The People of the State of California v. Maanuel Allen Leon

Merced, California criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with f assault with a firearm, shooting at an occupied vehicle, fleeing a pursuing peace officer, and unlawful possession of a firearm.



A jury found defendant Manual Allen Leon guilty of assault with a firearm, shooting at an occupied vehicle, fleeing a pursuing peace officer, and unlawful possession of a firearm. During a second phase of trial, a jury found defendant guilty of street terrorism and found true that defendant perpetrated the aforementioned crimes as part of, and for the

benefit of, a criminal street gang. (Pen. Code, § 186.22, subds. (a)-(b).)[1] The trial court sentenced defendant to a determinate term of 10 years but later modified the sentence to add an indeterminate term of 15 years to life for the gang enhancement.



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CRIMINAL LAW. GANG ENHANCEMENTS. The court addressed whether there was a sufficient nexus between predicate offenses and the organizational structure of a gang to sustain a gang enhancement conviction under California Penal Code section 186.22, as modified by recent legislative amendments.



CRIMINAL PROCEDURE. INSTRUCTIONAL ERROR. The court examined the impact of failing to instruct the jury on the new organizational nexus requirement for collective engagement in gang-related offenses following the decision in People v. Clark, which resulted in vacating related gang enhancement findings and convictions.



CRIMINAL LAW. SUFFICIENCY OF EVIDENCE. The case questioned whether evidence was sufficient to demonstrate that a criminal street gang collectively engaged in a pattern of criminal activity in a manner that provided a non-reputational benefit, thereby satisfying elements needed for gang enhancement under amended legal standards.



Key Phrases Assault with a firearm. Criminal street gang. Gang enhancement. Predicate offenses. Instructional error.

We vacate the jury's true finding on the gang enhancement and the verdict on count 5. Defendant's sentence is vacated, and the matter is remanded for further proceedings. The People shall have the option to retry defendant regarding count five and the gang enhancement. If the People do not bring defendant to retrial within 60 days of filing the remittitur in the trial court pursuant to section 1382, subdivision (a)(2), or obtain a waiver of time by defendant, the trial court shall accordingly resentence defendant. In all other respects, the judgment is affirmed.