PEOPLE
v. ALEXANDER





















Filed 7/15/10











IN THE SUPREME
COURT OF CALIFORNIA







THE PEOPLE, )

)

Plaintiff
and Respondent, )

) S053228

v. )

)

ANDRE STEPHEN ALEXANDER, )

) Los
Angeles County

Defendant
and Appellant. ) Super. Ct.
No. BA065313-01

__________________________________ )





On
June 4, 1980, Julie Cross,
an agent of the United
States Secret Service, was murdered in the line of duty. Over a decade later, defendant Andre Stephen
Alexander was charged with Cross's murder.
In 1996, a jury convicted him of first degree murder (Pen. Code, § 187),[1]
and found true allegations that he personally used a firearm and that a
principal was armed with a firearm
(§§ 12022.5, subd. (a), 12022, subd. (a)). The jury also found true special circumstance
allegations that defendant previously had been convicted of murder (§ 190.2,
subd. (a)(2)) and that the murder of Cross had been committed in the course of
a robbery (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(17)). At
the penalty phase of the trial, the jury returned a verdict of death. The trial
court denied a motion for a new trial and the automatic motion to modify
the penalty verdict (§ 190.4, subd. (e)), and it imposed the death
sentence. Appeal to this court is
automatic. (§ 1239, subd. (b).) We affirm the judgment.

I. Facts

A. Guilt
Phase

1.
Prosecution Evidence

a.
Commission of the Murder

On the evening of Wednesday, June 4, 1980, Secret Service Agents
Julie Cross and Lloyd Bulman were part of a team of agents planning to serve a
search warrant on a suspected counterfeiter's residence. The two were partners whose role was to
prevent the suspect's escape should he try to flee when the warrant was
served. They were seated in an unmarked
car near the corner of Belford Avenue
and Interceptor Street near
the Los
Angeles International Airport;
Bulman was in the driver's seat, and Cross was in the front passenger's
seat. Both were dressed in civilian
clothes.

The agents' vehicle contained a
police radio and a 12-gauge shotgun with the standard Secret Service
modifications of a shortened barrel, a pistol grip, and a folding stock. A guard attached to the barrel inhibited a
person from placing a hand in front of the muzzle when firing the gun. This guard was unique to shotguns the Secret
Service used because it was permanently, as opposed to temporarily, attached. On the night of the murder, the shotgun was
loaded with four rounds: the first and
third were slugs; the second and fourth were buckshot.

Bulman testified that, at some point
before it became dark, a large, brown, two-door car with a lighter colored roof
and rust spots on the body slowly drove past the agents. The two African-American men in the car
looked at the agents as they drove by.
The driver was neatly groomed and had a mustache. The passenger wore a stocking cap and also
had a mustache. Several minutes later,
the same car with the same occupants again slowly drove by, this time parking a
short distance away. The two men left
the car and walked out of sight between an apartment building and a
garage. Two to three minutes later, they
returned to the car and drove away.

A short time later, after it was
dark outside, Cross told Bulman she saw someone coming up behind the agents'
car. The agents drew their sidearms from
their holsters, and Cross got out of the car.
As Bulman turned to open his door, he saw someone approach the rear of
the car on the driver's side. Before
Bulman could exit the car, the person opened the door and pointed a revolver at
Bulman's head. Bulman recognized the
man, who was wearing a black leather jacket, as the driver of the brown
car. The driver[2]
told Bulman to raise his hands. After
putting his pistol on the seat, Bulman raised his hands and identified himself
as a police officer. The driver said he
also was a police officer, but refused Bulman's request to allow Bulman to show
his badge. He ordered Bulman to tell
Cross to drop her weapon; instead, Bulman told Cross not to do so. While the driver had the revolver pressed
against Bulman's temple, forcing his head toward the seat, Bulman heard Cross
say, â€