# People v. Cooks

> California Court of Appeal · March 25, 1983 · 141 Cal. App. 3d 224

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/2122861

## Case

- **Full name:** The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. JESSIE LEE COOKS Et Al., Defendants and Appellants
- **Court:** California Court of Appeal
- **Decided:** March 25, 1983
- **Citations:** 141 Cal. App. 3d 224; 190 Cal. Rptr. 211; 1983 Cal. App. LEXIS 1528
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Opinion by Rouse
- **Judges:** Rouse
- **Cited by:** 99 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

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## Opinion text

Opinion
ROUSE, Acting P. J.
In May 1974, the Grand Jury for the City and County of San Francisco returned an indictment that accused Jessie Lee Cooks, Larry Craig Green, Manuel Moore, and J.C.X. Simon of conspiracy to commit murder between October 20, 1973, and April 30, 1974 (Pen. Code, §§ 182, 187). The indictment alleged four overt acts (Pen. Code, §§ 184, 1104). Cooks and Green were also accused of the following crimes in which Quita Hague was the victim: kidnaping (Pen. Code, § 207), robbery (Pen. Code, § 211), and
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murder (Pen. Code, § 187). Cooks and Green were also accused of the following crimes in which Quita’s husband, Richard Hague, was the victim: kidnaping (Pen. Code, § 207), robbery (Pen. Code, § 211), and assault with a deadly weapon (Pen. Code, § 245, subd. (a)). These crimes against Mr. and Mrs. Hague were committed on the night of October 20, 1973. The indictment further alleged that in robbing Quita Hague defendant Green inflicted great bodily injury on her (former Pen. Code, § 213), that in robbing Richard Hague defendant Cooks inflicted great bodily injury on him (former Pen. Code, § 213), and that Cooks used a firearm in committing each offense against Richard and Quita Hague (Pen. Code, § 12022.5).
Defendants Moore and Simon were both accused of the murders of Tana Smith and Jane Holly on January 28, 1974 (Pen. Code, § 187). The indictment alleged that Simon used a firearm in killing Tana Smith (Pen. Code, § 12022.5), and that Moore used a firearm in killing Jane Holly (Pen. Code, § 12022.5). Moore and Simon were also accused of assault with a deadly weapon on Roxanne McMillian January 28, 1974 (Pen. Code, § 245, subd. (a)); the indictment alleged that Simon used a firearm in committing that offense (Pen. Code, § 12022.5). Moore was also charged with assault with a deadly weapon against Ward Anderson and Terry White on April 14, 1974 (Pen. Code, § 245, subd. (a)); the indictment alleged that Moore used a firearm in committing those two offenses (Pen. Code, § 12022.5).
The indictment alleged two prior felony convictions against Cooks (1965 robbery and 1966 federal bank robbery), and one prior felony conviction (1969 burglary) against Moore.
The defendants pleaded not guilty and denied the special allegations. Trial by jury commenced in March 1975, and a year later, in March 1976, the jury, after 18 hours of deliberations, found the defendants guilty of all charges, including first degree murder. The jury also found all the special allegations to be true, other than the alleged prior convictions which Cooks and Moore had admitted before trial. The court sentenced the defendants to state prison for terms provided by law (life imprisonment) under the then existing Indeterminate Sentence Law. Each defendant appeals from his judgment of conviction. We affirm each judgment except for a minor modification of the judgment against Simon.
I. “Operation Zebra”
In December 1973, and January 1974, a number of persons were randomly shot and killed or injured on the streets of San Francisco. Random shootings occurred again in April 1974. In each instance the victim was a Caucasian and the gunman a Negro male. Witnesses gave police various descriptions of the gun
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man’s height, weight, and appearance. In most instances, the gunman was described as 25 to 30 years old, about 6 feet tall, 160 to 180 pounds. The San Francisco Police Department took extraordinary measures to identify the person or persons responsible for the shootings. The police investigation of these crimes became known as “Operation Zebra,” based on the police radio code letters for that particular investigation. This case has become known as the “Zebra” case.
1
In April 1974, the City of San Francisco offered a reward of $30,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons involved in the “Zebra” crimes. Police released to the news media two composite drawings of a suspect, and on April 18, 1974, those sketches appeared in local newspapers. On April 22, 1974, Anthony Cornelius Harris telephoned the San Francisco Police Department and, during a number of interviews on successive days, Harris provided the police with information which led to the arrest (on May 1, 1974) and indictment of the defendants in this case.
2
Although the defendants argued that Harris’ main motive was revenge against the Black Muslims and collection of the reward, Harris said he telephoned the police primarily “to stop a lot of senseless killing, that’s all.”
Anthony Harris became a principal prosecution witness before the grand jury and at trial. Because of his involvement in some of the crimes, he invoked (on advice of counsel at trial) his constitutional privilege against self-incrimination. The court, on petition by the People, granted Harris immunity from prosecution and ordered him to testify (Pen. Code, § 1324). When the case was submitted to the jury the court instructed that Anthony Harris was an accomplice as a matter of law, and therefore his testimony had to be corroborated (Pen. Code, § HI 1).
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n. Background of Anthony Harris, the Defendants, and the Alleged Conspiracy
At the time of trial, Anthony Harris was 29 years old, a slender, well-groomed, good-looting black man about 5 feet 11 inches tall. He grew up in southern California (Santa Ana and Long Beach) with five brothers and two sisters. He dropped out of school after the ninth grade. Since he was about 14 years old he learned, practiced, and taught the martial art of Kung Fu. Certain defense witnesses revealed that Harris was once married to a white girl and had two children in southern California. A couple of Harris’ brothers were also married to white girls. In 1966, Harris was convicted of second degree burglary. In July 1971, he was again convicted of second degree burglary and sentenced to state prison.
In early 1973, Harris became acquainted with defendant Cooks and defendant Moore in San Quentin prison where the three men were inmates. Cooks was about 29 years old, black, muscular, about 6 feet tall, and a boxer or fighter. Moore was also about 29 years old, black, 6 feet 1 inch tall, muscular, and weighed 200 to 210 pounds. Moore was in prison for violation of parole on his 1969 conviction of burglary of a San Bernardino television store. Moore grew up in San Bernardino with six brothers and seven sisters, including Caucasian stepbrothers and stepsisters who were children of his Caucasian stepmother. Although Moore testified that he attended school through the ninth grade, he could not read or write.
Harris testified that while in prison he taught other prisoners the martial art of Kung Fu. Cooks, and later Moore, asked him to teach them Kung Fu. Cooks said he wanted to learn Kung Fu because he wanted to learn how to till white people. He wanted to till white people because, among other reasons, “they had castrated and tilled and stomped our (black) babies’ heads in.” He wanted to learn Kung Fu and how to “break people’s necks, punch their eyes out, break their heads and bust their hearts.” Cooks told Harris that when he (Cooks) got out of prison he was going to join the “Death Angels,” which Harris said was a group of blacks whose objective was to till white people and start a race war. Harris testified that while in prison about all Cooks talked about was tilling white people.
Harris testified that he had similar conversations with Moore who wanted to learn Kung Fu because he had bad experiences with white people and wanted to till them. Moore, on the other hand, denied he ever asked Harris to teach him Kung Fu. Moore denied he hated whites or had bad experiences with them.
Of the three men, Cooks was the first to be released from prison in June 1973. He obtained a job at a Shabazz (Muslim) bakery on Randolph Street (Ingleside area in southwest part of city), San Francisco. He apparently lived at a Muslim halfway house at 531 Waller Street. Harris was released from prison
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on parole on July 27, 1973 (two years after his commitment). Moore was released on November 11 or 12, 1973, and he also went to live at the Muslim halfway house on Waller Street.
When Harris was released from prison he went to live at the Crittendon House, a halfway house in Oakland. He obtained a job selling fish for the Nation of Islam Temple in Oakland. He soon became dissatisfied with the job because of the small amount of money he was earning and because he thought his employer was cheating him.
In August 1973, Harris went to the Nation of Islam Temple 26 at Geary and Fillmore Streets, San Francisco, in search of a different job. He met defendant Green in the temple’s snack shop and talked to him about a job. Green was employed at Black Self Help, 1645 Market Street (between 12th and Brady), San Francisco.
3
Black Self Help was owned and managed by Thomas Manney, and in the business of moving, storing, repairing, and selling furniture and other items.
4
After talking with the temple captain, Albert Leonard, Green drove Harris to Black Self Help and introduced him to Thomas Manney who gave Harris a job that paid $4.50 per hour.
When Harris started work at Black Self Help in August 1973, he met defendant Simon who was employed there as Thomas Manney’s assistant manager.
5
Other Black Self Help employees included Clarence Jamerson,
6
Edward Land,
7
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Douglas Burton,
8
Dwight Stallings,
9
Sylvester Bounds,
10
and Charles Gillespie.
11
When Moore was released from prison in November 1973, he too was given a job at Black Self Help. Although Cooks was not employed at Black Self Help, Harris testified that Cooks was frequently in the store. Only Manney, Simon, Green and Jamerson had keys to the store. All the Black Self Help employees and their wives or girl friends were members, or in the process of becoming members, of the Nation of Islam Temple 26. They were commonly known as Muslims or Black Muslims.
Harris’ initial work involved cleaning the store. Two or three weeks later he started working primarily with Green as a helper in moving or delivering furniture. Green owned a white or beige 1971 Dodge van (Tradesman 100) which he used to deliver furniture for Black Self Help. Green kept moving pads for protection of the furniture in his van. Green’s van was the only van used at Black Self Help. Simon owned an old, white, four-door Dodge Dart automobile. He sold it to Green in November 1973, but Simon continued to use it. Thomas Manney owned a number of vehicles, including several trucks and a 1959 black, four-door Cadillac that he kept at the store most of the time and which Simon often used. Clarence Jamerson owned a 1970 “Sherwood Green” (greenish gold), four-door Cadillac.
12
Dwight Stallings owned a red 1961 Cadillac. Harris and Moore had no driver’s license, owned no vehicle, and did not have access to any Black Self Help vehicles. Harris and Green became good friends. Green often provided Harris with transportation. Moore worked primarily with Simon who often provided Moore with transportation.
In April 1973, Green rented an apartment (unit No. 7) at 844 Grove Street, San Francisco, and lived there until his arrest on May 1, 1974. In May 1973, J.C. Simon separated from his wife, Ada Dison Simon, and moved in with Green. In August 1973, Simon rented his own apartment (unit No. 2) in the same building at 844 Grove Street and lived there until his arrest on May 1, 1974. Simon testified that his former wife (Patricia) and daughter from Texas
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lived with him from September 24, 1973, to December 18, 1973, and that Moore moved in with him on December 19, 1973.
13
Moore was in the process of becoming a member of the Nation of Islam. Simon tried to teach Moore how to read and write and helped with his “lessons.” Moore moved out of Simon’s apartment on or about March 1, 1974.
14
On March 29, 1974, Moore married a girl named Gloria and moved into her apartment at 1853 Divisadero Street, near Pine Street, San Francisco.
15
Harris lived in Oakland until mid-October 1973, when he moved in with Carolyn Patton, his fiancee, at 68 Hilltop Road (Hunter’s Point Housing Project), San Francisco. He and Carolyn were married on October 23, 1973. Green served as best man and J.C. Simon, in his words, “gave the chick away.”
16
The marriage lasted 17 days.
17
Harris testified that upstairs in the Black Self Help store on Market Street was a large room where meetings were held. In August and September 1973, Harris attended about four meetings in that room. J.C. Simon, Larry Green, Edward Land, Dwight Stallings, and a number of other people attended those meetings. There was usually a speaker or lbader.
18
At one meeting a motion picture of the Watts riot in Los Angeles was shown. It showed police beating black people.
Harris testified that in October 1973, he and Green visited Cooks in his apartment. Green transported Harris to Cooks’ apartment in his Dodge van. Cooks asked Harris if he could get him a gun. Harris told Cooks he would have to find one himself. Cooks asked Harris “if I wanted to go out and kill some people with him.” Harris said he wasn’t interested. Cooks went into another room.
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When he returned he said he had another gun. Cooks then removed a machete from under the mattress of his bed. Harris testified that Green participated in the conversation and said they could use his van “to go out and make some hits.” Cooks wanted to know the exact area where they were going and “take some people.” Harris said he did not know the city very well. Green said he knew the city and they could go with him. Cooks and Harris then went out with Green in his van. Cooks had a .22 caliber automatic pistol and talked about killing some white people. Green said nothing. They drove around the city about three hours, but “no one was hurt that night.”
Harris testified that in October 1973, he attended two meetings in Simon’s apartment at 844 Grove Street. Green drove Harris to 844 Grove Street in his van. Simon, Grove, Jamerson, Land, and Stallings were present at those meetings. Cooks was not present. Simon did most of the talking. He asked Harris how he “felt about white people,” whether he thought they were his enemies and whether his mind was “together enough to destroy the enemy,” meaning white people. Green said nothing. Harris testified that Simon “quoted some lessons about killing the white devil.” He quoted from “some type of binder” which contained a number of pages. Simon had a three-ring, loose-leaf binder which contained, among other things, Muslim literature and material used in “processing” a person for membership in the Nation of Islam. (People’s Exhibit No. 16.) It included references to white people as devils who, for various reasons, had to be killed. Jamerson had a similar binder.
At the second meeting in Simon’s apartment Simon again talked about killing white people and asked Harris whether he had his “mind together” and could kill someone. He talked about meetings at the temple. None of the others present talked much at this meeting. Simon went into a bedroom and returned with a large case which contained two long sharp knives and several handguns, including a .357 Magnum, a .38 snubnose, and a .32 caliber automatic pistol. Simon picked up the .32 automatic and said Harris should go out and use the gun to kill people. Harris said he did not need a gun. He could use his hands. Simon put the gun down and told Harris he “wasn’t ready.”
Harris testified that similar meetings took place in Simon’s apartment in November or December 1973. At that time, Manuel Moore was present with Simon, Green, Jamerson, Land, and Stallings. Simon again asked Harris if he could kill anybody, whether he had his mind together, and how he felt about white people. Simon told Harris he would have to go out and kill some people to show he could be trusted. Harris told Simon he was not going to kill anyone because no one had hurt him. Simon replied, “Man, you still haven’t got yourself together yet.” Moore did not participate in that conversation.
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Harris testified that Simon talked about “Death Angels” at Black Self Help and at his apartment when Green, Land, Jamerson, Stallings, and other people were present. Moore was present at these talks at Black Self Help. Simon said that if a person wanted to join the “Death Angels,” he would have to kill four white children or five or six white women and nine white men. Muslim literature in Simon’s binder contained similar statements. The other persons present said nothing. Simon did not specify the persons to be killed, “only white people.” In a conversation at Black Self Help Moore told Simon he (Moore) wanted to join the Death Angels. In a later conversation, Green told Harris he was not going to join because “it involves too much killing.” This was in December 1973 (after the killing of Mrs. Hague). Harris told Green he was not going to join.
Thomas Manney, J.C. Simon, Manuel Moore, Larry Green, Clarence Jamerson, Edward Land, and Douglas Burton testified and denied that meetings, as described by Harris, had ever taken place. They testified that they had never heard of “Death Angels.” They denied they ever discussed the killing of white people. Simon testified that Harris was never in his apartment, and other witnesses testified they had never seen Harris in Simon’s apartment or in the building. Green testified that he never took Harris to his (Green’s), apartment or Simon’s apartment but Harris visited him in his apartment two or three times after he was married.
Harris worked at Black Self Help until February 1, 1974. He testified that he quit and moved to Oakland with his “wife,” Deborah Turner, because he feared he was going to be killed. Manney testified that he fired Harris on February 1, 1974, because a number of items (cameras, stereo equipment) were missing from the store and customers’ storage units.
Michael Armstrong, age 23, and Thomas Manney knew each other since Armstrong was a young boy and lived in the Ingleside area of San Francisco. Armstrong said he was frequently in the Black Self Help store. Armstrong was granted immunity from prosecution and testified that Manney has asked him to get him some guns. In October 1973, Armstrong obtained a .32 caliber automatic pistol from Ella Bell through a narcotic transaction, and sold it to Manney for $55. In mid-October 1973, with Manney acting as an intermediary, Armstrong sold a .22 caliber automatic pistol to Jessie Cooks for $45. Armstrong had stolen that gun in a burglary. In late October 1973, Armstrong purchased a .32 automatic pistol from a Samoan named Moo Moo Tooa for $30 and sold it to Manney for $55. In November 1973, Armstrong sold a .357 Magnum and two .9 millimeter handguns to Manney for about $120. In April 1974, Armstrong sold a .38 caliber “special” to J.C. Simon for $45.
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Thomas Manney and J.C. Simon denied they ever owned or possessed any guns of any kind. Green, Moore, and other defense witnesses denied they ever possessed any guns or saw any guns at Black Self Help.
III. October 20, 1973—Attempted Kidnap of Children; Crimes Committed Against Richard and Quita Hague
On October 20, 1973, a Saturday, Anthony Harris worked at the Black Self Help store. He said he wore a black suit with a Nehru collar and either a white or yellow shirt. He left the store shortly after 6 p.m. When he left, Cooks and Green were leaving the store through the rear door. Harris walked to the bus or streetcar stop at Market and Van Ness to get on a bus or streetcar that would take him to 68 Hilltop Road where he was living with Carolyn Patton.
Harris testified that while he was waiting for a streetcar, Green and Cooks drove up in Green’s Dodge van and offered him a ride home. Green was driving. Cooks was the passenger. After Green drove around the city a while Harris realized they were not taking him home and asked where they were going. Harris noticed that Cooks had a .22 caliber automatic pistol. Cooks kept it in his boot. Harris also observed a long, sharp knife (a machete) next to the driver’s seat. After riding around the city a while Cooks asked Harris if he had his “mind together” and whether he could kill someone. Cooks told Harris he (Harris) had to kill someone, but Harris said he could not do it. Cooks said, “Okay,” and put the gun back in his boot. Harris feared that Cooks might kill him. They drove a while longer until Cooks directed Green to stop and park the van. They parked near a school (Corpus Christi) on Francis Street, which is between Mission Street and Alemany Boulevard in the southwest part of San Francisco.
Harris testified that Cooks and Green left the van. Harris remained in the van and watched Cooks and Green walk up a hill toward a house where three children (Michele Carasco, Marie and Frankie Stewart) were playing in the front yard. Harris testified that the boy came down the steps in front of the house. Cooks grabbed him around the neck and Green grabbed the two girls. Cooks and Green forced the three children toward the van. Cooks held a gun at the side of the boy’s neck. Cooks told Harris to open the doors. Harris opened the doors and got out of the van. The children were struggling. Harris testified that he ran toward the boy, pushed him to the ground, and told Cooks to let him go, because “he would tell his parents on us.” The boy started running and yelling, “cops.” The girls broke loose and ran. The children ran to a nearby house and then to a rectory where a priest provided them with safety. Green said, “Let’s get out of here.” Cooks forced Harris back into the van and they left the area.
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Michele Car asco, a perceptive 12-year-old girl, testified that on the night of October 20, 1973, she and other children were having a birthday party for her brother at 71 Francis Street. Michele and two friends, Marie and Frankie Stewart, were playing in the front yard when two black men walked up and one, the bald-headed man (Cooks), asked where Mission Street was located. He then pulled out a gun and told the children, “Just be quiet and follow us.” Michele identified Cooks as the bald or clean-shaven black man who pulled out the gun. She described the other black man as about 20 to 21 years old with a short Afro. The black men forced them to walk to a van which Michele described as a “white, fairly new” van with doors in the back and a door on the side. She testified that there was a third man standing next to the van. Cooks told him to open the door and “get out the sacks.” Michele asked Cooks, “Is this a joke?” Cooks told her to shut up and called her a “brat.” When asked whether the third man next to the van was black or white, Michele testified that “he was kind of half and half,” “he wasn’t all black and he wasn’t all white. He could have been [black], but his complexion was very light.” He was “fairly young” and “medium build.”
19
Michele testified that as they reached the van, Frankie (Stewart) yelled “cops” and ran, and that she and Marie also ran away to a lady’s house and then to the rectory. In court, Michele identified Cooks. The prosecutor did not ask her if she could identify Green or Harris.
20
Harris testified that after the attempted kidnaping of the three children, Green drove to Broadway in the North Beach area of the city. Cooks told Green to park at a certain place, which turned out to be the north side of Chestnut Street near the intersection of Powell Street.
Richard Hague, a mining engineer, testified that on October 20, 1973, he and his wife, Quita (age 29), lived at 399 Chestnut Street near Stockton Street (on Telegraph Hill). About 9:30 p.m., they went out for a walk. They walked down the hill on the south side of Chestnut (westward) toward Powell Street. Mr. Hague was carrying a wallet with $10 or $11 and credit cards, a house key, and a small silver fruit knife. Harris testified that when they saw the couple (the Hagues) Cooks opened the side door of the van, got out, and ordered Harris out of the van. Green got out of the van. Cooks and Green walked across the street and Harris followed at a distance. Mr. Hague testified that as he and his wife walked down Chestnut Street they saw two black men standing next to a board fence along a vacant lot. As they approached the two men, one walked to the curb side of the sidewalk and forced the Hagues to walk between them. Mr. Hague observed that the black man standing next to the curb (Hague’s right) was either bald or had a clean-shaven head. Hague identified the man in
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court as defendant Cooks.
21
Mr. Hague did not observe any particular or distinguishing features about the second black man, except that he had medium-length kinky hair, was “average size” (neither large nor small), and wore a checkered coat. Both men appeared to be well-dressed and neatly groomed. Hague testified, as did Harris, that Cooks grabbed Hague’s right arm and said something to the effect, “You’re coming with us in the van. Get into the van.” Harris testified that Cooks pulled out a gun and held it in Mr. Hague’s back. Hague testified that it was the other black man who pointed a pistol at him. Harris testified that he told the woman to run, and that Cooks told him to shut up or “he’ll do me a job.” Mrs. Hague started running down the street yelling, “Oh, my God, this can’t be true. ” Harris testified that Cooks put the gun to the man’s head and told the woman that if she didn’t come back he would shoot and kill the man. Hague testified that he told his wife “they already have us, let’s cooperate and they won’t hurt us,” or something to that effect. Mr. Hague thought they were merely going to be robbed, and that if they did not resist they would not be hurt. Mrs. Hague returned and followed Cooks as he forced Mr. Hague across the street to the van. Hague described the van as a white Dodge with doors on the side and back. Cooks forced him into the van through the side cargo doors and ordered him to lie face down with his head toward the rear of the van. Mr. Hague testified that when he entered the van another black man was sitting in the driver’s seat with one hand over the right side of his face. Hague observed a lot of debris on the floor of the van, and that there were a number of quilted pads similar to pads used by furniture movers. Mr. Hague identified Green’s van (see People’s Exhibit No. 10) as similar to the van in which he and his wife were abducted, including the same type of doors.
Harris testified that while Cooks was forcing the man (Mr. Hague) into the van, the woman (Mrs. Hague) attempted to let the air out of the tires. Cooks went around to the side of the van, grabbed the woman by the hair, slapped her, called her a lot of names, yanked her around the van to the other side and pushed her into the van: Cooks ordered her to lie face down behind the passenger seat with her head to the rear of the van. Mr. Hague was lying behind the driver’s seat. Green was inside the van.
Immediately after Mr. and Mrs. Hague were placed in the van, a San Francisco police car with Officers Bruce Marovich and Benjamin McAlister stopped next to the van to inquire whether anything was wrong. Harris testified that he and Cooks were standing next to the van on the curb side. Cooks went around to the rear of the van and told the officers, who remained in their patrol car, that everything was all right, that they were merely having tire trouble. Officer Marovich identified Cooks as the man who had walked up to the police car and said, “Everything is all right, Officer, we had a flat tire and we’re fixing it.”
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Officer Marovich identified a photograph of Harris as the second person he saw standing next to the open cargo door on the curb side of the van. Officer Marovich thought a third person was in or near the van, but he was not certain. Officer Marovich did not see or identify Green. Officer McAlister, who testified as a defense witness, saw a black man standing at the rear of the van and a black man seated behind the steering wheel of the van, but he could not identify any of the defendants. After Cooks told the officers everything was all right, the officers drove away. Officer Marovich identified Green’s white or beige van as the same type of van he saw at Chestnut and Powell Streets on the night of October 20, 1973, but on cross-examination he conceded he could riot say it was the same van.
When the police officers left, Harris and Cooks entered the van and Green immediately drove away. Mr. Hague testified that Cooks straddled his body and the other man straddled his wife’s body. Cooks tied Mr. Hague’s hands behind his back with a piece of yellow cord or twine. Cooks then tied Mrs. Hague’s hands behind her back with another piece of yellow cord or twine. Mr. Hague testified that Cooks then went through his pockets and took his (Hague’s) wallet and knife. Mr. Hague kept saying something to his wife. Cooks told him to shut up. Harris testified that the man kept talking, and that Cooks reached behind the seat, grabbed a club of some kind, hit the man on the head a number of times and knocked him unconscious. Harris testified that the woman would not remain quiet so Cooks took his gun and hit her on the back of her head. Mr. Hague also testified that Cooks hit him in the head, that he could feel blood trickling down the side of his face, that the last thing he remembers seeing was a “Safeway” sign near Chestnut and Columbus when he lost consciousness. Mr. Hague did not remember any of the subsequent events.
Harris testified that Green drove down by the docks. Harris noticed a car, which looked like a black Lincoln Continental Mark HI or IV following the van. Cooks told Harris, “Don’t worry about it. It’s all right.”
22
Harris testified that Cooks asked him if he could rape a white woman, and Harris said it was against the teachings of Islam. Cooks asked Green if he could rape the woman and he said he would not do it. Mrs. Hague told them to go ahead and rape her, take all her money and stuff, “just don’t kill me.” Harris testified that Cooks fondled the woman and then told Harris to “choke her out.” Harris refused.
Harris testified that Green drove to a dark, industrial area near some railroad tracks in the southern part of San Francisco and parked near a high concrete wall. Harris noticed that there were two cars which appeared to have followed
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them. The two cars stopped about half a block away. One car appeared to be a Lincoln Mark HI or IV and the other car a Cadillac or station wagon.
Harris testified that Cooks and Green got out of the van, opened the side doors, and then he (Harris) got out. Green then grabbed the woman (Mrs. Hague) by her hair, pulled her out of the van, grabbed the machete, pulled her about 20 feet from the van, and, with one hand on his hip and one arm around the woman’s neck, Green threw her to the ground.
23
Harris testified that Green then raised the machete above his head and started slicing and chopping away at the woman’s neck. When he had finished Green walked to where Harris was standing and said, “You ought to have seen all the blood gooshed out of the Devil’s neck.” Green threw his hands up and said, “I did it.” Green had removed Mrs. Hague’s wedding ring and offered it to Harris who said he did not want it.
Harris testified that Cooks had pulled the man (Mr. Hague) out of the van. Cooks took the machete from Green and started “whacking the man with it.” Cooks then offered Harris the machete and asked whether he wanted to hit the man. Harris refused. Harris testified that he kept looking back at the two cars parked nearby. He saw flashes of light as if someone were taking pictures.
24
Meanwhile, Cooks kept hitting the man. Harris told Cooks the man was dead. Green said, “let’s get out of here.” When Cooks finally stopped hitting the man, he climbed into the van and they drove away.
Green and Cooks asked Harris if they could use his place to clean up. They drove to 68 Hilltop Road where Harris was living. Green noticed that there was a lot of blood in the back of the van and wanted some water to clean it out. The moving pads on the floor of the van were bloody. Harris testified that he went into the apartment alone and told Carolyn to go into the bedroom. He did not want her to see Green and Cooks. He took a large plastic pail or trash can, cut a hole on the side, placed it in the sink and filled it with water. The purpose was to use it to wash the blood out of Green’s van. He took the container of water outside. After Green and Cooks had cleaned out the van they went into the house and used the bathroom to clean up. When Green came out of the bathroom he again offered Harris the ring he had removed from Quita Hague’s hand. Green told Harris to give it to “Sister Carolyn,” whom Harris was to marry three days later. Harris took the ring and gave it to Carolyn later that night. On cross-examination, Harris testified that while he had attempted to prevent Carolyn from seeing Green and Cooks in the house (living room), Carolyn looked out from the bedroom and saw them.
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Meanwhile, at about 11 p.m., John Battenberg and his wife were driving near 25th and Minnesota Streets when they came across Richard Hague who came staggering out of the darkness with his hands tied behind his back. Battenberg observed that Hague was severely injured. He stopped, untied Hague’s hands, noticed severe lacerations on Hague’s face, neck, and head, and that he appeared to be in a state of shock. Battenberg placed Hague in his car and took him to the southeast police station in the Potrero Hill area. The officers on duty called for an ambulance which took the injured Hague to San Francisco General Hospital.
25
A number of officers went to the area where Battenberg had picked up Hague, recovered the cord used to bind Hague’s hands, and searched the area. Officer John Matulay found Mrs. Hague’s body face down, with her hands tied behind her back, on a railroad track. Her head was nearly severed from her body. (People’s exhibit Nos. 42, 43.)
Harris’ ex-wife Carolyn Patton (Anderson), testified that she had met Jessie Cooks, Larry Green, and J. C. Simon through Temple 26, and that she met Harris at the Black Self Help store. She denied that Harris was living with her before their marriage on October 23, 1973, since under the laws of Islam a man could not come to a single girl’s house without an escort. Before she and Harris were married Harris came to her house for dinner three or four times a week and each time he brought Green with him. Harris never brought Cooks to her house, and Simon never came to her house.
Carolyn Patton testified that one night (before the 11 o’clock T.V. news) in October (1973) Harris came to her apartment at 68 Hilltop Road. He was wearing a black suit with a Nehru collar and a pink shirt which was covered with blood. Harris testified that he had only a speck of blood on the lapel of his suit and that he never wore a pink shirt. Carolyn asked Harris about the blood on his clothes and he said “he was out killing folks,” or “devils. ” Harris testified that he had told her “they [Cooks and Green] had been out killing folks.” Carolyn testified that Harris burned his bloody shirt. Harris denied it. Carolyn testified that Harris gave her a ring while she was in the kitchen that night, and that she retired to the bedroom. She testified that Harris filled a trash can with water and went outside with it, but she did not go outside to see what he was doing. She testified that she did not see Green or Cooks or anyone else with Harris at her home that night.
On the following night, October 21, San Francisco police were on the lookout for a white Dodge van, based on the description of the van received as a result of the attempted kidnap of the children and the crimes against the Hagues. About 11:30 p.m., San Francisco Police Officers Lawrence Man-
*257
wilier and Frank Reed stopped a white Dodge van at Steiner and O’Farrell Streets. The driver was defendant Green who was described as black, with a light complexion, hazel eyes, 6 feet 1 inch tall, 150 pounds, and slim. The van was registered to Green who gave his address as 844 Grove Street, apartment No. 7. Officer Reed used his flashlight to look into the van for other occupants. He observed large pieces or sheets of cardboard on the floor in the rear of the van, some cardboard pieces upright on the driver’s side, and pieces of burlap cloth or gunny sacks. The cardboard sheets looked “fairly clean.” There were no moving pads in the van. The officers arrested Green on an outstanding traffic warrant, transported him to northern police station where, with the assistance of Thomas Manney, Green was released on bail. Green was released without being questioned about his possible involvement in the crimes committed the previous night.
In May 1974, after Harris had provided San Francisco police with information about the Hague crimes, San Francisco police inspectors went to Carolyn Patton’s apartment at 68 Hilltop Road, interviewed her, and seized Quita Hague’s wedding ring which Carolyn was still wearing on the little finger of her right hand. Mr. Hague identified the ring as the ring he had given his wife, the former Quita Perelli-Minetti, when they were married in 1966.
Defendant Green testified in his defense. Green testified that he was not with either Harris or Cooks on October 20, 1973, that he was home with a cold that night, and that he had not loaned his van to any other person that night. Green acknowledged that he owned a beige 1971 Dodge van that he used to deliver furniture for Black Self Help, and that it usually had moving pads in it, but no burlap or gunny sacks. Green had driven Harris to his home at 68 Hilltop Road a number of times. Before Harris married Carolyn Patton on October 23,1973, Green had dinner with them three or four times a week. Green denied he was involved in any killings or shootings, and he denied he had attended any meetings at which the killing of white people was discussed.
A.
Sufficiency of Evidence to Corroborate Accomplice’s Testimony
The trial court instructed the jury that Anthony Harris was an accomplice as a matter of law,
26
and therefore his testimony had to be corroborated. Cooks and Green argue that the evidence was insufficient, as a matter of law, to cor
*258
robórate Anthony Harris’ testimony identifying them as the perpetrators of the crimes against Richard and Quita Hague.
Penal Code section 1111 provides, in part: “A conviction cannot be had upon the testimony of an accomplice unless it be corroborated by such other evidence as shall tend to connect the defendant with the commission of the offense; and the corroboration is not sufficient if it merely shows the commission of the offense or the circumstances thereof.”
To corroborate the testimony of an accomplice, the prosecution must produce independent evidence which, without aid or assistance from the testimony of the accomplice, tends to connect the defendant with the crime charged.
(People
v.
Luker
(1965) 63 Cal.2d 464, 469 [ 47 Cal.Rptr. 209 , 407 P.2d 9 ];
People
v.
Perry, supra,
7 Cal.3d 756, 769 ;
People
v.
Szeto
(1981) 29 Cal.3d 20, 27 [ 171 Cal.Rptr. 652 , 623 P.2d 213 ].) “The evidence need not corroborate the accomplice as to every fact to which he testifies but is sufficient if it does not require interpretation and direction from the testimony of the accomplice yet tends to connect the defendant with the commission of the offense in such a way as reasonably may satisfy a jury that the accomplice is telling the truth; it must tend to implicate the defendant and therefore must relate to some act or fact which is an element of the crime but it is not necessary that the corroborative evidence be sufficient in itself to establish every element of the offense charged.”
(People
v.
Lyons
(1958) 50 Cal.2d 245, 257 [ 324 P.2d 556 ]; see also
People
v.
Luker, supra,
63 Cal.2d 464, 469 ;
People
v.
Holford
(1965) 63 Cal.2d 74, 82 [ 45 Cal.Rptr. 167 , 403 P.2d 423 ];
People
v.
Perry, supra,
7 Cal.3d 756, 769 ;
People
v.
Hathcock
(1973) 8 Cal.3d 599, 617 [ 105 Cal.Rptr. 540 , 504 P.2d 476 ];
People
v.
Szeto, supra,
29 Cal.3d 20, 27 .) Although the corroborating evidence must raise more than a conjecture or suspicion of guilt, it is sufficient if it tends in some degree to implicate the defendant.
(People
v.
Santo
(1954) 43 Cal.2d 319, 327 [ 273 P.2d 249 ];
People
v.
Perry, supra,
7 Cal.3d 756 ;
People
v.
Szeto, supra,
29 Cal.3d 20 .) The corroborating evidence of “inculpatory participation” need not be direct nor extend to every fact and detail. It may be circumstantial
(People
v.
Henderson
(1949) 34 Cal.2d 340, 343 [ 209 P.2d 785 ]), and may be sufficient although “slight and entitled to little consideration when standing alone.”
(People
v.
Wade
(1959) 53 Cal.2d 322, 329 [ 1 Cal.Rptr. 683 , 348 P.2d 116 ];
People
v.
Perry, supra; People
v.
Szeto, supra;
see also
People
v.
Harper
(1945) 25 Cal.2d 862, 876-877 [ 156 P.2d 249 ];
People
v.
Hathcock, supra,
8 Cal.3d 599 .) Finally, “[u]nless a reviewing court determines that corroborating evidence should not have been admitted or that it could not reasonably
tend
to connect a defendant with the commission of a crime, the finding of the trier of fact on the issue of corroboration may not be disturbed on appeal.”
(People
v.
Perry, supra,
7 Cal.3d at p. 774 , original italics;
People
v.
Szeto, supra, 29
Cal.3d at p. 27.)
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In this case, Richard Hague, Officer Bruce Marovich, and Michele Carasco identified Cooks; therefore, there is no merit to Cooks’ argument that the evidence was insufficient to corroborate the testimony of Harris that he (Cooks) participated in the crimes. No witness, however, other than Harris, identified Green as the third black man in the van on the night of October 20, 1973. Michele Carasco gave police a general description that was consistent with Green’s appearance (see fn. 19,
ante),
but she could not identify him. There was, however, independent circumstantial evidence that tended to connect Green and his van with the crimes committed on October 20, 1973. The question is whether it was sufficient.
Mr. Hague, Officer Marovich, and Michele Carasco testified that Green’s white or beige van (People’s exhibit No. 10) was the same type of, or similar to, the van used by the three black men in commission of the crimes in question. They conceded that they could not say it was “the van.” Green used his van to deliver furniture for Black Self Help. His van was the only van used for that purpose and the only van among the Black Self Help vehicles. Green usually kept moving pads in his van. Mr. Hague testified that when he was forced into the van he observed, and was ordered to lie on, heavy pads similar to pads used by furniture movers. That observation tended to connect the van to Black Self Help and Green. When Green was stopped by police the night after the crimes, there were no moving pads in his van. The officer saw pieces of “fairly clean” cardboard on the floor in the cargo area. The moving pads had been removed, suggesting that they may have been removed because they were stained with blood, as Mr. Hague and Harris described. One of the officers who stopped Green also observed pieces of burlap cloth or sacks in Green’s van. Michele Carasco testified that Cooks had told one of the men to “get out the sacks.” Green himself testified that on the night of October 20, 1973, no other person used his van that night.
Other circumstantial evidence tended to corroborate Harris’ testimony and connect Green with the Hague crimes. Harris, a relative newcomer to San Francisco, knew few people and had few friends other than Green. Harris and Green worked together and socialized together. They were good friends. Harris owned no vehicle, did not drive, did not have access to any Black Self Help vehicles, and was dependent on Green for transportation. During the week before the Hague crimes, Green had taken Harris to his home at 68 Hilltop Road three or four times and had dinner with Harris and Carolyn Patton. Carolyn testified that Harris never came to her home alone and that Green came with him. Simon and Cooks never came to her house. Although Carolyn denied she saw Green and Cooks with Harris on the night Harris came home and gave her a ring (Quita Hague’s ring), she corroborated Harris’ testimony that he came home, filled a trash can with water and took it outside. Although she denied knowing what Harris was doing outside with a trash can of water at 11
*260
o’clock at night, the evidence indicates that it may have been used to wash the blood out of Green’s van, as Harris testified.
Finally, Harris’ testimony about the crimes committed on the night of October 20, 1973, was corroborated in detail by the testimony of Michele Carasco, Mr. Hague, Officer Marovich, and other police officers who investigated the crimes. Moreover, Harris’ testimony that Cooks participated in the crimes was corroborated by the identification testimony of Mr. Hague, Michele Carasco, and Officer Marovich. When that corroborative evidence is considered with the corroborative evidence tending to connect Green with the crimes, the jury could reasonably conclude that Harris was telling the truth when he testified that Green was the driver of the van. We are unable to hold that the corroborative evidence was insufficient, as a matter of law, to connect Green with the crimes. There was substantial evidence to support the jury’s verdict that Green was guilty of the crimes committed against Richard and Quita Hague.
27
(See, generally,
People
v.
Johnson
(1980) 26 Cal.3d 557 [ 162 Cal.Rptr. 431 , 606 P.2d 738 ];
People
v.
Green
(1980) 27 Cal.3d 1, 55 [ 164 Cal.Rptr. 1 , 609 P.2d 468 ];
People
v.
Towler
(1982) 31 Cal.3d 105 [ 181 Cal.Rptr. 391 , 641 P.2d 1253 ];
Jackson
v.
Virginia
(1979) 443 U.S. 307, 317-320 [ 61 L.Ed.2d 560, 572-574 , 99 S.Ct. 2781 ].)
Cooks argues that the corroborating evidence was also insufficient to support the finding thát he used a firearm in committing the offenses against Mr. and Mrs. Hague. Michele Carasco, however, testified that Cooks had a gun at the time of the attempted kidnap. Her testimony tended to corroborate Harris’ testimony that Cooks possessed a .22 caliber pistol and used it in committing the crimes on October 20, 1973. (See
People
v.
Henderson, supra,
34 Cal.2d 340, 343 .)
B.
Rereading of Mr. Hague’s Testimony
During its deliberations the jury told the court it wanted to hear again the testimony of Richard Hague “from the time he first saw the two men on the comer until he was knocked out. We would like to hear both sides on this point only.” The trial judge, Cooks’ attorney, one of Green’s attorneys (Mr. Jacko), and the two prosecutors went to the judge’s chambers and agreed on those portions of the transcript that would fulfill the jury’s request. Mr. Hague’s testimony, including relevant direct examination and cross-examination by Mr. Jacko, was then reread to the jury. Green’s attorney, Mr. Jacko, then objected
*261
and requested that additional portions of his cross-examination of Mr. Hague be reread, particularly that portion which related to the black man seated in the driver’s seat of the van. The trial judge denied Mr. Jacko’s request because he had not requested that those portions of his cross-examination be reread when they had met in chambers and agreed on the testimony to be reread. On appeal, Cooks and Green argue that the trial court erred in denying Mr. Jacko’s request.
Generally, the trial court must allow the rereading of relevant testimony as requested by the jury. (See Pen. Code, § 1138;
People
v.
Butler
(1975) 47 Cal.App.3d 273 [ 120 Cal.Rptr. 647 ];
People
v.
Litteral
(1978) 79 Cal.App.3d 790 [ 145 Cal.Rptr. 186 ].) In this case the trial court substantially complied with the jury’s request. A review of the cross-examination in question shows that Mr. Jacko did not cross-examine Mr. Hague about the third black man seated in the driver’s seat of the van. Mr. Jacko did ask Mr. Hague three questions about what he meant by “black man. ” Those questions, however, did not relate to the driver of the van. Moreover, they preceded, and were separate from, those portions of the cross-examination that were reread. Mr. Jacko’s cross-examination of Mr. Hague related primarily to the “second black man” who held a pistol pointed at Mr. Hague while outside the van. Accordingly, we conclude that under the circumstances the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying Mr. Jacko’s request. Neither Cooks nor Green was prejudiced by the trial court’s ruling since Mr. Jacko’s cross-examination of Mr. Hague did not relate to Cooks and it was apparent from all the testimony that was reread that Mr. Hague could not identify Green. (See Cal. Const., art. VI, § 13;
People
v.
Watson
(1956) 46 Cal.2d 818, 834-837 [ 299 P.2d 243 ].)
IV. October 23, 1973—Cooks Kidnaps and Assaults Linda Enger
On October 23, 1973, about 8:30 p.m., Linda Lou Enger, a 27-year-old college graduate with a degree in psychology, was walking to her apartment at 75 Waller Steet, near the University of California Extension at Laguna and Waller, when she realized a man was following her. She removed her keys from her purse and ran to the entrance of her apartment building, but before she could open the door the man, Cooks, grabbed her arm and held a .22 caliber automatic pistol against her neck.
28
Cooks told her to be quiet, not to try anything, or he would kill her. Cooks forced her to walk down Waller toward Octavia Street. He insisted that she place her arm around his neck as they walked. They walked to a parking lot under a freeway where Cooks made her remove her lightcolored raincoat because it was “too conspicuous. ” She placed it in some bushes with her purse and briefcase. With Cooks holding the gun in his hand, Enger and Cooks walked up Octavia Street to a minipark where they sat and talked. In response to Cooks’ questions, Ms. Enger told him she had at
*262
tended a meeting at the Unitarian Church that night. They discussed the activities of the church. Cooks then forped her to walk to a vacant lot at the corner of Buchanan and Page Streets. With gun in hand, Cooks ordered Ms. Enger to sit in some bushes. After about half an hour of conversation, Cooks asked Ms. Enger if she were going to call the police. She said she would not. Cooks, however, said he was convinced she would call the police and therefore he would have to kill her. He pointed to two places on her forehead and said if he shot her in either place she would be dead immediately, before anyone found her, and he would be “long gone. ” Ms. Enger kept talking to him. Cooks asked her how she felt about the world situation, the environment, the war in Viet Nam, the oppression of black people. In discussing those subjects, Cooks said the time had come to put an end “to this sort of thing, ” meaning the oppression of black people. Cooks said the “world had to be changed,” that “people were going to be killed and the streets would be lined with blood. ” Cooks said “people would be killed indiscriminately, and that there was no use to be afraid or upset with it.” Ms. Enger tried to convince Cooks that killing people was “not a valid thing to do.” Cooks replied, “he didn’t feel that was the case, that was just the way things were, that is the way it worked.” That conversation lasted about an hour. Cooks threatened 10 to 15 times to kill her.
Ms. Enger changed the subject and thought she had convinced Cooks not to kill her. However, she thought if she could get back to her apartment there was a better chance that someone would be near if he did decide to shoot her. Cooks and Ms. Enger returned to the parking lot where she had left her raincoat, purse and briefcase. She picked up those items. Cooks accompanied her to her apartment and left a while later.
29
Ms. Enger telephoned a friend and reported the two-hour ordeal to the police.
Two days later, Cooks telephoned Ms. Enger at work and asked why she was not in her apartment the previous night. Ms. Enger told him she was afraid of him. Cooks asked if she had gone to the police, and she said, “No.” Cooks asked, “Do you want me to just leave you alone. ” Ms. Enger said, “Yes,” and Cooks ended the call.
V. October 30,1973—Cooks Murders Frances Rose and Is Immediately Arrested
On October 30, 1973, at approximately 9:05 p.m., Frances Rose, a 28-year-old Caucasian woman, was shot and killed in her Ford Mustang in the driveway of the University of California Extension at 55 Laguna Street, San Francisco. She was shot four times, once in the right side of her chest, once in the right side of her neck, and twice in the right side of her face with a .22 caliber
*263
automatic pistol. (People’s exhibit No. 56.) A witness, who lived in an apartment across the street, saw the gunman walk away from the car. She described him as a black man about 25 years old, 5 feet 10 or 11 inches tall, muscular build, wearing a navy-blue watch cap, light-colored pants, an olive-green jacket, and gloves. She described the suspect to police who arrived at the scene within a couple of minutes. A few minutes later, because he matched the description of the gunman, police stopped Cooks about five or six blocks away near Waller and Steiner Streets. Cooks had discarded his cap and jacket. He was perspiring profusely. The officers pat-searched him and found he was carrying a loaded .22 caliber automatic pistol. The officers transported Cooks to the place of the shooting, turned him over to Inspector Falzon who transported him to the Hall of Justice. Seventeen .22 caliber long bullets were found in a pocket of Cooks’ pants. After he was advised of his constitutional rights, Cooks agreed to make a statement. Cooks said he first met Frances Rose when she pulled up in her car and offered him a ride. He got into the car and once in the car he became very angry because she began making racial slurs by calling him a “Nigger. ” He became angry and shot her three, “possibly four, ” times. Cooks told the officers where he had discarded his cap and jacket. Officers found the navy-blue watch cap and olive-green jacket about 50 feet from where Cooks was detained.
The .22 caliber automatic pistol seized from Cooks was the gun Michael Armstrong sold to Cooks in October 1973. Anthony Harris testified that the gun was the same as the gun he had seen in Cooks’ apartment.
30
VI. November 25, 1973—Murder of Saleem Erakat
On the morning of November 25, 1973, a rainy Sunday, 52-year-old Saleem Erakat was shot and killed in a back room of his small grocery store at 452 Larkin Street, San Francisco. He was apparently killed shortly after 11 a.m.
31
Erakat was shot once in the head, behind his right ear, with a .32 caliber automatic pistol. His body was found in a sitting position in a corner of the store’s restroom. (People’s exhibit No. 57.) Erakat’s hands were tied behind his back with a necktie. His wallet, checkbook, and wristwatch had been taken from him. The pockets of his trousers, in which he usually carried $150 to $200, had been turned inside out and were empty. An estimated $800 to $900 in
*264
currency had been taken from a cigar box, and money had been taken from the cash register. Police found one .32 caliber bullet and one empty .32 caliber shell casing on the floor of the room where Erakat was shot. A quilt with nine bullet holes, but no bloodstains, was apparently used by the gunman to muffle the noise of the gunshot. Anthony Harris’ palm print was lifted from the doorknob inside the room where Erakat was killed.
On November 25, 1973, Harris was staying at the Empress Hotel at 144 Eddy Street. (See fn. 17,
ante.)
Harris testified that on the morning of the Erakat killing he telephoned J. C. Simon to inquire whether there was any work for him at Black Self Help that day. Harris wanted to earn extra money. Simon told Harris no one was working but he could go to the store and clean. Harris did not have a key to the store. Simon, who had a key to the store, said he would pick up Harris. Harris asked him to pick him up at the YMCA at Golden Gate Avenue and Leavenworth Street, which was two blocks from Erakat’s store. About 20 or 30 minutes later, Simon drove up in Green’s Dodge van. Eddy Land was with Simon. Harris entered the van. Simon drove around a couple of blocks, stopped on Larkin Street, said something about a “sting” at the store, told Harris to get out of the van and walk across the street, which was directly across the street from Erakat’s store. Simon and Land drove around the block, parked the van on Golden Gate Avenue near Larkin, and walked to Erakat’s store. Harris remained standing across the street a few minutes and then walked across the street to Erakat’s store. Harris saw no one inside the store. He walked inside.
32
Simon came out of the back room and told Harris not to let anyone into the store. A man came into the store. Harris met him at the doorway and told him the store was closed. Harris closed the front door of the store and placed a “closed” sign in the window of the door. Shortly thereafter a woman came to the store and asked whether Mr. “Saleem” was in, and Harris told her he was not. She left, returned and looked through the window, and then left again.
33
Harris testified that a couple of seconds later he heard a “pow” in the back room of the store. He walked to the back room of the store, looked in and saw Simon, Land and a man (Erakat) on the floor with blood coming out of him. Simon was standing over the man and holding a bag. Harris testified that he just stood there and looked at Erakat while Simon and Land walked out of the room. Harris said he then “hurried out of there. ” Simon and Land told Harris to wait and see that no one followed them. Simon and Land walked to the
*265
van parked on Golden Gate Avenue. Harris waited a couple of minutes and then joined Simon and Land in the van. Harris testified that Simon had a black briefcase and a small pistol. Simon, Land, and Harris then went to the Black Self Help store. Simon told Harris to start cleaning the store, but a short time later Simon told Harris he had to leave the store because Simon did not want Manney to find him there. Harris testified that he then walked to his girl friend’s (Deborah Turner) apartment on Webster near Hickory Street, a distance of four to six blocks. Harris denied he took Erakat’s wallet and wristwatch from Erakat’s body.
About noon on the day of Erakat’s murder, a city bus driver on the No. 5 McAllister Street line was checking his bus at the end of his route at Ocean Beach when he found Erakat’s wallet stuffed in a rear seat of the bus.
34
He also found some of Erakat’s credit cards and papers scattered on the floor of the bus. Later that day, he reported his findings to the police. He remembered that two black men had gotten on his bus at McAllister and Jones Streets, sat on the rear seat of the bus, and had gotten off at Fillmore. He thought one man resembled a person he knew (Henry Bonham). His description of the second black man did not match Harris.
Two days after the Erakat murder, Harris pawned Erakat’s wristwatch, for $10, at a San Francisco pawn shop. Harris testified that he took the watch from the Black Self Help store because Manney owed him money.
35
When Harris pawned the watch he used his true name and the address of Black Self Help.
Simon and Land denied any involvement in the Erakat murder and robbery. They denied they saw Harris that day. The defense was alibi. On November 25, 1973, the Nation of Islam Temple 26 leased the auditorium and banquet hall at the Scottish Rite Memorial Temple at 19th and Sloat Boulevard, San Francisco. The lease provided for use of the facilities from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The main purpose of the meeting was to raise funds for construction of a hospital. The featured speaker was Minister Yusaf Hazziz, the former Joe Tex. Simon testified that he went to the Scottish Rite Temple about 9:40 a.m. that day (Nov. 25) to help prepare the auditorium and banquet hall for the meeting.
36
He
*266
testified that he remained there until 6 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. He wore his FOI (Fruit of Islam) uniform,
37
and drove his Dodge Dart. Edward Land also denied any involvement in the Erakat murder and robbery. Land testified that about 10 a.m. on November 25 he went to the Scottish Rite Temple at 19th and Sloat Boulevard and was there until 6 p.m., except for a brief time around 11 a.m. when he went out to pick up some guests. Green and Moore and other witnesses testified that they also attended the meeting at the Scottish Rite Temple on November 25 and that Simon was there. Manney was also there, but Harris did not attend.
The defendants argued that Anthony Harris murdered and robbed Erakat by himself. The defense pointed out that no witness had seen more than one black man in Erakat’s store at the time in question, that Harris’ palm print was found on the inside knob of the door to the room in which Erakat was killed, and that Harris’ numerous inconsistent statements to police and his perjured testimony before the grand jury concerning his noninvolvement in the Erakat murder rendered his testimony totally unreliable.
VII. December 11, 1973—Murder of Paul Dancik
On December 11, 1973, about 9:45 p.m., 26-year-old Paul Dancik, a Caucasian, was shot and killed on the sidewalk near a public telephone in front of an apartment complex at 300 Haight Street between Buchanan and Page Streets. He was shot three times in the back and chest with a .32 caliber automatic pistol. Three .32 caliber shell casings were found a few feet from his body, and two .32 caliber slugs were removed from his body. Another .32 caliber bullet was found under his body. In the opinion of a firearms identification expert, the .32 caliber bullets that killed Dancik were fired from the same gun used to kill Erakat.
Anthony Harris testified that on a night in December 1973, about 9 p.m., he was standing at a bus stop on Haight Street, waiting for a bus to take him to his girl friend’s apartment at Webster and Hickory Streets, when J.C. Simon and Manuel Moore drove up in Thomas Manney’s black Cadillac and offered him a ride. Harris entered the car and sat on the back seat. Simon drove to the “projects” on Haight Street, parked the car and waited. Simon and Moore got out of the car. Simon told Harris to wait in the car. Harris saw Moore walk into some bushes near a public telephone at the entrance to the apartment complex. Simon walked to the “end of the car and stopped.” Harris heard a gunshot. Simon ran back to the car. Moore ran out of the bushes between two buildings and back to the car. Simon immediately drove away to Hickory and Webster Streets, which was about two blocks away. There Simon and Moore got out of
*267
the car and talked to two black men seated in a Cadillac similar to Clarence Jamerson’s greenish-gold Cadillac. Simon and Moore returned to the car in which Harris was waiting, followed the other Cadillac to a Japanese store where Simon parked and told Harris to get out. Simon told Harris he would have to make it on his own.
Police responded to the reported shooting at 9:47 p.m. When they arrived at the scene they found Dancik’s body on the sidewalk near the street. A Latin male, about 50 years old, approached the officers and told them two black men had walked up to Dancik and “just opened up on him. ” The man described one suspect as 20 years old, 5 feet 7 inches tall, 125 pounds, light skin, 2-inch Afro, wearing a navy-blue pea coat and blue jeans. He described the other suspect as about 20 years old, 5 feet 8 inches tall, 145 pounds, dark complexion, 3-inch Afro, wearing a navy-blue pea coat and blue jeans. He thought both men possibly had a .32 caliber automatic pistol.
Betty Owes and her daughter, Edna Thomas, were walking from the apartment complex at 300 Haight Street to a car parked in the driveway when Dancik was shot and killed. Mrs. Owes testified that she heard two gunshots. From a distance of about fifteen feet she saw two black men leaving the area of the telephone at the entrance to the apartment complex. Both men appeared to be about 22 or 23 years old. One had a pistol in his hand. He had a darker complexion than the other man, was about six feet two inches tall, slender, and wearing a long black maxicoat and a “flip or knit” hat. The other man was wearing a three-quarter length leather jacket and a brown knit hat. Edna Thomas, who testified as a defense witness, also heard two gunshots and then saw two black men run past her car and within three feet of her. One of the men had a gun. She described him as six feet two inches tall, very dark complexion, four-inch natural hair, mustache, wearing a black “Caesar’s hat” with a wide brim. She described the second man as six feet two or three inches tall, dark brown complexion, wearing a long black coat and black high heel shoes. Neither Mrs. Owes nor her daughter identified any of the defendants.
The defense urged that the Dancik murder was drug-related and not a random shooting. There was, however, no substantial evidence to support that assertion.
VIII. December 13, 1973— Shooting of Arthur Agnos; Murder of Marietta DiGirolamo
About 8:20 p.m. on December 13, 1973, Arthur Agnos, who was an assistant to Assemblyman Leo McCarthy, had just left a meeting with a community group at Wisconsin and 23d Streets, and was standing on the street next to his
*268
car talking to 2 women when he was shot twice by a black man standing 10 or 12 feet away. Two bullets passed through Agnos’ body (one through the chest left of his heart and one above his hip bone on the left side), front to back. Police found two .32 caliber shell casings and one copper casing at the place where the assailant fired the gun. In the opinion of a firearms identification expert, the .32 caliber bullets fired at Agnos were fired from the same gun used in the murders of Erakat and Dancik.
The gunman made no attempt to rob Agnos. Agnos got only a “fleeting glimpse” of the gunman’s face. There was only one dim street light. Agnos thought the gunman was about five feet eight to ten inches tall, medium build, medium to fair complexion, with a modest natural haircut, and wearing a navy knit cap. He had a round face. Agnos was shown photographs of individual black men while he was in the hospital, and he attended the lineups in May 1974. Agnos could not identify his assailant. Nor did any other witness identify the gunman.
About 9:45 p.m. on December 13, 1973, 31-year-old Marietta DiGirolamo was shot and killed on the sidewalk at Haight and Divisadero Streets, San Francisco. She was shot in the back and chest three times with a .32 caliber automatic pistol. (People’s Exhibit No. 60.) Police found three .32 caliber shell casings at the place of the shooting. Two .32 caliber slugs were removed from the body. In the opinion of a firearms identification expert, the bullets that killed Ms. DiGirolamo were fired from the same gun used to shoot Erakat, Dancik, and Agnos. Ms. DiGirolamo’s purse was found next to her body. Nothing had been taken from her.
Gerald Bjork witnessed the shooting of Ms. DiGirolamo from a distance of 25 to 30 feet. He described the gunman as black, about 5 feet 10 or 11 inches tall, stocky, 180-185 pounds. Bjork identified Clarence Jamerson as the gunman, and testified that he was “90 percent” certain of his identification. The defense, however, called a police officer who had interviewed Bjork. The officer’s note indicated that Bjork said he was walking on Divisadero, heard and saw a black man and a white woman arguing across the street, heard shots and saw the man run. Bjork reportedly said he could not see the man’s face.
On cross-examination of Inspector Moses, the defense sought to show that the police, in investigating the murder of Marietta DiGirolamo, picked up a yellow balloon found on the street in a bus zone in the general area of the shooting. The defense argued that the balloon, together with other evidence that Ms. DiGirolamo had used narcotics, tended to show that the murder was drug-related and not a random killing. The trial court found that there was no connection between the balloon and Ms. DiGirolamo and ruled that no inference of drug usage by Ms. DiGirolamo could be inferred from the mere presence of a
*269
balloon on the street. The court also noted that the autopsy of Ms. DiGirolamo showed no usage of narcotics or drugs. The court, therefore, ruled that the evidence was irrelevant and inadmissible.
On appeal Simon argues that the court erred in excluding the balloon and proffered evidence of Ms. DiGirolamo’s drug usage. As the trial court found, however, there was no evidence that connected Ms. DiGirolamo with the yellow balloon. Nor was there any suggestion or evidence that the balloon contained or had contained narcotics or drugs. The proffered evidence did not attempt to show that Ms. DiGirolamo and the person who killed her were involved in a narcotic transaction at the time. We conclude, therefore, that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in ruling that the balloon and proffered evidence of drug usage were irrelevant and inadmissible. (Evid. Code, § 352; cf.
People
v.
Manson
(1976) 61 Cal.App.3d 102, 157-158 [ 132 Cal.Rptr. 265 ], cert. den., 430 U.S. 986 [ 52 L.Ed.2d 382 , 97 S.Ct. 1686 ].)
IX. December 20, 1973—Murder of Ilario Bertuccio; Shooting of Teresa DeMartini
At approximately 8 p.m. on December 20, 1973, 81-year-old Ilario Bertuccio was shot and killed on the street in the 2000 block of Bancroft Street, which is in the Bay View area (southeast) of San Francisco. He was shot four times in the chest and right shoulder. (People’s Exhibit No. 61.) Police found four .32 caliber shell casings at the place of the shooting. One .32 caliber slug was removed from Bertuccio’s body. In the opinion of a firearms identification expert, the bullets that killed Ilario Bertuccio were fired from the same gun used to shoot Erakat, Dancik, Agnos, and DiGirolamo.
The shooting of Bertuccio was heard by 18-year-old Gaetano Bemado who lived nearby with his parents. He looked out a window of his home, saw a man lying on the street and a black man running down the street to a white car that was similar to Green’s white Dodge Dart. Bernado saw another black man sitting in the car. The man running down the street entered the car and it was driven away quickly with its lights off. Bernado described the man who ran down the street as approximately 5 feet 10 inches or 6 feet tall, 170 to 180 pounds. Bernado picked Simon out of a lineup as the man who most resembled the man he saw ran to the car. Bernado picked Moore out of the same lineup as the man who most resembled the man seated in the car. Bernado, however, did not identify Simon or Moore or any other defendant in court.
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About 10 p.m. on December 20, 1973 (2 hours after the Bertuccio murder), 21-year-old Teresa DeMartini was parking her car on Central Street, between Grove and Fulton Streets, when she noticed a white car, with a black male driver, double-parked at Central and Grove. The white car, which was similar to Green’s Dodge Dart, was driven to the corner of Central and Fulton Streets. Ms. DeMartini saw a second black man walk from Fulton to the white car. The two men talked and looked at her as she got out of her car. As DeMartini was locking her car the black man standing next to the white car walked to her car, pulled his hand with a pistol out of his coat pocket and shot her three times. As she fell to the ground, a fourth shot shattered the window on the driver’s side of her car and the bullet lodged in the back of the front seat. The man, without taking DeMartini’s purse or anything from her person, ran toward Fulton Street. While lying wounded on the street and calling for help, DeMartini saw a “big car” back out of a driveway and head toward her. To avoid being run over she rolled under her car. Preston Demmings, a nearby resident, heard the gunshots and a woman screaming, looked out the window of his residence, saw the woman lying on the street, saw a Cadillac with two black males back out of a driveway, saw the car being driven down Central and almost run over the woman who rolled under her car. The Cadillac resembled Clarence Jamerson’s car.
38
Ms. DeMartini described her assailant as black, about 26 years old, 5 feet 10 inches or 6 feet tall, medium build, with matted hair, wearing a long camel coat and a cream-colored ski cap. Police showed her photographs of individual black men while she was in the hospital, but she did not see her assailant’s photograph among them. She assisted a police officer in drawing a composite sketch of her assailant, and that composite was received in evidence by stipulation. (Defendants’ joint exhibit No. V.) In May 1974, DeMartini picked Moore out of a lineup as the man who most resembled her assailant, but she was not certain of her identification and did not identify Moore or any other defendant in court.
Police found three .32 caliber shell casings and one .32 caliber copper-jacketed bullet at the place of the shooting. A fourth bullet was recovered from the seat of DeMartini’s car. In the opinion of a firearms identification expert, the .32 caliber bullets used in the shooting of Ms. DeMartini were fired from the same gun used in the shooting of Erakat, Dancik, Agnos, DeGirolamo, and Bertuccio.
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X. December 22, 1973—Murders of Neil Moynihan and Mildred Hosler
About 5 p.m. on December 22, 1973, a San Francisco police officer stopped a 1974 Fleetwood Cadillac at Grove and Webster Streets to issue a traffic citation. Leonard Vaughn, a 200-pound black man, was the driver and another black man, who resembled Anthony Harris, was the only passenger. While the officer was issuing the citation to Vaughn, defendants Simon and Moore walked up to Vaughn’s car and started talking to the passenger. Simon was wearing a yellow hard hat (construction helmet), and Moore was wearing a green United States Army field jacket and wire-rim glasses. The officer ordered Moore and Simon to stand aside. He asked them for identification. Simon gave his residence as 844 Grove Street and Moore gave his residence as 542 Waller Street. Simon and Moore were then allowed to leave.
At approximately 8:10 p.m. on December 22, 1973, 19-year-old Neil Moynihan, a Caucasian, was shot in the head, neck and chest three times (People’s exhibit No. 63) and killed at the 12th Street entrance to Stevenson Alley behind the Civic Center Hotel at 12th and Market.
39
A few minutes later, 50-year-old Mildred Hosier was shot and killed at the other end of Stevenson Alley near Gough and McCoppin Streets, about four blocks from where Moynihan was killed. Hosier was shot five times in the chest and abdomen. (People’s exhibit No. 63.) Police found four .32 caliber shell casings at the place of the Moynihan shooting and four .32 caliber shell casings where Hosier was shot. One .32 caliber slug was removed from Moynihan’s body and four .32 caliber slugs were removed from Hosier’s body. In the opinion of a firearms identification expert, the bullets that killed Moynihan and Hosier were fired from the same gun used in the shooting of Erakat, Dancik, Agnos, DiGirolamo, Bertuccio, and DeMartini.
Immediately after the Moynihan shooting, two witnesses saw a black man running westward on Stevenson Alley. Witnesses described the man as about six feet tall, moderate to husky build, short (one-inch or two-inch) Afro hair style, wearing casual clothes. The man stopped and looked at one of the witnesses a couple of seconds, but the witness could not identify him.
Shortly after the Moynihan shooting, another witness (Carlos Paniagua) heard three or four gunshots, looked out a window and saw a woman (Hosier) lying on the sidewalk. He saw a man jump onto a concrete wall, turn and fire one or two shots at the wounded woman. Paniagua testified that the gunman “was not white,” but he did not look black. The gunman was wearing a tight,
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waist-length jacket, and dark pants. He had “kind of curly, unkempt” hair, but not kinky hair. Paniagua identified no one.
Approximately 10 or 15 minutes before the Hosier shooting, Jack Frost and his wife were walking from a market to their apartment at 40 Gough Street. As they passed the entrance to Stevenson Alley Mr.Frost observed a parked white Dodge Dart. A person seated behind the steering wheel “scooted down” when he saw them. Frost saw a yellow or orange construction helmet in the Dodge Dart. A Black Self Help truck was parked behind the car. Frost had frequently seen Black Self Help employees wearing yellow or orange hard hats.
About 8:20 p.m. on December 22, two San Francisco patrol officers observed a white Dodge Dart with two black males at Octavia and Haight Streets. The officers followed the car as it turned onto Page Street, went around the block, onto Octavia, and stopped at Hickory Street. The passenger alighted from the car. He appeared to be a clean-cut, husky, black male, about six feet tall, dressed in dark clothes. He walked down the street and the driver of the car drove away. The officers followed the car, which was being driven by Simon, to his apartment at 844 Grove Street. The officers detained Simon and asked who was in the car with him. Simon said he had been alone for about half an hour, that he had come from Black Self Help where he worked.
40
Simon did not appear to be armed. He was wearing a three-quarter length dark coat, light-colored pants and shirt. The officers looked into Simon’s car and saw Black Muslim newspapers and a yellow hard hat (construction helmet).
Two days later, on December 24, another San Francisco police officer stopped Green’s Dodge Dart. Green was the driver and gave the officer permission to search the car. The officer searched for a gun, but found none. Two days later, on December 26, another officer stopped the Dodge Dart. Simon was the driver. He gave his address as 349 Fillmore Street.
XI. January 28,1974—Murders of Tana Smith, Vincent Wollin, John Bambic, Jane Holly; Shooting of Roxanne McMillian
On the afternoon of January 28, 1974, a Monday and a “slow day” at Black Self Help, Simon and Moore drove to Oakland in Manney’s 1959 black Cadillac. About 4:30 p.m. Simon and Moore were returning to San Francisco when a California Highway Patrol (motorcycle) officer stopped Simon near the Bay Bridge toll plaza to issue a citation for defective equipment on the car. The officer noted that Simon had short hair, parted on one side, and no sideburns. After issuance of the citation, Simon and Moore returned to San Francisco. Moore was living with Simon at 844 Grove Street at the time.
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Anthony Harris testified that he worked at the Black Self Help store that day.
41
After work he went to see Larry Green at his apartment at 844 Grove Street. As he reached the apartment building Harris met Simon and Moore coming out of the building. They told Harris that Green was not home. Simon and Moore entered Manney’s black, four-door Cadillac. They offered Harris a ride to the FOI (Fruit of Islam) house on Sutter near Divisadero Street.
42
Harris accepted the offer and entered the back seat. Harris testified that Simon drove to Geary and Divisadero, stopped and looked around a brief time, and then drove to Sutter and Divisadero where Harris alighted from the car and proceeded to walk to the FOI house. Harris observed that Simon drove down Sutter (eastward), turned right and drove back toward Geary Street. Harris testified that he went to the FOI house, stayed only a few minutes, and was walking back to Geary Street when he heard shots. Harris was on his way to the Muslim Temple at Geary and Fillmore.
Meanwhile, at approximately 7:35 or 7:45 p.m., 25-year-old Tana Smith, a Caucasian, was shot on the sidewalk in front of a store at the corner of Geary and Divisadero Streets. She was shot twice in the back with a .32 caliber pistol and died a short time later. (People’s exhibit No. 92.) A motorist, 23-year-old David Benveniste, was driving slowly, behind a city bus, northbound on Divisadero at Geary Street when he heard the gunshots. He looked to his right and saw a black man with a gun standing over a woman lying on the sidewalk.
43
Benveniste was about 15 feet away. Benveniste described the gunman as a black man, about six feet tall, medium build, with a shaven area around his ears and temple. The man was wearing a hat with a wide brim and a paisley-printed scarf on the hat, a three-quarter length brown leather jacket, dark slacks, shoes and socks. Benveniste watched the gunman as he stood over the body of the woman and then run about 10 steps to the corner, eastward on Geary and then across Geary Street. Benveniste later telephoned Paula Mordhorst and told her he had witnessed a murder. He also described what he had seen to the police.
On May 1, 1974, Benveniste was in the hospital and unable to attend the lineups. Police later showed him photographs of the lineups and he picked out
*274
Simon and Moore. Police then showed him a group of close-up photographs of individual black men (Black Self Help employees, including Anthony Harris) and Benveniste narrowed his identification to Simon. Benveniste was “reasonably sure” of his identification based on the photographs, but he wanted to see what the man looked like with a hat. Police then showed him a videotape of the lineups, which included the wearing of hats. The videotape of the lineup confirmed his identification of Simon. court, Benveniste identified Simon as the man he saw shoot Tana Smith, stating that he was “90 percent” certain of his identification.
44
No other eye-witness connected Simon or Moore to the Tana Smith murder.
45
Shortly after the Tana Smith shooting, Harris rejoined Simon and Moore at the Muslim Temple at Geary and Fillmore Streets. A few minutes later they entered Manney’s black Cadillac and drove around the city. Simon was the driver. Moore was the passenger on the front seat and Harris sat on the back seat. Harris admitted he had taken a few “reds” about that time.
At approximately 7:55 p.m. on January 28, 69-year-old Vincent Wollin was shot and killed on the sidewalk on Scott Street between McAllister and Fulton Streets. He was shot twice, once through the heart, with a .32 caliber pistol.
*275
(People’s exhibit No. 93.) A woman, who was standing in front of her home across the street, witnessed the shooting. She described the gunman as a black man, about 6 feet tall, 165 pounds, slender, 25 to 30 years old, wearing a full-length overcoat and a hat with a brim. The gunman took nothing from the victim, and ran toward Fulton Street. The witness could not identify the gunman.
Shortly after 9 p.m. on January 28, 80-year-old John Bambic was shot and killed on the sidewalk near 9th and Howard Streets. He was shot twice in the back, once through the heart, with a .32 caliber pistol. (People’s exhibit No. 94.) Two witnesses heard the shots, saw Bambic lying on the sidewalk, and saw a man running across the street to a black Cadillac parked at the service station. One witness described the car as having huge taillights, “like a big stream of red lights across it, like a juke box,” as it drove out of the station and northbound on 9th Street. The same witness, who was walking on the sidewalk at the time of the shooting, described the gunman as a husky man, about 5 feet 10 inches tall, more than 160 pounds, wearing dark clothing, including a long coat. The witness could not tell the race of the man, but he was not a white man.
About 9:45 p.m. on January 28, 45-year-old Jane Holly was shot and killed in a laundromat at 1440 Silver Avenue near Brussels Street. (People’s exhibit No. 95.) At the time, she was the only Caucasian among approximately 15 black people in the laundromat. Lonnie C. Green (not related to defendant Green), a black United States Navy serviceman, was in the laundry at the time. He was seated near the front door. He was reading when he heard someone hit the front door. He looked up and saw a black man, about 6 feet tall, about 25 years old, clean-shaven, wearing old scuffed work shoes (“farm type,” “boon-dock type, ” high tops), and a black hat with a brim and gold band. The hat was a “floppy type hat,” and worn tilted to one side. Green did not recall the other clothing the man was wearing. Green looked directly at the man, who looked directly at him. Green watched the man as he walked up behind Jane Holly who had her back turned and was removing clothing from a dryer. The man pulled a gun out of his waistband and shot Jane Holly twice in the back with a .32 caliber automatic pistol. The man said nothing, turned and walked out. Lonnie Green picked Moore out of a lineup as the person he saw shoot Jane Holly. Mr. Green identified Moore in court, and stated in effect that his identification of Moore was based on his observation of him in the laundromat at the time of the shooting.
46
Anthony Harris testified that he was with Simon and Moore in Manney’s black Cadillac at the time of the laundromat shooting. Harris testified that Simon drove to the area, parked, looked at the laundromat, returned to the car,
*276
and then parked around the comer from the laundromat. Simon and Moore got out of the car while Harris waited in the car. Harris testified that he heard shots, that Simon and Moore came running back to the car, that in running to the car one of them bumped into two young women on the sidewalk in front of, or near, the laundromat. Simon and Moore got into the car and they drove off.
Other witnesses observed a 1959 black Cadillac near the laundromat at the time of the shooting of Jane Holly. A resident of the area saw a black man get out of the Cadillac and walk toward the laundromat at 1440 Silver Avenue. The witness described the man as in his “early 30’s,” 6 feet tall, thin, about 180 pounds, wearing a three-quarter length tan coat and hat.
Denise Norman, age 18, and her friend, Vera Lang, had just walked out of a different laundromat at the corner of Silver Avenue and Brussels and were on their way to their car when they heard two gunshots. A black man came running down the sidewalk, from the laundromat where the shooting occurred, bumped into Denise, and then ran to a black Cadillac parked around the corner. Vera Lang and Denise Norman heard someone in the car say, “Hey, man, come on, let’s get out of here.” Although Denise Norman and Vera Lang initially thought the black Cadillac was a two-door, they later said they did not pay much attention to the number of doors and that the 1959 black, four-door Cadillac (Manney’s) police later showed them in the garage of the Hall of Justice was similar to the car they saw on the night of the shooting.
Denise Norman described the man who bumped into her as 6 feet 1 inch tall, slender, early 20’s, short Afro, and wearing a coat. He held his hand under his coat. She was unable to identify either Moore or Simon. Vera Lang described the man as 6 feet 1 inch tall, about 25 years old, three-quarter length black leather jacket, dark slacks, black shoes, medium natural hair style, and hair around his mouth. She identified no one.
A few minutes after the shooting of Jane Holly in the laundromat at 1440 Silver Avenue, 23-year-old Roxanne McMillian was shot twice outside her home at 102 Edinburgh Street (Excelsior area), which is just off Silver Avenue and about 1.3 miles from 1440 Silver Avenue. Mrs. McMillian had gone to her car in front of the house to pick up an item and was walking back to the house when a black man walked up and said, “Hi.” Mrs. McMillian said “Hi” and started up the stairs. The black man then shot her twice in the back with a .32 caliber pistol. One bullet passed through her body. The other struck her spine and caused paralysis from the waist down. Mrs. McMillian described the gunman as a black man, about 25 to 30 years, 5 feet 11 inches tall, 185-190 pounds, dark complexion, no hair on face, wearing a dark, suit-length coat, black hat with a large brim down over his face. She could not identify any of the defendants as the gunman. A resident in the area (Mrs. Carol Matison) heard
*277
the gunshots, went to a window and saw a black man with short hair and heavy shoes running down the street and get into the passenger side of a dark blue or black Cadillac with large tail fins.
47
The man was wearing no coat or hat, only slacks and a long-sleeve shirt.
Anthony Harris testified that about five minutes after the laundromat shooting he was sitting in the back seat of the Cadillac (Manney’s) when he heard more shots. Simon and Moore were out of the car and had walked across the street to a house. After the shots, Simon and Moore returned to the car and they drove away. They apparently then changed vehicles (from Manney’s Cadillac to Green’s Dodge Dart).
A.
The Gun Used
San Francisco police found two .32 caliber Winchester-Western shell casings at the place of the Tana Smith murder, and a .32 caliber slug was removed from her body. Police found two .32 caliber Winchester-Western shell casings at the place of the Vincent Wollin murder, but no slugs were found or removed from his body. Police found two .32 caliber Remington-Peters shell casings at the place of John Bambic’s murder, and one .32 caliber slug was removed from his body. Police found two .32 caliber Remington-Peters shell casings at the place of Jane Holly’s murder, and one .32 caliber slug was removed from her body. Police found two .32 caliber Remington-Peters shell casings and one .32 caliber bullet at the place of the McMillian shooting. In the opinion of two firearm identification experts, the bullets used in the murders of Tana Smith, Vincent Wollin, John Bambic, and Jane Holly, and the shooting of Roxanne McMillian on January 28, 1974, were fired from the same .32 caliber automatic pistol, but they were not fired from the gun used in the 1973 shootings of Erakat, Dancik, Agnos, DiGirolamo, Bertuccio, DeMartini, Moynihan and Hosier.
B.
Alibi
Simon and Moore denied any involvement in the alleged crimes committed on January 28, 1974. They testified that they were not with Harris that day or night. Simon, Moore, Green, Jamerson, and Burton all testified that on the night of January 28, 1974, they went to the Winterland auditorium at Post and Steiner Streets where they saw a closed circuit televised fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. They all testified that they went to the fight in Clarence Jamerson’s Cadillac, that before the fight started they sold “Muhammad Speaks” newspapers in front of the auditorium, that they attended the entire fight and then went home. Jamerson drove Burton to his apartment on Lyon Street. He then drove Green, Simon, and Moore to their apartments at 844
*278
Grove Street. They all testified that they had obtained the tickets, which cost $12.50 each, from Thomas Manney, and that he also attended the fight with them.
48
Jamerson testified that after the fight, and after he had taken Burton, Green, Simon and Moore home, he drove Manney to Black Self Help. The manager of Winterland confirmed that the Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier fight was televised at the auditorium on the night of January 28, 1974, that the main fight was preceded by an exhibition fight that started at 6:30 p.m., Pacific standard time, and that die main fight lasted 12 rounds. He did not remember the time.the fight was over. Defendants thought the fight ended about 9:30 p.m. An officer investigating the shooting of Tana Smith at Geary and Divisadero, two blocks from Winterland, testified that the crowd leaving the fight interfered with their investigation.
C. Sufficiency of the Evidence
Simon argues that the evidence was insufficient, as a matter of law, to support his conviction of the murder of Tana Smith. He argues that David Benveniste’s identification testimony was “inherently unreliable. ” Benveniste’s identification testimony, however, was evidence for the jury to weigh. (See
People
v.
Rist
(1976) 16 Cal.3d 211, 216 [ 127 Cal.Rptr. 457 , 545 P.2d 833 ], and cases cited.) Benveniste testified that he was “90 percent sure” of his identification. The jury, after hearing all the conflicting evidence pertaining to the identification of Simon, concluded that it proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Simon killed Tana Smith. Testimony of one identification witness is sufficient. (See Evid. Code, §411.) In light of established rules of appellate review (see
People
v.
Johnson, supra,
26 Cal.3d 557 ;
People
v.
Green, supra,
27 Cal.3d 1 ;
People
v.
Towler, supra,
31 Cal.3d 105, 117-118 ), we cannot hold that the evidence was insufficient, as a matter of law, to support the jury’s verdict.
Simon argues that the evidence was insufficient, as a matter of law, to support his conviction of the murder of Jane Holly. Although the evidence showed that Moore was the person who actually shot and killed Jane Holly in the laundromat at Silver Avenue and Brussels Street, there was substantial evidence that Simon aided and abetted Moore in the commission of that murder, and therefore he would be guilty as a principal. (Pen. Code, § 31.) Also, as a coconspirator, Simon would be guilty of the crime committed by his coconspirator. (See
People
v.
Harper, supra,
25 Cal.2d 862, 870 ;
People
v.
Weiss
(1958) 50 Cal.2d 535, 563 [ 327 P.2d 527 ]; see also Perkins,
The Act of One Conspirator
(1974) 26 Hastings L.J. 337 .) There was evidence that Moore used the same gun to kill Jane Holly that Simon used to kill Tana Smith.
*279
There was substantial evidence that Simon was the driver of the car in which Moore was transported to the laundromat where Jane Holly was killed. Harris testified that he was with Simon and Moore in Manney’s black Cadillac at the time, and other witnesses tended to corroborate Harris’ testimony.
Simon argues that the evidence was insufficient, as a matter of law, to support his conviction of the assault with a deadly weapon against Roxanne McMillian. Although there was no evidence whether Roxanne McMillian was shot by Moore or Simon, there was substantial evidence that they committed that crime. The same gun Simon used to kill Tana Smith and that Moore used to kill Jane Holly was used in the shooting of Mrs. McMillian. The shooting occurred within a few minutes after Simon and Moore left the scene of the laundromat murder, and it occurred 1.3 miles away at a place where they easily could have driven within that time. Moreover, a witness described the getaway car that matched the car used by Simon and Moore.
The evidence of the Roxanne McMillian shooting, however, did not establish that Simon was the person who used the gun in committing that crime, and therefore that finding must be stricken from the judgment.
(People
v.
Walker
(1976) 18 Cal.3d 232, 238-243 [ 133 Cal.Rptr. 520 , 555 P.2d 306 ].)
Moore does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence to support his convictions of the Tana Smith and Jane Holly murders or the assault on Roxanne McMillian.
49
Nevertheless, we note that there was substantial evidence that Moore conspired with, or aided and abetted, Simon in the murder of Tana Smith. Moore was positively identified as the person who killed Jane Holly. As previously stated, Simon and Moore used the same gun, and that gun connected Moore and Simon to the assault with a deadly weapon against Mrs. McMillian.
XII. April 1, 1974—Murder of Thomas Rainwater and Shooting of Linda Story
Shortly after 9 p.m. on April 1,1974, two Salvation Army students, 19-year-old Thomas Rainwater and 21-year-old Linda Story, were walking to a market on Geary Street near Webster when they met a black man. As they passed, the black man turned around, pulled out a' gun, shot Rainwater twice in the back and killed him instantly. (See People’s exhibit No. 97.) The black man then shot Linda Story twice in the back; she survived. The gunman used a .32 caliber automatic pistol. Immediately after the shooting the gunman ran into some bushes and among the apartment buildings on the south side of Geary Street.
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Linda Story was unable to identify her assailant. Two residents in the area heard the gunshots, looked out the windows of their respective apartments and saw a black man with a gun run from the place of the shootings. The witnesses described him as about 6 feet tall, slender, 150 pounds, 25 to 30 years old, medium dark complexion, no facial hair. One witness thought she saw the man two or three days later in the market at Geary and Webster. A motorist also witnessed the shootings, stopped and assisted the wounded Linda Story, but she (the motorist) could not identify the gunman. Two plainclothed police officers happened to be in a public garage across the street at the time of the shooting. They ran to the scene and searched the area but found no suspect.
Police recovered four .32 caliber Remington-Peters shell casings at the place of the Rainwater and Story shootings. Two fragments of bullets were removed from Rainwater’s body, and one .32 caliber slug was surgically removed from Linda Story’s body. On the opinion of two firearms identification experts, the .32 caliber bullets used to shoot Rainwater and Story were fired from the same gun used in the shooting of Tana Smith, Vincent Wollin, John Bambic, Jane Holly, and Roxanne McMillian on January 28, 1974.
Xin. April 14, 1974—Shooting of Ward Anderson and Terry White
At approximately 9 p.m. on April 14, 1974, a Sunday, 18-year-old Ward Anderson and 15-year-old Terry White were waiting for a bus at the corner of Hayes and Fillmore Streets, San Francisco. A black man, later identified as Moore, walked to the bus stop. Anderson asked him for a cigarette. The man sort of “grunted,” walked out into the street, looked down the street, turned around, walked back to where Anderson was standing, pulled out a gun and shot Anderson twice with a .32 caliber automatic pistol. The black man then walked 15 to 20 feet to where White was standing and shot him twice. The man then ran across the street and down Fillmore (southward) toward Grove Street.
Anderson was hospitalized about two weeks and then returned to his home in Mesa, Arizona. While in the hospital in San Francisco he was shown a number of “mug shots” but he identified no one. (Defendants’ photographs were not among them.) While Anderson was at his home in Arizona, San Francisco police sent photographs of three lineups to a local police officer who showed them to Anderson. Anderson identified Moore from lineup number one as the man who had shot him. In July 1974, Anderson came to San Francisco and met with Inspector Coreris who showed him enlargments of the lineup photographs. Anderson again pointed to Moore in lineup number one and said, “That’s the son-of-a-bitch that shot me. ” Anderson identified Moore in court and explained that his identification was based on his observation of Moore on the night of April 14, 1974, not on the lineup.
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On May 2, the day after the defendants’ arrests and the lineups, police showed photographs of the lineups to Terry White who was still hospitalized. White identified Moore in lineup number one as the man who had shot him. White testified that he told Inspector Coreris “that that was the man (Moore) that shot me, there was no question about it, and I still hadn’t any questions, and he told me to go through it and make sure, and I went through them and I still said it was the same guy.” White based his identification on Moore’s face, not his hair. White was also shown individual photographs, including a photograph of Moore wearing wire-rim glasses. White again identified Moore as the man who had shot him, adding that Moore was not wearing glasses at the time of the shooting. White identified Moore in court.
Yolanda Williams, who was 17 years old at the time, had just parked her car in a bus zone on Fillmore Street north of Grove Street when she heard four gunshots. There was a pause between the first two shots and the second two shots. She then saw a black man run down the middle of Fillmore Street from the corner of Hayes. He stopped at the corner of Grove and Fillmore and put a handgun in “his side.” She testified that she “got a good look at him.” He was about 27 or 28 years old, “heavy build,” 175 to 180 pounds, dark complexion, round face, 2 inches of hair on his head, wearing a beige or tan suit, white shoes, and no hat. She attended the lineups on May 1 and identified Moore in lineup number one as the man she had seen running down Fillmore at the time of the shooting. She picked him out “because he looked like the man.” She identified no other persons from the three lineups. She identified Moore in court.
Police found four .32 caliber shell casings at the place of the Anderson and White shootings. One .32 caliber slug was surgically removed from Anderson, and one .32 caliber slug was surgically removed from one of White’s arms. In the opinion of two firearms identification experts, the bullets used to shoot Ward Anderson and Terry White were fired from the same gun used in the shootings of Tana Smith, Vincent Wollin, John Bambic, Jane Holly, Roxanne McMillian, Thomas Rainwater, and Linda Story.
Moore and his wife, Gloria, testified that on April 14, 1974, they were at the temple (at Geary and Fillmore) from about noon until 7 or 7:30 p.m. They walked to a market at Geary and Webster Streets, purchased some groceries, and walked to their apartment at 1853 Divisadero Street, near Pine. About 8 p.m. they went out to look for a different apartment to rent and returned home about 9:30 p.m. Moore wore a beige suit that day. Moore testified that he also wore a topcoat, glasses, but no hat. Moore denied he owned or possessed a gun or that he was involved in the shooting of Anderson and White. Gloria testified that she had never seen her husband with a handgun.
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The defense called a number of other witnesses who were in the area of Hayes and Fillmore at the time of the Anderson and White shootings. They heard what they thought were gunshots and saw a man run down the street. They gave varying descriptions of the man they saw running and the clothes he was wearing. Each witness conceded, however, that he or she did not get a good look at the man’s face.
XIV. April 16, 1974—Murder of Nelson Shields
On the evening of April 16, 1974, 23-year-old Nelson Shields and his friend, Jonathan May (a pathologist engaged in cancer research at U.C.), played a game of Lacrosse at Funston (now Moscone) Playground in the Marina area (Chestnut and Laguna) of San Francisco. Shields, who owned a station wagon, then transported May to the house of Mr. and Mrs. Connor at 231 Vernon Street to pick up a carpet. They arrived at 231 Vernon Street about 9:30 p.m. While May was talking to Mrs. Connor at the entrance to her house, Shields opened the rear door of his station wagon. While at the rear of his vehicle, Shields was shot in the back three times. The bullets passed through his body, including his heart, a lung, and liver, and killed him instantly. (People’s exhibit No. 99.) Police found three .32 caliber shell casings (Winchester-Western) across the street about 25 to 30 feet from the body of Shields. Two .32 caliber slugs were also found, one inside the cargo area of the station wagon and one on the street. In the opinion of a firearms identification expert, the .32 caliber bullets that killed Nelson Shields were fired from the same gun used in the shootings of Tana Smith, Vincent Wollin, John Bambic, Jane Holly, Roxanne McMillian, Thomas Rainwater, Linda Story, Ward Anderson, and Terry White.
Neither Jonathan May nor Mrs. Connor saw the man who shot Shields. Mrs. Connor had seen two black men sitting in a car outside her house about 15 minutes before May and Shields arrived. A 12-year-old girl, who lived nearby, heard the shots, looked out a window and saw a black man running on the sidewalk across the street. He ran up the hill to Shields Street where he turned the comer and disappeared from her view. She saw him put something in his belt, but she did not see his face. She described him as about 5 feet 11 inches tall, 190 pounds, wearing a bluejacket and blue jeans. He either had short hair or was wearing a cap pulled over his head.
A defense witness was outside his house at 701 Shields Street when he heard gunshots. Shortly thereafter a black man ran within three feet of him and to the entrance of the house at the comer of Shields and Ralston. The witness described the man as about 25 years old, slender, 150 to 160 pounds, 5 feet 10 inches tall, light complexion, wearing a “skull” cap. The man rang the doorbell of the house and yelled, “Let me in.” A couple of minutes later, some
*283
one let him into the house. It was occupied by a Mrs. Wills and her granddaughter, Jacqueline Arnold (age 20). Ms. Arnold testified, as a defense witness, that she lived with her grandmother and her grandmother’s “man friend.” They took care of four mentally retarded people. She testified that no one came to the door of their house on the night of April 16, 1974. She also mentioned that she knew Michael Armstrong.
At the time of the shooting, Simon’s girl friend, Greta Burgess, lived in a rented apartment at 609 Shields Street, which was “around the comer” from the place of the murder of Shields.
50
Simon denied any involvement in the murder of Nelson Shields. He testified that on the night of April 16, 1974, he was at home. Greta Burgess did not testify.
XV. April 27, 1974—Murder Weapon Found
On April 27, 1974, eight-year-old Cleon Jones and a friend were playing ball in the backyard of the Jones house at 621 Shields Street, San Francisco. The ball went over the backyard fence. Cleon climbed over the fence and, in looking for the ball, found a .32 caliber automatic pistol, a Model 70 Beretta with serial number A47469, under some bushes. Cleon picked up the gun and took it to his father in the house. Mr. Jones called the police and they picked up the gun. A couple of days later, a police inspector returned to the Jones residence and was shown where Cleon found the gun. The inspector found four live .32 automatic Winchester-Western bullets at the same place. The location was the backyard of the house at 275 Vernon Street. As previously described, Nelson Shields had been killed at 231 Vernon Street on April 16.
Mitchel Luksich, a firearms identification expert, test-fired the gun with the bullets found at the same location. He also examined the .32 caliber shell casings recovered in the shootings of Tana Smith, Vincent Wollin, John Bambic, Jane Holly, Roxanne McMillian, Thomas Rainwater, Linda Story, Ward Anderson, Terry White, and Nelson Shields. In his opinion, all the .32 caliber bullets used in the shooting of those people were fired from the .32 caliber automatic pistol, Model 70 Beretta, with serial number A47469. Luksich also concluded that the .32 caliber shells used in the 1973 shootings of Erakat, Dancik, Agnos, DiGirolamo, Bertuccio, and DeMartini were not fired from the same gun used in the 1974 crimes.
51
Terry Coddington, another firearms identification expert, reached the same conclusions.
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XVI. Murder Weapon Traced to Thomas Manney and Black Self Help
On July 31, 1968, Peter Puppo purchased a .32 caliber automatic pistol, Model 70 Beretta with serial number A47469, at a J.C. Penney Store in Tacoma, Washington. He was stationed in the United States Air Force at that time. In March 1973, Puppo lived in San Francisco with Bradford Bishop. Puppo gave the gun to Bishop as a result of losing a wager. Bishop sold the gun to Edmond St. Andre in April 1973. Richard Arzave, a friend of Edmond St. Andre, admitted he took the gun from St. Andre’s home in April 1973. Three days later, Arzave sold the gun to David Bonelli, a pharmacist at 1607 Twentieth Street, San Francisco. Two or three days later, Bonelli sold the gun to Moo Moo Tooa, a 60-year-old Samoan who was in poor health and a regular customer at Bonelli’s pharmacy. Moo Moo Tooa pawned the gun at the San Francisco Loan Association at 35 Sixth Street on May 5,1973, and reclaimed it on August 30, 1973. In late October 1973, Michael Armstrong purchased the gun from Moo Moo Tooa and sold it to Thomas Manney, owner and manager of Black Self Help.
52
Manney denied he purchased or owned any gun.
In April 1974, Simon purchased a .38 caliber special from Michael Armstrong for $45. The transaction took place on Vernon Street (Ingleside) in the area where Nelson Shields was killed on April 16, 1974. The record is not clear whether the transaction took place before or after April 16.
XVII. Joint Legal Representation of Green and Moore; Asserted Conflict of Interest
At the trial, Cooks was separately represented by court-appointed counsel, Mr. Roger W. Pierucci. Simon was separately represented by Mr. John F. Cruikshank, Jr., Green and Moore were jointly represented by Mr. Clinton W. White and Mr. Edward W. Jacko, Jr., a New York lawyer who appeared as counsel
pro hac vice
(Cal. Rules of Court, rule 983). Counsel for Green, Moore, and Simon were retained with financial assistance from the Nation of Islam.
On appeal, Green and Moore argue that there was a conflict of interest in the joint representation, that the purported pretrial waivers of any potential conflict of interest in favor of proceeding with counsel of their choice were ineffective, and therefore they were denied their right to effective assistance of counsel as guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution and article I, section 15, of the California Constitution.
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In a criminal case, a defendant’s constitutional right to counsel at trial does not include an automatic right to separate counsel for each codefendant.
(People
v.
Chacon
(1968) 69 Cal.2d 765, 773-774 [ 73 Cal.Rptr. 10 , 447 P.2d 106 ].) One counsel may represent more than one defendant if the representation is effective and free of conflicting interests.
(People
v.
Chacon,
supra;
In re Watson
(1972) 6 Cal.3d 831, 842 [ 100 Cal.Rptr. 720 , 494 P.2d 1264 ];
People
v.
Cook
(1975) 13 Cal.3d 663, 670-672 [ 119 Cal.Rptr. 500 , 532 P.2d 148 ], cert. den., 423 U.S. 870 [ 46 L.Ed.2d 100 , 96 S.Ct. 135 ];
People
v.
Barboza
(1981) 29 Cal.3d 375, 378 [ 173 Cal.Rptr. 458 , 627 P.2d 188 ];
Glasser
v.
United States
(1942) 315 U.S. 60, 70 [ 86 L.Ed. 680, 699 , 62 S.Ct. 457 ];
Holloway
v.
Arkansas
(1978) 435 U.S. 475, 481-483 [ 55 L.Ed.2d 426, 432-433 , 98 S.Ct. 1173 ];
Cuyler
v.
Sullivan
(1980) 446 U.S. 335, 345-350 [ 64 L.Ed.2d 333, 344-348 , 100 S.Ct. 1708 ].) Where counsel represents two or more defendants, effective representation is denied when, among other instances, counsel must take preferential action or exercise preferential judgment in order to better represent one defendant to the prejudice of a codefendant.
(In re Watson, supra, 6
Cal.3d at p. 842;
People
v.
Cook, supra,
13 Cal.3d at p. 670 .)
When a trial court undertakes to appoint counsel for indigent codefendants, it must assume the burden of assuring that its appointment does not result in a denial of effective counsel because of some possible conflict.
(People
v.
Cook, supra,
13 Cal.3d 663, 671 .) On the other hand, where multiple defendants freely and voluntarily retain joint counsel the trial court need not initiate an inquiry into the propriety of multiple representation.
(Cuyler
v.
Sullivan, supra,
446 U.S. 335, 346-348 [ 64 L.Ed.2d 333, 345-347 ]; see also
People
v.
Cook, supra,
13 Cal.3d at pp. 671-672;
Maxwell
v.
Superior Court
(1982) 30 Cal.3d 606, 620, fn. 12 [ 180 Cal.Rptr. 177 , 639 P.2d 248 ].) Defense counsel have an ethical obligation to avoid conflicting representations and to advise the court promptly when a conflict of interest arises during the trial.
(Cuyler
v.
Sullivan, supra; Maxwell
v.
Superior Court, supra,
30 Cal.3d at p. 620, fn. 12 .) Nevertheless, a trial court’s inquiry as to potential conflicting interests of codefendants jointly represented by retained counsel may be appropriate
(People
v.
Cook, supra,
13 Cal.3d 663, 672, fn. 7 ), provided the inquiry does not interfere with the defendants’ right to counsel of their choice (see
Maxwell
v.
Superior Court, supra,
30 Cal.3d at p. 613 ).
As a general rule, “the mere possibility of a conflict does not warrant pretrial removal of competent counsel in a criminal case over defendant’s informed objection. When the possibility of significant conflict has been brought to the court’s attention and the danger of proceeding with chosen counsel has been disclosed generally to defendant, he may insist on retaining his attorneys if he waives the conflict knowingly and intelligently for purposes of the criminal trial.”
(Maxwell
v.
Superior Court, supra,
30 Cal.3d 606, 619 ; see also
In re Noday
(1981) 125 Cal.App.3d 507, 516-519 , hg. den [ 178 Cal.Rptr. 653 ].)
*286
In this case, Green, Moore, and Simon were jointly represented by Mr. Clinton White at their arraignment and during the months before trial. Early in the proceedings, however, Mr. White informed the court that because of the complexities of the case at least one and probably two more attorneys would join him in the representation of Green, Moore, and Simon. In September 1974, Mr. White informed the court that Mr. Edward Jacko, of New York, would definitely be participating as joint counsel. Although not a member of the Nation of Islam himself, Mr. Jacko had been retained in a number of cases to defend members of the Nation of Islam in criminal trials throughout the country. Mr. White told the court that Mr. Jacko would head the defense team of lawyers.
During the pretrial proceedings, Judge Joseph Karesh asked Mr. White whether there was any potential conflict of interest in jointly representing Green, Moore, and Simon. Mr. White stated that in his opinion there was no conflict “in terms of overall innocence,” but conceivably there could be some conflict as between Moore and Simon insofar as it involved cross-examination of witnesses on the issue of identification. In response to the court’s question about impermissible joint representation of codefendants with conflicting interests, Mr. White said it would depend on whether the defendants were fully apprised of the potential conflict and waived it. The court then advised Moore, Simon, and Green individually that Mr. White had indicated that there was a potential conflict of interest in jointly representing each of them, and that they each had the right to separate court-appointed counsel if they could not afford counsel and wanted separate counsel. The court gave the defendants about a week (to Sept. 6, 1974) to inform the court of their decision.
A week later, the defendants appeared with counsel before Judge Morton Colvin, the master calendar judge. Judge Colvin was informed that there was a potential conflict of interest in the joint representation of Green, Moore, and Simon. The court then advised Moore, Simon, and Green as follows:
“Mr. Moore, by a potential conflict, it means simply this, that in the preparation by Mr. White of the case for Mr. Moore, for yourself, Mr. Simon and Mr. Green, it may be that in preparing a defense for Mr. Simon and Mr. Green, it may be necessary to prepare a defense which might possibly prejudice your interests. Do you understand that?
“Defendant Moore: Yes, sir.
“The Court: And you also understand that you are entitled to separate counsel, and if you can’t afford one, the Court will appoint one for you. Do you understand that?
*287
“Defendant Moore: Yes, sir.
“The Court: Bearing all that in mind, do you have any objection to Mr. White proceeding to represent both you, Mr. Simon and Mr. Green?
“Defendant Moore: No, sir.
“The Court: All right.
“And, Mr. Simon, by way of possible potential conflict, it means that Mr. White, in the preparation of his case for Mr. Moore and Mr. Green, may have to prepare a defense for Mr. Moore and Mr. Green which may possibly prejudice your interests. Do you understand that?
“Defendant Simon: Yes, Sir.
“The Court: And you also understand that you are entitled to separate counsel, and if you cannot afford one, the Court will appoint one for you. Do you understand that?
“Defendant Simon: Yes.
“The Court: Having that in mind, do you have any objection to Mr. White continuing to represent both you, Mr. Moore and Mr. Green?
“Defendant Simon: No.
“The Court: All right.
‘And, Mr. Green, by way of a possible potential conflict, it means that Mr. White, in the preparation of his defense of Mr. Moore and Mr. Simon, may have to put forward a defense that might possibly prejudice your interests. Do you understand that?
“Defendant Green: Yes, sir.
“The Court: And you also understand that you are entitled to separate counsel, and if you can’t afford one, the Court will appoint one for you?
“Defendant Green: Yes, sir.
“The Court: And having all that in mind, do you have any objection to Mr. White continuing to represent both you, Mr. Moore and Mr. Simon?
*288
“Defendant Green: No, sir.
“The Court: And, Mr. White, is it agreeable with you that you continue to represent both Mr. Moore, Mr. Simon and Mr. Green?
“Mr. White: Yes, sir, it is, your Honor.”
On September 11, 1974, Mr. Jacko appeared with Mr. White and applied for leave to appear as counsel
pro hac vice.
The court found the application in order. The court asked Moore, Simon, and Green individually whether they consented and desired both Mr. White and Mr. Jacko to represent them, and each defendant said, “Yes, sir.”
In October 1974, Mr. White informed the court that Mr. John Cruikshank would be joining the defense lawyers as a third lawyer for Green, Moore, and Simon, and that Mr. Cruikshank might separately represent one of the defendants. On November 13,1974, Mr. White and Mr. Cruikshank appeared as attorneys for Green, Moore, and Simon.
A few days before commencement of trial on March 3, 1975, Mr. White and Mr. Cruikshank submitted to the court a substitution of attorneys whereby Mr. Cruikshank would be substituted as attorney for Simon in place of Mr. White (and Jacko). (See Code Civ. Proc., § 284.) Mr. Cruikshank was prepared to proceed and did not ask for a continuance. Judge Karesh refused to accept the substitution of attorneys, stating that Green, Moore, and Simon were entitled to joint representation by Mr. White, Mr. Jacko, and Mr. Cruikshank. While the jury was being selected, Simon petitioned the Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, for a writ of mandate to compel the superior court to accept and file his substitution of attorneys. The Court of Appeal denied the petition. Simon then filed his petition in the California Supreme Court which granted the petition and ordered the issuance of a peremptory writ of mandate. The Supreme Court ordered that Simon be represented by Attorney Cruikshank and that codefendants Moore and Green be jointly represented by Attorneys White and Jacko on condition that codefendants Moore and Green and Attorney Jacko file their written consent to the substitution.
(Simon
v.
Superior Court
(1975) 13 Cal.3d 864 [ 120 Cal.Rptr. 75 , 533 P.2d 203 ].)
Presentation of evidence commenced on April 15,1975. Thereafter, no question about conflict of interest arose during the trial.
53
*289
On appeal from a judgment of conviction, the defendant (appellant), in order to demonstrate a violation of his Sixth Amendment rights due to a conflict of interest in joint representation, must establish that an actual conflict of interest adversely affected his lawyer’s performance. The mere “possibility of conflict is insufficient to impugn a criminal conviction.”
(Cuyler
v.
Su

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/2122861. Public record. Not legal advice.