PEOPLE v. COOK III
Filed 8/14/06
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA
)
v. )
Defendant and Appellant. ) Super. Ct. No. SC31145
__________ )
A jury convicted Walter Joseph Cook III of three counts of first degree murder for killing Ernest Sadler, Michael Bettancourt, and Ronald Morris (Pen. Code, § 187),[1] and it found true a multiple-murder special circumstance (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(3)). It further found that the murder of Sadler was committed with a deadly weapon (§ 12022, subd. (b)), that defendant personally inflicted great bodily injury on Sadler (§ 1203.075), and that defendant personally used a firearm in murdering both Bettancourt and Morris (§§ 1203.06, subd. (a)(1), 12022.5, subd. (a).) At the penalty phase of trial, the jury returned a verdict of death. Defendant's appeal to this court is automatic. (§ 1239, subd. (b).)
We affirm the judgment.
I. Facts and Proceedings
A. Prosecution's Guilt Phase Case-in-Chief
The murders of Ernest Sadler, Michael Bettencourt and Ronald Morris occurred on separate occasions and were unrelated to one another, except for each victim's link to defendant, a seller of crack cocaine.
1. Sadler murder
Around 4:00 o'clock on the morning of February 9, 1992, police officers found the body of Ernest Sadler lying on the pavement in the 2200 block of Menalto Avenue, East Palo Alto. Sadler's head was severely battered and three bloodstained, broken pieces of board were found near his body by officers responding to a 911 call. Because Sadler's distinctive shoe prints were visible on the damp soil in the front yard of the house at 2250 Menalto, San Mateo County Sheriff's Detective William Osborn interviewed the 11 occupants of the residence, none of whom admitted to having seen Sadler killed.
Only months later did several occupants of the house admit that they had known about Sadler's killing. In June, Shawnte Early gave police a recorded statement in which she reported seeing defendant fighting with Sadler and continuing to attack Sadler with a stick after Sadler was on the ground. She described coaxing defendant into her car and driving him around the corner only to have him jump out and run back to resume beating Sadler. At trial, Early repudiated her taped interview, testifying that she did not remember having made the detailed statement, and that it was untrue. A tape recording of her June 1992 interview was played for the jury.
Ernest Woodard, who lived at 2250 Menalto, testified that he was awakened that night by â€
