P. v. Chia
In 1988, Frank Kow, Michael Sun, and William Wang actively participated in a planned robbery and the shooting of three undercover DEA agents who were posing as drug buyers. Two of the agents were killed, the third was wounded, and Kow and Sun were killed by other agents as they attempted to flee. Wang was wounded but survived and was later convicted of two counts of first degree murder, one count of attempted murder, and one count of robbery, and was sentenced to state prison for life without the possibility of parole. Court affirmed (People v. Wang (June 3, 1992, B049641) [nonpub. opn.]), and the Supreme Court denied review (People v. Wang (Aug. 27, 1992, S027668).
Meanwhile, Michael Chia was tried separately for the same crimes and convicted as an aider and abettor of two counts of first degree murder, one count of attempted murder, one count of robbery, and one count of conspiracy to commit robbery. Court affirmed (People v. Te-Chia (May 30, 1991, B043360 [nonpub. opn.]), the Supreme Court denied review (People v. Te - Chia (Sept. 4, 1991, S021888), and the United States District Court denied Chia's petition for a writ of habeas corpus -- but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court and remanded the cause with instructions to issue a writ of habeas corpus unless Chia was granted a new trial (Chia v. Cambra (9th Cir. 2002) 281 F.3d 1032). The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari, vacated the Ninth Circuit's judgment, and remanded the cause to the Ninth Circuit for further consideration (McGrath v. Chia (2003) 538 U.S. 902). On remand, the Ninth Circuit again reversed the district court (Chia v. Cambra (9th Cir. 2004) 360 F.3d 997), finding that Chia had been denied a fair trial because the trial court had excluded hearsay statements by Wang (who had been unavailable because he had invoked his Fifth Amendment rights) that allegedly exonerated Chia.
At his retrial in 2005, Chia called Wang as defense witness, and Wang testified that Chia had not been involved in the robbery or murders of the DEA agents. The jury rejected Wang's testimony (and the rest of Chia's defense) and once again convicted him of two counts of first degree murder, one count of attempted murder, one count of robbery, and one count of conspiracy to commit robbery, with true findings on allegations that a principal had been armed with a firearm during the commission of the murders and the robbery. Chia was sentenced to state prison for an aggregate term of 61 years to life. Defendant appeals, challenging various aspects of the trial and his sentence. Court vacate a $200 fine but otherwise affirm the judgment.
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