P. v. Pease CA4/2
A jury convicted defendant and appellant, Dennis Griffin Pease, of the first degree murder of Willard Eichler. The court sentenced defendant to 25 years to life in prison. He advances two primary arguments on appeal: (1) the court should have dismissed this case because it violated the bar against multiple prosecutions under Kellett v. Superior Court (1966) 63 Cal.2d 822 (Kellett); and (2) the court violated his constitutional rights by removing a deliberating juror and replacing her with an alternate. We reject both arguments and affirm. An earlier prosecution of defendant for felon in possession of a firearm did not bar this murder prosecution because the offenses arose from different courses of conduct. Furthermore, the court properly discharged the deliberating juror for her inability or unwillingness to follow jury instructions.
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