P. v. Walker CA2/5
Joshua Brown (Joshua) was shot and killed in a Los Angeles neighborhood claimed by a rival street gang. Police arrested DeOnte Anthony Walker (defendant)—a member of that rival gang—as the shooter and the police found photos of various automatic and semi-automatic handguns on his cell phone. The gun used to kill Joshua was never recovered, but at trial the prosecution introduced evidence to show certain of the guns depicted in the cell phone photos could have been the murder weapon. Defendant contended Joshua’s friend’s description of the murder weapon as a “cowboy gun” with a “revolver thing” ruled these guns out. We consider whether the gun photos were properly admitted, whether the trial court should have instructed the jury that photos from defendant’s phone were admitted for a limited purpose, and whether there was substantial evidence that defendant was the shooter and that the killing was premeditated and deliberate.
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