones and Nickerson] thought she had been identifying them as the perpetrators. She told police in a later interview that she was told if she snitched something would happen to her children and "they" were going to shoot up her house. Alisha later visited Nickerson in jail to tell him she was not snitching on him.
People v. Jones, No. C062720, 2012 WL 2826805, at *1-2 (Cal. Ct. App. July 11, 2012).
Trial began on May 28, 2009. On June 1, 2009, Meadors' motion to sever was granted, and the trial court ordered that Meadors' case be tried before one jury and that Nickerson and Jones be tried before a second jury. Upon conclusion of trial, the jury convicted Jones and Nickerson of all counts and found the enhancement allegations to be true.2
The trial court subsequently sentenced Jones to a determinate imprisonment term of 7 years, the middle term, on the attempted murder charge. The court also sentenced Jones to indeterminate terms of 25 years to life for the firearm enhancement on the attempted murder charge and a consecutive sentence of life with a minimum parole eligibility of 7 years on one of the attempting to dissuade a witness charges. The other attempting to dissuade a witness charge and its gang enhancement was stayed pursuant to California Penal Code § 654.3
Through counsel, Jones appealed his conviction, arguing that: 1) there was insufficient evidence to sustain his conviction for attempted murder; 2) there was insufficient evidence to sustain the great bodily injury finding; 3) the trial court erred in instructing the jury as to the firearm enhancement; 4) the prosecution failed to prove the gang enhancement by substantial evidence; 5) the prosecutor committed misconduct by misstating the burden of proof; and 6) trialcounsel was ineffective for failing to object to the firearm enhancement instruction. Jones also joined in the arguments raised by Nickerson on direct appeal. The Court of Appeal affirmed Jones's conviction in its entirety in a reasoned, unpublished opinion. Jones, 2012 WL 2826805, at *17. Jones then petitioned for review to the California Supreme Court, raising the same claims that he unsuccessfully raised before the Court of Appeal. The California Supreme Court denied the petition without comment on October 10, 2012.
Jones then filed in the California Superior Court a pro se petition for habeas relief. In that petition, Jones argues that trial counsel was ineffective for a variety of reasons relating to the presentation at trial of evidence of the victim's injuries. The superior court denied the petition in a reasoned, unpublished decision issued on December 5, 2013. Jones raised the same ineffective assistance claims to the California Court of Appeal in another pro se habeas petition, which was denied without comment on...
