P. v. Mei CA5
After he failed to return home from work one night, the body of victim Wing Ming Chan was found in a common area of the building housing his restaurant. Defendant Zhi Jian Mei, who was a cook at the restaurant, was arrested hours later and charged with first degree felony murder and robbery, with a sentence enhancement allegation attached to both counts for use of a deadly and dangerous weapon. Following a trial by jury, defendant was convicted of second degree murder committed with a deadly and dangerous weapon, but was acquitted of the robbery count. The trial court sentenced defendant to 15 years to life for murder plus an additional one year for the weapon enhancement, for a total indeterminate term of 16 years to life. In this appeal, defendant challenges the trial court’s denial of his motion to suppress his statement to detectives on the ground that it was coerced and therefore involuntary, in violation of Miranda v. Arizona (1966) 384 U.S. 436 (Miranda).
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