How has the court treated the evidence of a defendant's nickname in admitting that he was a member of a criminal gang?

discretion in admitting the nickname. The trial court carefully scrutinized the proffered evidence and concluded its prejudicial effect did not outweigh its probative value. (People v. Hernandez (2004) 33 Cal.4th 1040, 1049 [evidence of gang membership is admissible to prove specific intent, means of applying force, or other issues pertinent to guilt of the charged crime].) We conclude the trial court did not abuse its discretion by finding the risk that the jury would improperly infer criminal disposition from defendant's nickname did not substantially outweigh the fact that evidence of defendant's nickname was highly probative because it uniquely tended to prove defendant had a specific reason for shooting Mele multiple times at very close range. We note that, in order to minimize the prejudicial impact of the evidence, the prosecutor avoided any reference to the subject of gangs throughout the trial by reminding the court to instruct witnesses not to mention defendant's gang affiliation, ¹⁷ and, at defendant's request, the jury was instructed not to consider the evidence of defendant's nickname "to prove that defendant is a person of bad character, has a disposition to commit crimes, or has ever acted in a manner consistent with this nickname."