People v. Yang, F037426 (Cal. App. 11/24/2003)
| Decision Date | 24 November 2003 |
| Docket Number | F037426. |
| Court | California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
| Parties | THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. PAO YANG et al., Defendants and Appellants. |
APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Fresno County, No. 622344-0, Gene M. Gomes, Judge.
Richard A. Levy, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant Pao Yang.
Kyle Gee, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant Voua Yang.
Philip M. Brooks, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant Tue Xiong.
Michael Satris, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant Sia John Lor.
Cynthia A. Thomas, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant Vang Pao Moua.
Jerome P. Wallingford, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant Nhia Yang.
Mark L. Christiansen, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant Nua Moua.
Bill Lockyer, Attorney General, Robert R. Anderson, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Jo Graves, Assistant Attorney General, Harry J. Colombo, Carlos A. Martinez and Robert K. Gezi, Deputy Attorney Generals, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
This appeal arises out of an investigation into allegations that members of a criminal street gang, the Mongolian Boys Society (MBS), were sexually assaulting young Asian girls and forcing some of them to engage in prostitution. All of the appellants are members, former members or associates of MBS. In January 2000, appellants and other MBS members were tried in a joint jury trial for a plethora of criminal offenses involving nine victims: May, Annie, Pa, Cindy, P., Judy, F., Linda C. and Linda H.1 The jury found Anthony guilty of 26 crimes involving three of the victims; Deuce was found guilty of 25 crimes involving four of the victims; Iron Man was found guilty of 20 crimes involving four of the victims; Scissors was found guilty of 14 crimes involving three of the victims; Sim was found guilty of 11 crimes involving three of the victims; Bolo was found guilty of 10 crimes involving three of the victims; and Money was found guilty of nine crimes involving five of the victims. Appellants were sentenced to the following aggregate terms of imprisonment: Anthony received 36 years, eight months; Bolo received 23 years, four months; Deuce received 24 years, eight months; Iron Man received 24 years; Money received 21 years, eight months; Scissors received 20 years; and Sim received 18 years, eight months. Specific offenses and aspects of the sentences will be set forth as necessary in our discussion of appellate issues.
Appellants challenge the sufficiency of the evidence supporting some of the counts and raise numerous other complaints about the criminal proceedings and their sentences. The Attorney General properly conceded a few points and we have found some other errors affecting certain counts. To be fair, we also commend the trial judge for the dexterity it displayed in managing this complicated matter and trial counsel for their professionalism. The criminal proceedings were a mammoth task and they were deftly handled by all concerned.
FACTUAL OVERVIEW (Arranged by victim)2
May (all seven appellants were convicted of abusing May)
On or about May 31, 1997, May (born in 1983) was invited to a party. May sneaked out her bedroom window and Scissors drove her and another girl to 007's house. While she was there, Anthony told May to have sex with 007. May refused, telling him that she was a virgin. Then Bolo and Deuce told May to have sex with Iron Man, who was her boyfriend. May refused. Deuce grabbed May by her arms and took her to a different room with a bed in it. Iron Man came into the room. Deuce told them to hurry and left the room. Scissors and Deuce came back into the room and someone undressed her. Scissors and Deuce told Iron Man and May to hurry. They took May's clothes and left the room. Iron Man told May to "hurry up and get it over with." Iron Man forced May to have sex with him for five or 10 minutes. May "said for him not to do it." She tried to stop Iron Man, but he pushed himself on her. After Iron Man ejaculated, he dressed and left the room. Then 007 entered the room. May had wrapped herself in a sheet. Deuce came into the room, took the sheet and left. 007 had sexual intercourse with May for about 10 minutes. She tried to stop 007 by pushing against him and yelling "at him for being a child molest and a fat ass." After 007 finished, he left the room. Deuce and Bolo came into the room. Deuce was naked and his penis was erect. He was sticking out his tongue and wagging it at May. Bolo grabbed her from behind. Deuce approached May and she bit him on the shoulder. Deuce remarked that his penis had become "dead" and left the room. Someone brought May's clothes back into the room. She dressed and left the room. Scissors drove May home. Deuce later threatened to beat her up if she told anyone about what had happened at 007's house.
About a week after this assault, Scissors and Deuce pressured May into coming with them to another party. While she was there, Anthony told her that she had "to go pimp," which means "[w]hen someone has sex with an older guy for money." He said that customers would pay $40 or $60. Bolo, Deuce, Iron Man and Scissors were present. Deuce and Iron Man told May that they would beat her up if she refused to pimp. Deuce also threatened that "[h]e'll go home invasion if I go home," which means "go shoot my whole family." May felt like she had no choice but to agree to engage in prostitution. She got into a car with a Hmong man. She tried to stop the man from having sex with her by telling him that she was too young and did not want to have sex. The man replied that he had "[p]aid Anthony." May had sex with him.
After this event, May did not return home until mid-August. During this two-month period, May was "pimped out to paying customers" three to five times per day. May never sought out customers herself or negotiated with them. She acted in response to orders given by Anthony, Deuce, Sim and Iron Man. Anthony appeared to be in charge of the prostitution activities. When he was not present, Scissors talked to customers and took money from them. May also saw Iron Man, Deuce, Bolo and Sim interacting with customers.
In addition to engaging in prostitution, May had sex with Bolo, Deuce, Iron Man, Money, Scissors, and other MBS members during this period. She orally copulated Anthony, Deuce, Iron Man, and Scissors. On two occasions, MBS members had sex with May in succession. This was known as a "lineup" or a "Mongolian train." The first time May was "lined-up" occurred during the month of June in a Motel 6 room. (MBS members often rented motel rooms in which groups would congregate, engage in sexual activity and conduct prostitution-related activities.) Bolo and Deuce were among the participants. May was "lined-up" again the following month in another Motel 6 room. Money was one of the participants. Iron Man participated in one of the lineups. Testimony about specific sexual acts involving May will be set forth as necessary in the discussion of legal issues.
May worked as a prostitute and engaged in sexual activities with MBS members because she believed that she would have been beaten and "lined-up" if she refused. She also believed Iron Man's threat that he would harm her family. She saw five MBS members including Sim, Deuce and Iron Man beat up Annie. She also saw Anthony, Deuce, Iron Man and Money handling a handgun. May described an incident in which she went to a shopping mall with a girl named Gonhia. When she returned, Money held a knife to May's neck and told her that if she ever went to the store again he would kill her. May did not go home because she believed that it would be pointless; Deuce, Anthony and Bolo would come to her house and remove her. Deuce told her, "if I was going to go, he would come right back and get me."
Annie (Deuce, Iron Man, Scissors and Sim were convicted of abusing Annie)
Youa (born in 1983) is known as Annie. Sometime in May or June 1997, she was socializing with a group of MBS members when Sim told her that he wanted to pimp girls. Annie argued back, asking him why he could not respect girls the same way girls respect guys. Sim did not respond. Later that day, Sim approached her and he began punching her. Deuce, Iron Man and three other men joined in. They punched her for about 30 seconds to one minute. She fell to the ground and Iron Man kicked her. They bruised her face and body. May and Judy saw Annie being beaten. Judy testified that Scissors also was punching Annie.
On another occasion, Annie was in a motel room with a group when Sim grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her into the bathroom. He told her to take off her pants. When she refused, he removed her jeans and underwear, pushed her onto the floor and had sex with her. Sim left the bathroom. After showering, Annie went back into the room and asked Sim if she could leave. He told her "no."
At the end of June, Annie was in a car with Scissors, Sim, Deuce and ET traveling to a motel when Scissors pointed a handgun at her. It looked like a .45-caliber weapon. She went into the motel room with them because she felt that she did not have a choice. She was afraid of them and did not want to be "shot by them or anything." Annie sat on the bed for a while, drinking and watching television. Scissors grabbed her by the wrist and took her in the bathroom. He removed her pants and underwear and forced her to have sex with him. She tried to push him away but "[h]e kept on coming back." She stayed in the motel room until the next morning and then she went home. She did not try to leave the motel room immediately after Scissors raped her because she knew that they would not allow her to leave or take her home...
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