PEOPLE v. CLEOPHUS PRINCE, JR
Filed 4/30/07
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA
)
v. )
Defendant and Appellant. ) Super. Ct. No. CR130018
__________________________________ )
Defendant Cleophus Prince, Jr., appeals from a judgment of the San Diego County Superior Court imposing a sentence of death following his conviction of six counts of first degree murder (Pen. Code, 187, subd. (a)),[1]five counts of burglary ( 459), and one count of rape. ( 261.) The jury found true one rape-murder special-circumstance allegation and one multiple-murder special-circumstance allegation. ( 190.2, subd. (a)(3) & (17)(C).) The jury also found true the allegations that defendant used a knife in committing each of the murders. ( 12022, subd. (b).) Defendant also was convicted of six attempted burglaries ( 459, 664) and nine completed burglaries of homes belonging to persons other than the murder victims ( 459), and perjury. ( 119.) The jury fixed the punishment at death. The court imposed a judgment of death and also sentenced defendant for the noncapital convictions. Defendants appeal is automatic. ( 1239, subd. (b).)
We affirm the judgment in its entirety.
I. FACTS
A. Guilt Phase Evidence
1. The prosecutions case
We first provide an overview of the evidence. Defendant and his girlfriend Charla Lewis moved into an apartment in the Buena Vista Gardens apartment complex in the Clairemont area of San Diego in December 1989. Defendant was employed by Expo Builder Supplies beginning on January 10, 1990, usually working from 3:00 p.m. until midnight. Later in the year he was employed at Nacomm Communications.
Tiffany Schultz was murdered on January 12, 1990; Janene Weinhold was murdered on February 16, 1990, and Holly Tarr was murdered on April 3, 1990. All three victims were young, attractive White women who resided in or near the Buena Vista Gardens apartment complex. A resident of that apartment complex testified that in the interval between the Weinhold and Tarr murders, a man she identified as defendant followed her home and stared at her.
The murders were similar to each other in many respects; circumstantial evidence tied defendant to the crimes; DNA and other evidence connected defendant to the Weinhold murder, and Tarrs opal ring was found in Charla Lewiss possession.
In late April 1990, defendant twice attempted to enter apartments at the Torrey Pines Village apartment complex belonging to two young women. In early May 1990 he followed a woman from the beach to the La Jolla Shores beach house she was visiting and tried to force his way into the house, but was foiled when the woman pushed him over and fled.
On May 20, 1990, Elissa Keller was murdered in her apartment on Trojan Avenue in San Diego. The apartment was close to defendants new residence at the Top of the Hill apartment complex. The murder was similar to the earlier murders; certain circumstantial evidence implicated defendant; he was seen wearing Kellers ring, and various incriminating statements also tied him to the crime.
There was evidence that on August 2, 1990, defendant committed another burglary of an apartment located in the Top of the Hill apartment complex. The apartment was occupied by three young women. There was evidence establishing that defendant, at a local Thomas Cook Foreign Exchange office, exchanged the lire that were stolen in this burglary.
On September 13, 1990, Pamela Clark and her daughter Amber Clark were murdered in their home in the University City area of San Diego. The murder was similar to the other murders; defendant made incriminating statements, and he was seen wearing Pamelas wedding ring.
A series of burglaries and attempted burglaries in various areas of San Diego was committed between October 1990 and February 1991. Incriminating statements, possession of proceeds of the burglaries, positive identifications of defendant and his automobile, and other evidence tied defendant to the crimes, many of which involved his following young women from a Family Fitness Center on Miramar Drive in San Diego to the womens homes and attempting to enter the womens residences while the occupant showered or prepared to shower.
The defense was mistaken identification and alibi.
A more detailed account of the evidence adduced at trial follows.
Count 1 the murder of Tiffany Schultz
On January 12, 1990, Tiffany Schultz, a White woman who was 21 years of age, was seen sunbathing in the doorway of her second floor Canyon Ridge apartment about 10:00 a.m. The Canyon Ridge complex was located across the street from the Buena Vista Gardens apartment complex and shared a recreation center, which Schultzs apartment overlooked. Schultz spoke to a friend on the telephone from 10:00 to 10:30 a.m., but telephone calls placed to her near noon or 12:30 p.m. went unanswered.
Dorothy Curtiss, the manager of the Canyon Ridge apartment complex, was relatively certain that a stranger who approached her in front of her office at approximately 10:30 a.m. on January 12, 1990, was defendant. The stranger requested a hanger so he could unlock his automobile, indicating that the vehicle was parked on the street. When the manager supplied the hanger, the stranger to her surprise and concern walked toward the apartments rather than the street. Curtiss testified her office abutted the stairs that led to Schultzs apartment, and she had seen Schultz sunbathing, clad only in her bikini, within approximately half an hour of encountering defendant.
Persons occupying the apartment located below Schultzs reported to the police that when they arrived at the apartment between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. on January 12, 1990, they heard loud sounds coming from Schultzs apartment. The noise sounded as if someone was being beaten. They also heard running water.
Schultzs roommate discovered her body in one of the bedrooms in the apartment. It appeared there had been a struggle. Schultz was clad only in bikini briefs. She lay on her back, her left leg extended under the bed, while her right leg lay at a 60- to 70-degree angle. One leg was smeared with blood, and there was blood on her crotch. There were at least 47 stab wounds, with a cluster of 20 stab wounds in the right breast and chest area. The wounds were deep, some extending through to the back. There was another cluster of stab wounds in the left area of the chest, also deep, some passing all the way through the body. There were wounds on the neck and upper-right thigh as well as defensive wounds. Her mouth was bruised, and her face had suffered blunt trauma. She would have been motionless when the fatal knife wounds were inflicted. The bathtub was wet, and there was a damp towel nearby. There was no evidence of a sexual assault.
There also was no sign of forced entry. The interior and exterior doorknobs of the door leading to the room where Schultzs body was discovered bore bloody marks in a honeycomb or cross-hatch pattern. It appeared that the assailant had departed by way of the patio, dropping from the second floor balcony to the ground.
Schultzs live-in boyfriend was arrested for the murder but was released after a few days.
Counts 2, 3, and 4 the murder and rape of Janene Weinhold and the burglary of her residence
Janene Weinhold, a White woman who was 21 years of age, shared a second-story apartment in the Buena Vista Gardens apartment complex with a roommate. Both were students at the University of California, San Diego. Weinhold drove her roommate to work at 9:00 a.m. on February 16, 1990, telling her she planned to return home to do laundry and homework. Weinhold was to return to pick up her roommate at 2:00 p.m., but failed to do so, an uncharacteristic omission.
Marsha Nelson occupied an apartment below Weinholds. Nelson testified that between 11:30 a.m. and noon on February 16, 1990, she observed defendant sitting on the stairs leading to Weinholds second-story apartment. He appeared sad. She observed him over a period of 15 minutes. Subsequently she heard her dog barking, then heard loud sounds coming from Weinholds apartment. When Nelson was summoned to a live lineup in June 1991, she identified defendant on a card but then crossed out this identification, explaining to the police that the incident had occurred too long ago for her to make an identification. At trial, she testified that she crossed out her identification because she did not want to become involved.
On February 16, 1990, telephone calls made to Weinholds apartment from 2:30 p.m. on went unanswered. Weinholds body was discovered when her roommate returned home that evening at approximately 8:00 p.m. The front door was locked, and there was no sign of a forced entry.
A knife belonging to the occupants of the apartment was found in the sink, displaying a bent tip and blood. Weinholds body was discovered in her bedroom, one leg up against the bedroom door and the other leg spread. A blouse, trousers, and underpants were nearby, the trousers and underwear inside out as if just taken off. The body was clad only in a bra. There were at least 22 stab wounds, all in the upper chest area, with eight clustered in a pattern in the upper-right breast. Most were deep, and some had penetrated the breastbone and ribs, a circumstance that might cause a knife to bend. The wounds had been administered with great force. Some of the wounds were defensive in nature. There was a bloodstain in a honeycomb or cross-hatch pattern on a doorjamb.
Seminal fluid in Weinholds vagina was tested, and a genotype match with defendants blood sample was established to the degree that an expert testified that the match would occur in approximately 7 to 8 percent of the general population (and a lower percentage of the White population). Seminal fluid also was discovered on a jogging suit, a bedspread, and the carpet next to the body. Enzyme testing of the seminal fluid found on the carpet established that defendant, who was African-American, was within the 19 to 21 percent of that population that could have deposited the fluid. Further deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing of the jogging suit and bedspread disclosed a match with defendants blood sample, a match that would occur in approximately one in 120,000 persons.
A number of statements also linked defendant to the murder of Weinhold.
In April 1990, defendant told his friends Robin and Tony Romo that he had gone on a date with a woman, and that when they arrived home he forced himself on her. Defendant related that when he was finished, the victim was weeping, and that he went back and did her again.
David Holden was a coworker of defendants at Nacomm Communications, a cable company, beginning in the autumn of 1990. Early in 1991, defendant mentioned a girl named Janene. Defendant said he worked out with her at an athletic club and went to her home for sexual encounters on one or two occasions. Holden also testified defendant commented that the police never would capture the Clairemont murderer. (This was the description commonly used for the perpetrator of the charged murders.)
Raymond Huntley, a jailhouse informant with many prior convictions for serious crimes (and an escape charge pending), reported several conversations with defendant. On one occasion defendant allegedly said he didnt have nothing for no White bitches. In another, defendant noted that in his job with the cable company, if he found a woman he wanted to hit, he could check the name on the mailbox to determine whether she lived alone. The witness assumed that hit meant burglarize. The two men discussed assaulting women (Huntley had been convicted of such crimes). Defendant reported that he enjoyed stalking women and once he selected one, he enjoyed playing with his victims, letting them believe they would escape, and then he would do them. Defendant also reported that he enjoyed watching blood drip from a knife onto the victims pubic area.
The Cotalessa-Ritchie incident
Anna Cotalessa-Ritchie, a young White woman, testified that on March 25, 1990, during the noon hour, she walked from her second-story apartment in the Buena Vista Gardens apartment complex to a local store. She observed defendant at a bus stop on her way to the store, but he was not there when she returned. As she neared her apartment building, she saw defendant coming toward her. He stared at her as they crossed paths. She was at the door of her apartment, trying to insert the key into the lock, when she observed defendant at the bottom of the stairs. Again, he was staring at her. He bent as if to tie his shoes, although they were tied already. She entered her apartment and locked the door. After defendants arrest, Cotalessa-Ritchie positively identified defendant at a video lineup as the person who had followed her. She also identified him at trial. Prior to her participation in the lineup, she once had seen defendants image briefly on television.
Counts 5 and 6 the murder of Holly Tarr and the burglary of her residence
Holly Tarr, who was 18 years of age and White, was a resident of Michigan. In April 1990, she visited her brother Richard at the Buena Vista Gardens apartment complex during her high school spring break. Her friend, Tammy Ho, accompanied her. On April 3 1990, the two girls played tennis and then entered the pool area of the complex at 11 a.m. Ho observed a well-built African-American man working out in the adjacent athletic area. Approximately five or 10 minutes before noon, Tarr returned to the apartment alone, intending to shower. Ten minutes later, Ho approached the apartment and thought she heard a scream. To Hos surprise, the door of the apartment was locked. Ho heard the telephone ring, but no one answered it. She knocked repeatedly and called out Tarrs name. A neighbor had called the apartment complex maintenance crew, and approximately 10 minutes later a maintenance worker, Richard Williams, arrived. The door was chained shut, and he had to break the chain to enter. Ho ran into the apartment and saw a man emerge from a bedroom and run toward her, his face covered with a white cloth. He held a long knife up to his ear. The man wore a red T-shirt and had dark skin. Ho fell onto a couch as he ran past her through the front door. Ho then discovered Tarr gasping for breath. Tarrs opal ring was gone.
The log for the day at the apartment complex weight room showed, in order of arrival, Richard Tarr, Holly Tarr, Tammy Ho, and C. Prince.
Between noon and 1:00 p.m. on April 3, 1990, a bystander heard screaming coming from the direction of the Tarr apartment. When the witness looked in the direction of the scream, he saw an African-American man wearing a red shirt and black pants and running full speed across the alley, not far from the Tarr apartment. The witness observed the man disappear among the buildings. While in pursuit, the witness encountered another maintenance worker, Juan Rivera Rojas, who described the direction of the mans flight. Rojas testified at trial that he saw an African-American man run by who was approximately 28 to 30 years of age, about five feet six inches tall, and wearing a red shirt and black pants. Rojas picked out defendant in a video lineup conducted in July 1991, but testified at trial that he had not seen the mans face and could not identify him.
Tarrs body lay on the floor of one of the bedrooms in the apartment, her legs spread approximately 45 degrees. She wore a bra and underpants, and a towel was on her chest. There was no sign of forced entry (other than the chain broken by the maintenance worker). Blood was on the stairwell leading to the apartment and in numerous places in the apartment. A shoe print at the threshold matched the size and design of defendants Nike Air Jordan athletic shoes. An impression of a knife, in blood, was observed on the apartment doorjamb. A bloody knife and a T‑shirt were found near the sidewalk and the parking area; the blood was identified as Tarrs, and the knife was from the Tarr apartment. Tarr died of a single stab wound, seven inches deep, that penetrated her heart. There was blood on her bra and on her underwear in the pubic area.
On the day of the Tarr murder, defendants acquaintances, Robert Romo and Timothy Buckingham, observed defendant, wearing a red T‑shirt, driving his automobile in an alley within the Buena Vista Gardens apartment complex between noon and 1:00 p.m. Defendant wore something white on his head. When Romo entered his own apartment in the Buena Vista Gardens complex, he learned from his wife, Robin Romo, that another murder had occurred. Robert shortly thereafter observed defendant drive by again. Robert had seen defendant wear a red T-shirt prior to, but never subsequent to, the Tarr murder.
When interviewed the day after the murder, defendant informed the police that he had been at the pool the prior day until noon, when he returned to his apartment and remained there until his departure for work at 1:50 p.m. He declined the polices request to go to the station for fingerprinting.
A few days after the Tarr murder, Robin Romo mentioned to defendant that there had been another murder. Defendant responded: Yes I remember. I was at the pool. I saw her leaving.
When the police searched the home of defendants girlfriend, Charla Lewis, they discovered Tarrs opal ring. The ring was one of 63 that had been manufactured, none of them having been distributed for sale further west than Michigan or Wisconsin. Lewis testified that defendant gave her the ring in December 1990.
Counts 7 and 8 the attempted burglary of the residence shared by Stephanie Squires and Sarah Canfield
On April 25, 1990, Stephanie Squires observed defendant follow her to the pool in her apartment complex, the Torrey Pines Village apartments. She recognized him, perhaps from her recent prior residence at the Buena Vista Gardens apartment complex. Squires left the pool area around noon and returned to her apartment to shower. A neighbor witnessed an African-American man walk up the stairs toward Squiress apartment. The neighbor telephoned the apartment manager, Jean Smith. Smith testified that the neighbor told her that she saw the man climb the stairs and try the door handle. At trial, the neighbor testified that she merely had seen the man ascend the stairs and then sit down. She testified she did not wish to be involved.
On April 28, 1990, Squiress roommate, Sarah Canfield, attired in her bathing suit, was in the apartment they shared. Between 3 and 3:30 in the afternoon, she heard a knock at the door and could see the door handle moving. She looked out, saw defendant standing at the door, and telephoned the apartment manager and the police. At the time of the video lineup in July 1991, she was almost positive the man was defendant, and at trial she was certain of her identification.
At approximately 3:30 p.m. on the same day, April 28, 1990, Jean Smith saw an unfamiliar African-American man walk past her office. She asked her husband Glen to follow the man. Glen Smith testified he observed an African-American man driving an old, dirty or gray, two-door Chevrolet or Oldsmobile exit from the apartment complex parking lot. The vehicle was noisy, as if it had a defective muffler. A few days later, Glen saw the same vehicle driven by the same man in the same parking lot. Glen relayed the license number to the police, who found that the vehicle was registered to defendant. Glen identified a photograph of defendants automobile as the vehicle he had seen on both occasions.
Count 9 the burglary of Leslie Hughes-Webbs temporary residence
On May 2, 1990, between 1:30 p.m. and approximately 2:50 p.m., Leslie Hughes-Webb, a young White woman, was sunbathing on the beach near the La Jolla Shores beach house she was visiting. After she walked back to the house, she climbed the stairs to the back door and found defendant standing in front of the door. She asked his business, and replying that he had rented the home in the past, he walked away. Hughes-Webb entered the house and saw through the glass door that defendant was returning. She attempted to secure the door, but defendant forced it open. He attacked Hughes-Webb, covering her mouth and subsequently grabbing her face and shoulders, and they struggled until she was able to push him over into a nightstand. She fled screaming, and he followed her outside and down two steps, then turned, and ran out the gate. He was due at work at 3:00 p.m., but arrived 15 minutes late that day. At a lineup and at trial, Hughes-Webb identified defendant as her attacker.
Counts 10 and 11 the murder of Elissa Keller and the burglary of her residence
Elissa Keller, 38 years of age and White, lived with her 18-year old daughter. Her home was close to defendants new residence at the Top of the Hill apartment complex, where he had moved in early May 1990. Late in the evening of May 20, 1990, Keller spoke on the telephone to her daughter, who was away for the weekend. On May 21, 1990, Keller failed to appear at her place of employment at 9:00 a.m., which was unusual. She did not appear at work later that day or answer the telephone. Kellers daughter arrived at their home at approximately 11:30 p.m. on May 21, 1990. The deadbolt on the front door was not locked, which was unusual, and the chain was off the hook. She went to her bedroom, where she discovered her mothers body lying on the floor with a blanket covering her torso.
Keller lay on the carpet with her legs out and slightly separated. She wore only a tank top, and her bloody underwear lay inside out and close to the body. There were nine tightly clustered, deep stab wounds in her chest, along with some defensive wounds. There was blood smeared on her arms and legs. It appeared that she may have been punched in the face and choked. According to the physician who examined her body at approximately 3:00 a.m. on May 22, 1990, Keller had been dead between six and 12 hours, and possibly longer.
The perpetrators point of entry apparently was a partially open window. Shoe prints on the sill and on a nearby stereo could have been made by defendants Nike Air Jordan athletic shoes, and were similar to those found at the scene of Tarrs murder. A criminalist testified that gloves such as the ones used by defendant at his place of employment between January and August 1990, and found in the trunk of his vehicle, left the bloody marks found on the bathroom counter. The gloves bore a distinctive honeycomb or cross-hatch pattern. A pair of such gloves also was discovered in the closet of defendants girlfriend, Charla Lewis.
Kellers gold nugget ring was missing, and defendant subsequently was seen wearing it. The ring later was stolen from defendant but ultimately was traced to him during the murder investigation.
Michael Bari was acquainted with defendant when both men resided at the Top of the Hill apartments. Defendant possessed a large quantity of jewelry and told Bari he had obtained it off the girls he had slept with. They would not be needing them anymore. Defendant demonstrated for Bari how to break into an apartment by using a Blockbuster video store card, remarking that as long as it doesnt have a deadbolt, I can get into the apartment. Another occupant of the Top of the Hill apartments during the period defendant resided there, John Rollins, also was acquainted with defendant. Rollins brought up the subject of Kellers murder and heard defendant claim responsibility for that murder, but the remark was made in the course of preparing for a party, and everyone present interpreted it as a joke.
Count 12 the burglary of the residence occupied by Anna McComber, Maria Saatin, and Nadia Gatti
Anna McComber resided in the Top of the Hill apartment complex, as did defendant. Two friends from Italy, Maria Saatin and Nadia Gatti, were visiting her. On August 2, 1990, the three young women sunbathed by the apartment complex pool, went shopping, and sunbathed again. When they returned to the apartment, they discovered that a large amount of cash in $50 and $100 bills had been stolen, along with some Italian lire belonging to the Italian visitors.
On August 3, 1990, a person who identified himself as Cleophus Prince exchanged 94,000 Italian lire for $74.73 at the San Diego Thomas Cook Foreign Exchange office. Defendant also deposited $1,100 in two $50 and ten $100 bills into his bank account. The cash deposit was far greater than any he previously had made in the five months he had had the account.
Counts 13, 14, and 15 the murders of Amber and Pamela Clark and the burglary of their residence
On July 17, 1990, defendants girlfriend Charla Lewis joined the Family Fitness Center on Miramar Road. She listed defendant as a member. The membership was cancelled 10 days later.
At approximately 8:00 a.m. on September 13, 1990, Pamela Clark left her home in the University City area of San Diego en route to the Family Fitness Center on Miramar Road. She was wearing a full body glove and a bathing suit. She was White, 42 years of age, and very fit. Her husband left their home at approximately 8:30 a.m. Their 18-year-old daughter Amber, who was still asleep, was a member of the same fitness center. At approximately 10:00 a.m., neighbors heard Amber speaking or arguing with someone inside the house. One neighbor heard Amber call out as if afraid and also heard a male voice, but the neighbor believed nothing serious was occurring. This witness believed Pamela Clarks automobile had left the residence earlier in the morning but had returned by 11:00 a.m. Pamela, who was a massage therapist, did not appear at work for her 11:00 a.m. appointment, an unusual occurrence. No one answered the telephone at the Clarks home.
A colleague of Pamela Clarks discovered her body in the entryway of the home. Pamela was nude, lying on her back with her arms spread at 90 degrees to her body with her legs together. She had suffered 11 deep, clustered stab wounds to the upper left chest in an area measuring four and one-half by three and one-half inches. There was evidence indicating she had been dragged to that location. A knife that could have inflicted the wounds lay near her head.
Amber Clarks body lay on the floor, partly in a hallway and partly in a bedroom. She was clothed, but her garments had been pulled down to expose her breasts. Her legs were spread somewhat apart. Like her mother, she had suffered 11 deep, closely clustered stab wounds to her upper chest in an area measuring three by three and one-quarter inches. Blood was smeared on her body. A knife blade lay on the floor in the bathroom.
Pamela Clarks purse was found on her bed but, uncharacteristically, contained no money. Her wedding ring was missing.
Possible points of entry included a partially opened dining room window from which a screen had been removed, and a living room sliding glass door. The door handle bore marks of silica and other material consistent with the gypsum that defendant used in his employment. Shoe prints outside led back and forth under the dining room window. Defendants Eastland-brand shoes matched shoe prints found under the window and in the dining room. Defendant had called in sick to his employer on the day of the Clark murders.
Two persons who resided with defendant subsequent to these murders testified that he had been in possession of Pamela Clarks wedding ring.
Ernest Tuua, a coworker of defendants, testified that defendant told him during the summer of 1990 that he was dating a massage therapist and that he was doing the massage therapist and her daughter, a comment that Tuua took to refer to sexual relations. Defendant commented that the massage therapist was an older White woman with a good body. In September 1990, having changed jobs, defendant was working at the Nacomm Cable Television Company. He installed underground cable. He commented to his foreman that he was going to do a mother and a daughter, a comment the foreman took to refer to sexual relations. Defendant offered to sell jewelry to the foreman. Another coworker reported that in September 1990, defendant said he was dating a woman and her daughter, adding that the mother, aged 40, had a youthful appearance and the daughter, aged 17 or 18, was attractive. Defendant offered to sell the witness jewelry.
September 1990 defendant and his cohorts
In the autumn of 1990, defendant resided at the Top of the Hill apartment complex with Shirley Beasley (a male) and Shirleys younger brother Moheshea (Charla Lewis having moved out). According to Moheshea, Shirley told him that defendant and Shirley, in the course of burglarizing the apartment of an older couple who resided at the Top of the Hill complex, had stolen some beer. Defendant told Moheshea he could break into apartments at the nearby Trojan apartment building, because the doors lacked deadbolts. Defendant committed three burglaries with Moheshea, who was 16 years of age at the time. In committing these burglaries, defendant put socks on his hands as he approached the front door of the targeted home and then opened the door using a plastic card. Defendant told Moheshea that he knew of a residence containing jewelry and a safe, and proposed to burglarize it. Defendant stated that he had been inside the home while the female occupant slept, and that if she had awakened, he would have cut her throat. Defendant proposed to return to burglarize this residence. Moheshea testified that he and defendant thereafter broke into a Top of the Hill apartment and stole foreign currency. Defendant also told Moheshea that he surveilled the homes of women he had met at gyms.
Count 16 the burglary of Michelle Taits residence
Michelle Tait resided at the Collwood Pines apartments. On October 6, 1990, she sunbathed at the apartment pool beginning in the late morning. She returned to her apartment briefly around 2:00 p.m., finding nothing amiss. When she returned at 3:00 p.m., however, she found that her television and videocassette recorder (VCR) had been stolen.
Tait had had an encounter with defendant during the month preceding the burglary. She was walking up the stairs to her apartment when defendant asked repeatedly whether he could help her carry her groceries. He was pushy and aggressive. They made eye contact for almost a minute. He stared her down on that occasion, and also at the preliminary examination.
Shirley Beasley testified that while he resided with defendant at the Top of the Hill apartment complex, they burglarized an apartment at the Collwood Pines apartment complex. Defendant asked Beasley whether he wanted a television and a VCR. Pointing to a woman lying by the Collwood Pines apartment complexs pool, defendant stated it was her apartment they would burglarize. Defendant put socks on his hands and entered the apartment door using a credit card. Defendant went to the kitchen and took a knife, stating that if the occupant returned, Beasley should move out of the way and defendant would handle it. They took the television and the VCR. Both were sold or given away but were traced to defendant. Defendant told Beasley he had been watching a home he knew contained a safe, intending to burglarize it. Defendant also told Beasley he had stolen foreign currency during a burglary and knew where to exchange it. Beasley testified that defendant kept a large quantity of womens jewelry in the apartment they shared.
Count 17 the burglary of Michael Grommes residence
Michael Gromme resided in the Top of the Hill apartment complex and was acquainted with defendant. Gromme complained about the noisy muffler on defendants automobile. On October 15, 1990, when Gromme returned from work at approximately 5:00 p.m., he found that all of his liquor and $100 in cash had been stolen from his apartment. He discussed the burglary with defendant and defendants roommate shortly after discovering the loss. Defendants roommate commiserated, claiming that he and defendant had suffered a recent burglary. Grommes apartment was located one floor above defendants.
Shirley Beasley testified that he and defendant burglarized the home of an older couple who lived in the Top of the Hill apartment complex and stole all of their liquor to have it for a party. Defendant suggested committing the burglary, noting that the apartment was right upstairs from his apartment. During the burglary, defendant took a knife from the kitchen and walked around the apartment. Beasley testified that shortly after the burglary he and defendant commiserated with the occupants of the burglarized apartment, falsely claiming to have suffered a recent burglary themselves.
Count 18 the burglary of Bruno Gherardis residence
On November 18, 1990, Bruno Gherardis home in Encinitas was burglarized. The screen of his open bedroom window had been cut, and the sliding door to his bedroom was open. His camcorder and its accessory bag were missing, along with a knife from a butcher block in the kitchen. The camcorder was traced to defendant.
Count 19 the attempted burglary of Patricia Vans residence
On December 19, 1990, Patricia Van returned to her home from the Miramar Road Family Fitness Center at about 9:30 a.m. Approximately 20 minutes later, she heard a soft knocking at the door and saw a man she identified at trial as defendant standing there. She opened the door, and defendant asked for a person named Terry, but no one by that name resided there. Her neighbor, Earline Schooner, stood behind defendant, and when she challenged him brusquely, he walked away.
Schooner earlier had seen defendant examining nearby backyards. After ten minutes, she saw him enter a side yard and approach Vans front door. Schooner, having seen defendant exit from a vehicle, provided the police with the vehicle license number. The automobile was registered to defendant, and he was stopped by the police at 2:30 p.m. on the same day while driving away from the Family Fitness Center on Miramar Road. The vehicle was a gray Chevrolet Cavalier. The police cited defendant for his loud muffler.
Count 20 the burglary of Melinda Pinkertons residence
At approximately 11 a.m. on January 8, 1991, Lynn Shudarek returned home from her workout at the Family Fitness Center on Miramar Road. She heard someone knocking at the front door and then heard dogs barking. She saw the doorknob moving. She held the doorknob and looked out, observing an African-American man who continued for a moment to try to open the door. He departed and went toward Melinda Pinkertons residence, two doors away.
When Pinkerton returned home at approximately 2:30 p.m. the same day, the kitchen cabinets had been pulled open and a butcher knife had been placed on the kitchen counter. The sliding door leading to her backyard was open. Her camera was missing, and her lingerie had been moved. Six rings and a gold chain were missing.
Defendant pawned two of Pinkertons rings that same afternoon, using the name Rodney Higgs. After defendants arrest, when his automobile was searched, the police found Pinkertons camera and a wallet containing identification belonging to Rodney Higgs.
Count 21 perjury
Defendant used false identification and signed a false name when he pawned Melinda Pinkertons property.
Count 22 the attempted burglary of Karyl Oldenburgs residence
Karyl Oldenburg returned home from her workout at the Miramar Road Family Fitness Center at approximately 11:30 a.m. on January 22, 1991. Once inside her home, she heard the doorknob on the front door jiggling. Through the peephole she witnessed defendant standing with something in his hands, not knocking or ringing the doorbell. As she went to telephone her husband, she observed defendant approaching the back door. She proceeded to the garage and drove away. When a few months later she saw defendants photograph in the newspaper, she telephoned the police to report the incident. She identified defendant at a video lineup and at trial.
Story continues as Part II .
Publication Courtesy of San Diego County Legal Resource Directory.
Analysis and review provided by El Cajon Property line Lawyers.
[1] All further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated.
