People v. Garcia CA4/1

── People v. Garcia CA4/1 ── Court: California Court of Appeal Date: April 15, 2026 Category: General Filed 4/15/26 P. v. Garcia CA4/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115. COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION ONE STATE OF CALIFORNIA THE PEOPLE, D087615 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. FWV19001231) v. CHRISTOPHER JONATHAN GARCIA, Defendant and Appellant. APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of San Bernardino County, Ingrid Adamson Uhler, Judge. Affirmed. Sylvia W. Beckham, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Charles C. Ragland, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Arlene A. Sevidal, Assistant Attorney General, Chrisopher P. Beesley and Cobi S. Furdek, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.  MEMORANDUM OPINION Christopher Jonathan Garcia appeals from his judgment of conviction and sentence, raising two sentencing claims. We review his claims for abuse of discretion (People v. Mendoza (2023) 88 Cal.App.5th 287, 298; People v. Caesar (2008) 167 Cal.App.4th 1050, 1059) and affirm the judgment. I. Background A jury convicted Garcia of the premeditated murder of Nathan Shamblin (Pen. Code,1 §§ 187, 189; count 1); attempted premeditated murder of Anthony Lindbergh and Shonn Timothy Steward III (§§ 664, 187; counts 2 and 3); and shooting at an occupied vehicle (§ 246; count 4). The jury also found true a firearm enhancement (§ 12022.53, subds. (b), (c), (d)) for each count. One night in April 2019, Garcia met a friend to sell him marijuana and then began arguing with Lawrence House, a passenger in his friend’s car. House got out of the car and Garcia threw a beer bottle at him, cutting him and causing him to bleed. House got back in the car and left but returned a little while later with a group of friends in two cars, including Shamblin, Lindbergh, and Steward. After parking nearby, House and Shamblin got out of one car and stood in the middle of the street yelling towards Garcia’s house. Lindbergh and Steward got out of the other car. Shortly after, Garcia came from the back of the house, grabbed a gun and shot Lindbergh in the back as he tried to get away. After Lindbergh fell to the ground, Garcia walked over to him, stood over him, and, as he lay on the ground holding his arms up and palms out, Garcia continued to shoot 1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code. 2 him, striking him a total of nine times. Lindbergh survived but with severe complications. Garcia then fired multiple rounds at Steward who was running away, striking him in the back of the leg and groin area, and firing at and striking a nearby car. Steward managed to reach the side door of the car while House and Shamblin were in the car. Garcia continued shooting at the three of them as the car started to drive off. One of the bullets fired at the car hit Shamblin in the chest. He lost control of the car, crashed through a fence surrounding a park and died soon after he was hit. Garcia then disappeared and evaded arrest for five years. Eventually, the U.S. Marshals located and arrested him in Mexico in 2024. Following his jury trial and conviction, Garcia requested the count for shooting at an occupied vehicle run concurrently with the first degree murder count. He argued he had the same inten