Appeals court refuses to overturn murderer’s conviction in gang shootout that killed bystander

A state appeals court on Thursday rejected an appeal from one of the two men convicted of killing an innocent bystander during a gang shootout at a taco truck in Long Beach almost five years ago.

The three-justice panel from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal disagreed with the defense’s contention that jurors in Tyquan Markeith Benson’s trial should not have heard statements made by his co-defendant, Jacquise Wright, during an undercover jailhouse operation.

Benson, 30, who lived in Long Beach, was convicted of first-degree murder for the Dec. 4, 2020, shooting that left Alejandra Martinez dead…

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