P. v. Johnson
Defendant Lonnie Lorenzo Johnson was convicted of first degree murder. In addition, the jury found true the special circumstance that the murder was committed during the commission of a robbery. (Pen. Code, 190.2, subd. (a)(17)(A).) The jury also found that defendant personally used a deadly or dangerous weapon during the commission of the murder. (Pen. Code, 12022, subd. (b)(1).) Defendant was sentenced to prison for a term of life without the possibility of parole.
On appeal, defendant contends: (1) the prosecutor used a peremptory challenge to exclude an African-American potential juror in violation of People v. Wheeler (1978) 22 Cal.3d 258(Wheeler) and Batson v. Kentucky (1986) 476 U.S. 79 (Batson); (2) the trial court erroneously excluded evidence of third party culpability; and (3) the trial court denied him due process by instructing the jury under CALJIC No. 2.15. Court affirm.
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