P. v. Ngo
Filed 6/7/06 P. v. Ngo CA4/2
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS
California Rules of Court, rule 977(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 977(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.
IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION TWO
| THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. MY NGO et al., Defendants and Appellants. | E036143 (Super.Ct.No. FCH04170) O P I N I O N |
APPEAL from the Superior Court of San Bernardino County. Ingrid Adamson Uhler, Judge. Affirmed with directions.
Mark L. Christiansen, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant Brian Kim.
Kimberly J. Grove, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant My Ngo.
Bill Lockyer, Attorney General, Robert R. Anderson, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Gary W. Schons, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Robert M. Foster and Raquel M. Gonzalez, Supervising Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
INTRODUCTION
Defendants My Ngo and Brian Kim were tried together before separate juries and convicted of the first degree murder of Kim's stepfather, Martin Lee, with the special circumstance that the murder was committed for financial gain. (Pen. Code, §§ 187, subd. (a) & 190.2, subd. (a)(1).)[1] The evidence showed that Kim hired Ngo to kill Mr. Lee with money Kim stole from his mother, Mrs. Lee, and Mr. Lee. Ngo and a confederate, Albert Yoon, went to the Lees' house on the morning of November 3, 2000, when Mr. Lee was home alone. When Mr. Lee was on the phone with Kim, Yoon stood in front of Mr. Lee to get his attention while Ngo shot Mr. Lee in the head. Kim heard the gunshot over the phone. Later that day, Kim paid Ngo and Yoon for the murder, and Kim and Yoon ransacked the Lees' house to make it appear the murder had been committed during a robbery.
Before Ngo and Kim's trial, Yoon pled guilty to second degree murder and received a life sentence. In testifying before both juries, Yoon said he considered Kim as a brother and refused to answer most of the prosecution's questions. Another confederate, Wilson Kim (Wilson) pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter before trial and provided critical testimony before both juries. At the time of trial, Wilson had served three years in custody, but was no longer in custody and had not been sentenced. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Wilson was to be sentenced to 3, 6, or 11 years. The trial judge, who had taken Wilson's plea, was to determine Wilson's sentence based in part on whether she believed he testified truthfully.
Ngo was also convicted of possessing a firearm as a felon (§ 12021, subd. (a)(1)), and was found to have personally discharged a firearm in the commission of the murder (§ 12022.53, subd. (d)).[2] Ngo admitted he had one prior strike conviction. (§ 667, subds. (b)-(i).) An armed enhancement was found true as to Kim. (§ 12022, subd. (a)(1).)
Ngo and Kim were both sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.[3] Ngo and Kim appeal, and their appeals have been consolidated for purposes of briefing, argument, and decision.
DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS
Ngo and Kim raise separate contentions and do not join each other's contentions. We first address Ngo's contentions: (1) the trial court prejudicially erred in refusing to redact part of a recorded statement in which Ngo told Yoon that, before Ngo shot Mr. Lee, he used the same gun to shoot a person he described as a â€
