PEOPLE v. JADE EMILY ANDERSON
Filed 7/18/06
CERTIFIED FOR PARTIAL PUBLICATION*
IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION ONE
| THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. JADE EMILY ANDERSON, Defendant and Appellant. | A108482 (Alameda County Super. Ct. No. H-32353-B) |
A jury convicted defendant of first degree murder based primarily on her videotaped interview with the police, during which she admitted that she ripped money from the pocket of the victim while her companion was strangling him to death. On appeal, defendant contends that her statement should been excluded because it was involuntary and taken in violation of Miranda v. Arizona (1966) 384 U.S. 436 (Miranda). In addition, defendant contends that the trial court erred in failing to instruct sua sponte on lesser included offenses of murder and on theft. Although we affirm the trial court's admission of the videotape of the interview, we agree with defendant that the trial court had a sua sponte duty to instruct on lesser included offenses of murder. Because we find the trial court's failure to give such instructions to have been prejudicial, we reverse the conviction and remand for a new trial.
I. BACKGROUND
Defendant, along with a codefendant, Mario Gonzales, was charged with one count of murder in an amended information filed May 12, 2004. (Pen. Code, § 187, subd. (a).) After the close of evidence at trial, the court allowed the prosecution to â€
