People v. Underwood

181 Cal. App. 3d 1223, 226 Cal. Rptr. 840, 1986 Cal. App. LEXIS 1686
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 5, 1986
Docket44269
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 181 Cal. App. 3d 1223 (People v. Underwood) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Underwood, 181 Cal. App. 3d 1223, 226 Cal. Rptr. 840, 1986 Cal. App. LEXIS 1686 (Cal. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinion

Opinion

FEINERMAN, P. J.

Defendant, Andre M. Underwood, was convicted by jury of second degree murder (Pen. Code, § 187) and robbery (Pen. Code, § 211). An allegation of firearm use by a principal, whose arming was not an element of the crime charged, was found to be true regarding both offenses. (Pen. Code, § 12022, subd. (a).)

Defendant’s motion for a new trial was denied and he was sentenced to state prison for fifteen years to life for the murder (count I), plus one year for the firearm allegation. Defendant was also sentenced to one-third of the midterm of one year on the robbery charge (count II), plus one year for the firearm allegation. The sentence on count II and the accompanying allegation were stayed pending completion of the sentence on count I, the stay then to become permanent. Defendant was given credit for 320 days in custody, including 107 days good time/work time.

Defendant contends that the trial court committed reversible, error in four respects; (1) it failed to give properjury instructions on aiding and abetting; (2) it failed sua sponte to define the term “accessory after the fact”; (3) it admitted two illegally obtained and prejudicial statements; and (4) it failed *1228 to probe an instance of jury misconduct. Defendant also contends that the abstract of judgment requires modification.

In a published opinion, the judgment of conviction was affirmed, but the case was remanded to the trial court for preparation of a new abstract of judgment which would correctly reflect defendant’s custody credits. The Supreme Court then granted a hearing and has now transferred the matter back to this court for reconsideration in light of People v. Croy (1985) 41 Cal.3d 1 [221 Cal.Rptr. 592, 710 P.2d 392],

Background

On the afternoon of January 29, 1981, Tyrone Powell (Powell) and Darryl Williams (Williams) walked to a local wash house to “hang out.” Kelvin Mackey (Mackey) and Shelton Vance (Vance) joined them there and the group decided to “mak[e] some money” by “[rjobbing somebody.” Powell first secured a shotgun shell from a boy named Phil and then the four made their way to a friend’s house to get a 12-gauge shotgun. Powell loaded the gun and the group proceeded to a cafe called “Parkers” to await a suitable victim. When none appeared, they retraced their steps through an alleyway and happened upon Joe Miyoshi (Miyoshi) as he was entering his van.

Upon seeing Miyoshi, Vance said, “[Ijet’s rob him.” When the others declined, Vance took the shotgun and confronted Miyoshi by himself. Vance pointed the gun at Miyoshi and Miyoshi threw some money out the window of his van. Miyoshi then tried to back up the van, but he hit a telephone pole and stopped. Miyoshi opened a door of the van, threw out more money and begged Vance not to shoot him.

As Powell, and possibly Williams, joined Vance in picking up the victim’s money, Mackey spotted defendant walking through the alley and called to him. Defendant approached Miyoshi’s van and took the gun from Vance. As defendant held Miyoshi at bay, the others ran. Powell testified that he looked back and saw defendant shoot the victim, who died of a shotgun blast to the chest. Defendant then fled with the others to a friend’s house, where the stolen money was divided.

On the night of the murder, an officer directed to the scene of the shooting saw three male youths running. He arrived at the murder location about a minute later and then tried to find the three youths he had just seen. When he spotted them a few minutes later, they were standing between some houses and all three began to run. The officer then set up a perimeter, closed off the area, got a helicopter and started searching for the individuals.

*1229 Defendant was caught by another officer and identified as one of the three youths. He was very short of breath and sweating quite profusely. Although defendant gave a false name, a police officer recognized him. He was taken into custody on an outstanding warrant for an unrelated juvenile offense and was placed with the California Youth Authority. At the time, he was only considered a witness to the Miyoshi robbery and murder.

The following day, January 30, an investigating officer questioned defendant about the Miyoshi incident. Defendant maintained that although he happened on the robbery as it was concluding, he had nothing to do with its commission or the victim’s subsequent slaying. He also stated that he saw who had done the killing. On March 4, defendant gave a second statement to the police and admitted that he had taken a share of the victim’s money, but denied all other participation in the crime. Before making the second statement, police received a letter authored by defendant which warned one of the other youths charged with the robbery/murder not to involve him further in connection with Miyoshi’s death and to blame the shooting on a third party. It was because of this letter that police decided to interview defendant a second time. They did so after giving defendant his Miranda rights upon the advice of a deputy district attorney.

On May 29, 1981, defendant was arrested on the instant charges and transported to the county jail to await trial. He was tried as an adult with codefendant Darryl Williams. During jury deliberations, the original trial judge was temporarily replaced by a second trial judge who ruled on an instance of jury misconduct. The second judge was also seated when the jury reported that they were deadlocked after one day’s deliberations. After the original trial judge returned and reread and explained some of the jury instructions, the jurors resumed their deliberations. They eventually hung on the issue of whether defendant had personally used a firearm in the course of the crime but found him guilty of all other charges.

Discussion

I

Defendant contends that the trial court committed Beeman error in its instructions on aiding and abetting and that his convictions for robbery and murder must therefore be reversed.

In People v. Beeman (1984) 35 Cal.3d 547, 560 [199 Cal.Rptr. 60, 674 P.2d 1318], the Supreme Court held that an aider and abettor must not only “act with knowledge of the criminal purpose of the perpetrator” but with “an intent or purpose either of committing, or of encouraging or facilitating *1230 commission of, the offense.” In the case at bar, the court properly instructed the jury on the knowledge aspect of aiding and abetting 1 but failed to instruct on the necessary element of intent as required by Beeman.

The Robbery

The testimony is undisputed that defendant happened upon a robbery in progress. When he arrived at the scene, force had already been applied to secure the victim’s money and the victim had already surrendered most if not all of the money, with which the robbers eventually fled.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
181 Cal. App. 3d 1223, 226 Cal. Rptr. 840, 1986 Cal. App. LEXIS 1686, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-underwood-calctapp-1986.