People v. Ware
| Decision Date | 21 July 2020 |
| Docket Number | D072515 |
| Court | California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
| Parties | The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Victor WARE et al., Defendants and Appellants. |
Certified for Partial Publication.*
Lynda A. Romero, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant Dionte Simpson.
David L. Polsky, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant Victor Ware.
Nancy E. Olsen, Encinitas, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant Nicholas Hoskins.
Xavier Becerra, Attorney General, Gerald A. Engler, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Julie L. Garland, Assistant Attorney General, A. Natasha Cortina and Christine Levingston Bergman, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
Dionte Simpson, Victor Ware, and Nicholas Hoskins (collectively appellants) are members of 5/9 Brim (Brim), a criminal street gang in San Diego that is a set of the Bloods gang. The Neighborhood Crips (NC) and West Coast Crips (WCC), (together, the Crips), other criminal street gangs, are the main rivals of the Brims. A jury found appellants guilty of the following crimes related to their gang involvement:
Ware subsequently admitted a prison prior allegation. (§ 667.5, subd. (b)). The court sentenced appellants to prison as follows: (1) Ware, 27 years plus 40 years to life; (2) Simpson, 36 years plus 25 years to life; and (3) Hoskins, 25 years to life.
Appellants challenge the sufficiency of the evidence supporting their convictions for conspiracy to commit murder (count 1) and criminal street gang conspiracy (counts 6, 7, 9). Appellants also challenge the instruction regarding coconspirators' statements. Ware asserts that the trial court erred by failing to instruct the jury that it could find multiple conspiracies existed. Simpson, joined by Hoskins, assert that their conspiracy convictions must be reversed because the jury was allowed to consider overt acts after the conspiracy terminated and overt acts that were not proven. Hoskins, joined by Simpson, also contend that their conspiracy convictions violated their right to free speech under the First Amendment because the court admitted evidence of their social media posts to establish participation in the alleged conspiracy.
Simpson challenges the evidence supporting his convictions for attempted murder (counts 2 and 3) and assault with a firearm (counts 4 and 5). Ware challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the gang enhancement attached to his attempted murder conviction (count 10) and the evidence supporting one of his convictions for possessing two handguns found during the search of his residence (counts 12 and 13). He also challenges counts 12 and 13 on statute of limitations grounds. He further asserts that he received ineffective assistance when his trial counsel failed to move to suppress the gun found during his January 29, 2014, pat down search (count 8), and for conceding his guilt on all three firearm possession counts (counts 8, 12, and 13). Finally, Ware contends that the trial court incorrectly imposed sentence for both the firearm enhancement and the gang enhancement, and improperly imposed sentences for both conspiracy to commit murder and attempted murder.
Hoskins challenges the trial court's alleged rescinding of its mistrial order, and claims that the court improperly granted his Faretta2 motion. Finally, Simpson and Ware seek remand to allow the trial court to exercise its discretion to strike or impose the section 12022.53 firearm enhancements attached to counts 2 and 3. Simpson and Hoskins also claim cumulative error.
We reverse Simpson's and Hoskins's gang conspiracy convictions, but reject appellants' remaining arguments regarding their convictions. We agree that Simpson's and Ware's sentences must be vacated and the matter remanded for resentencing.3
We limit our summary of the factual background to the expert testimony regarding the gangs at issue, the relevant crimes of which the jury found appellants guilty, and some of the overt acts pertaining to the conspiracy convictions. Viewed in the light most favorable to the judgment, the evidence was as follows.
On April 11, 2011, Dereck Peppers, a respected Brim gang member known as an "original gangster" was killed in Brim territory. Police suspected that a rival Crips gang member had murdered Peppers. Simpson and Ware knew Peppers. Peppers's murder sparked a gang war between Brim and WCC and spiked the number of homicides attributed to African-American gangs.
Appellants were Brim gang members and members of a Brim subset known as Tiny Hit Squad. Young Hit Squad was another Brim subset. At some point Tiny Hit Squad and Young Hit Squad merged, creating a commingled group known as Hit Squad. A "hit" means to kill someone. Members of the Hit Squad included appellants and alleged coconspirators, Lamont Holman, Mykein Price, Timothy Hurst, Emanuel Peavy, Damonte Lucas, Clyde Ellis, Rahman Taylor, Nino Sanchez, Deondre Cooper, Leron Johnson, Jamon Smith, Edward Laplanche, Edward Paris, Aaron Hurst, Norman Sanchez, Maurice Chavarry, Sherbly Gordon, and Steven Mahaney. Brandin Orchord was also a Brim member and a member of Young Hit Squad. Jontae Jones was a member of the Hit Squad.
A gang that has been the target of a shooting by a rival gang is expected to retaliate or "get back" at the rival gang. A rival gang graffitiing in another gang's territory would also require retaliation. Failure to retaliate would make the gang appear weak and invite other gangs to prey on its members. The retaliation has to be equal to the insult suffered, but is preferably "one step above."
Blood gangs, including Brim, associate with the color red. Crips gang members traditionally wear blue. Gang members "put[ ] in work" for a gang by going on missions, such as committing burglaries, robberies or shootings. For shootings, gang members go into rival gang territory to seek rival gang members. A gang member on a mission might target a particular rival gang member. If the target cannot be located, the gang member will look for a substitute, such as someone dressed in the rival gang's color.
Gang members share guns. For example, in one 24-hour period the prosecution gang expert saw that one gun had been used by three different gang members. When it is time to go on a mission, a gang member will pick up a gun and pass it off to the person on the mission and then return the gun so that other gang members would have access to it. Gang members often store their guns at the home of a female who is not on parole or probation.
The gang expert reviewed a large amount of social media evidence pertaining to Brim gang members and explained to the jury how social media worked. The gang expert believed that gang members in a set knew when other gang members in the same set had engaged in or were part of criminal activity as evidenced by social media posts. Gang membership does not end when an individual goes into custody. Gang members in custody still have access to cell phones and social media. Gang members also monitor rival gangs on social media.
It is common for Brim gang members to replace the letter "C" with a "K" or to place the letter "K" after the letter "C." The letter "k" after the letter "c" refers to "Crip Killer." Blood gang members also replace the letter "c" with the letter "b" when writing. For example, the word "cool" becomes "bool." "Crab," "Nap bashing," "Toasty K," "wet toast" or "west toast" are derogatory terms for NC or WCC.
June 14, 2011 - Simpson's Attempted Murder and Assault with Firearm Convictions (Counts 2-5)
On this day a group of five men, including Simpson, Orchord, Paris, and Chavarry started arguing with two Crips gang members on a street corner. Paris and Orchord began throwing gang signs with their hands. As the two Crips started to walk away, Simpson pulled out a gun, someone said "Fuck Crabs" and Simpson fired two or three shots. The two rival gang members fled. Simpson gave the gun to Orchord, who subsequently hid it in his garage.
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