P. v. Ridge
Defendant Donald Jones fired a rifle from a van at a group of four teenagers. Jones's brother, codefendant Larry Dean Ridge, Jr., owned the van and was a passenger in the van along with two other men. A rifle shot killed one of the teenagers, and return fire from the street killed a van passenger.
A jury convicted Jones of two counts of first degree murder for the deaths of the teenager and van passenger, and three counts of attempted murder of the surviving teenagers. (Pen. Code, SS 187, subd. (a), 189, 664 [all further section reference are to this code].) For both murder convictions, the jury found that Jones personally discharged a firearm and caused the death of a person other than an accomplice. (§ 12022.53, subd. (d).) The court sentenced Jones to three consecutive life sentences in prison, two without possibility of parole, and multiple firearm use enhancements that include life terms. The jury convicted codefendant Ridge of two counts of second degree murder and three counts of attempted murder. (SS 187, subd. (a), 189, 664.) Ridge is serving two consecutive terms of 20 years to life, with a one year firearm enhancement for the murders, plus an aggregate determinate term of 11 years, 8 months for the attempted murders. Both defendants appeal.
Jones presented an alibi defense at trial and, on appeal, challenges admission of an eyewitness identification and exclusion of expert testimony about that identification. Jones also maintains that his murder conviction for the death of his van companion was improperly fixed in the first degree, and that the firearm enhancement as to the van passenger should be stricken because the passenger was an accomplice. Jones claims that the enhancement finding is otherwise flawed as the product of instructional error. Jones, along with Ridge, argue that the jury, not the trial court, should have made any findings used to impose consecutive sentences.
Ridge separately argues that his convictions for murder and attempted murder must be reversed because there is insufficient evidence that he aided and abetted the crimes. Ridge denies knowledge that Jones would shoot people and denies an intention to aid the shooting. Ridge also argues that the case was tried on the theory that he was either guilty of first degree murder or no murder, and the court erred in instructing the jury on second degree murder. Ridge maintains that he would have been acquitted of murder in the absence of the instructional error, and thus reversal is required.
Court affirm the judgments with a single modification. The 25 years to life firearm use enhancement for Jones's murder of his van companion (S 12022.53, subd. (d)) must be modified to a 20 year enhancement (S 12022.53, subd. (c)), due to instructional error.
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