People v. Salazar

Opinion

CORRIGAN, J.

A jury convicted defendant Magdaleno Salazar of the first degree murder of Enrique Guevara, with personal use of a firearm.1 Defendant admitted the truth of a special circumstance allegation that he had a prior murder conviction. After a penalty trial, the jury returned a verdict of death, and the court imposed that sentence. We affirm the judgment in its entirety.

I. FACTS

A. Guilt Phase

1. Prosecution

Around 2:30 a.m. on July 25, 1993, Kathy Mendez and her friend Cynthia Bonilla were at a Jack in the Box restaurant. They met defendant, whom Mendez knew as “Toy,” and Enrique…