P. v. Gonzales CA5
Defendant Francisco Hernandez Gonzales fatally stabbed his friend of many years after his niece told him the victim had molested her. The jury convicted defendant of first degree murder and found he used a deadly or dangerous weapon to commit the crime. (Pen. Code, §§ 187, subd. (a), 12022, subd. (b)(1).) The trial court sentenced defendant to a total indeterminate term of 26 years to life: 25 years to life for first degree murder and an additional one year for the weapon enhancement.
On appeal, defendant claims the jury’s finding that the murder was willful, deliberate and premediated is unsupported by substantial evidence. He also claims the trial court erred in its instructions to the jury on mutual combat, contrived self-defense, voluntary manslaughter based on imperfect self-defense and voluntary intoxication.
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