P. v. Costello
A jury convicted James Scott Costello of the second degree murder of Melanie Eggleston (Pen. Code, 187, subd. (a)) and found true the allegation he discharged a firearm in committing the murder (id., 12022.53, subd. (d)). The trial court found that Costello had one prior serious felony conviction (id., 1192.7, subd. (c)(1)) and sentenced Costello to an indeterminate term of 55 years to life in state prison with the possibility of parole.
Court affirm. Court conclude (1) the trial court did not err by excluding certain testimony of witness Barbara Patterson; and (2) Costellos trial counsel was not ineffective for deciding not to a call Jamie Guile to testify and for not requesting pinpoint instructions on third party culpability.
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