People v. Garrison

• Decision Date: 05 January 1989
• Docket Number: C,No. S004354,S004354
• Citation: 254 Cal.Rptr. 257,47 Cal.3d 746,765 P.2d 419
• Parties: , 765 P.2d 419 The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Richard William GARRISON, Defendant and Appellant. In re Richard William GARRISON on Habeas Corpus. rim. 21821, Crim. 26262.
• Court: California Supreme Court

Page 257

254 Cal.Rptr. 257

47 Cal.3d 746, 765 P.2d 419

The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Richard William GARRISON, Defendant and Appellant In re Richard William GARRISON on Habeas Corpus.

No. S004354, Crim. 21821, Crim. 26262.

Supreme Court of California,

In Bank.

Jan. 5, 1989.

Rehearing Denied March 30, 1989.

Eric S. Multhaup, San Francisco, for defendant and appellant.

Keith I. Motley, Office of the Atty. Gen., San Diego, for plaintiff and respondent.

PANELLI, Justice.

Defendant Richard William Garrison was convicted on two counts of murder in the first degree, one count of robbery, and one count of burglary. (Pen.Code, §§ 189, 211 and 459.) ¹ The jury found that defendant was armed with a deadly weapon in the commission of each offense ( § 12022, subd. (a)). The jury found true four special circumstance allegations as to each murder charge: that defendant had in this proceeding been convicted of multiple murders ( § 190.2, subd. (a)(3)); that each victim was a witness to a crime and had been killed in order to prevent his (or her) testimony ( § 190.2, subd. (a)(10)); that defendant was engaged in or was an accomplice in the commission of robbery at the time of the killings ( § 190.2, subd. (a)(17)(i)); and that defendant was engaged in or was an accomplice in the commission of burglary at the time of the killings ( § 190.2, subd. (a)(17)(vii)). The judgment of death was entered under the 1978 death penalty law ( § 190.1 et seq.). The appeal is automatic (Cal. Const., art. VI, § 11; § 1239). A petition for a writ of habeas corpus was filed in conjunction with the appeal; we issued an order to show cause thereon and, for purposes of consideration and disposition, have consolidated the two matters herein.

For reasons hereafter stated, we affirm the judgment of guilt and three of the special circumstance findings. We reverse the penalty under compulsion of People v. Ramos (1984) 37 Cal.3d 136, 207 Cal.Rptr. 800, 689 P.2d 430 and deny the petition for a writ of habeas corpus.

I. GUILT PHASE

A. FACTS

1. Prosecution Case.

On the morning of November 14, 1979, Wanda Bennett's body was found partially buried under debris at the Landers dump near Yucca Valley, San Bernardino County. Officers who went to the Bennett home to report the killing found the body of Victor Bennett in his bed. He had been shot sometime during the same night. ² The Bennetts' collections of old jewelry, coins, and guns had been taken from the home.

Police later found the Bennetts' automobile, partially obscured by bushes, by the side of a little traveled road near Yucca Valley. Mrs. Bennett's purse and identification, wrapped in a paper bag, were buried nearby. A county highway worker found two pieces of a dismantled .410-gauge shotgun along the side of another road which runs between the dump and the Bennett residence. Although it was the kind of gun that fired the types of ammunition that killed Mrs. Bennett and her husband, the absence of the bolt prevented positive identification of this gun as the murder weapon. The gun bore no fingerprints.

Two weeks later, the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department received an anonymous tip implicating defendant in the Bennett killings. Thereafter, several persons told the officers that they had seen defendant with some jewelry stolen from the Bennetts. The officers also learned that defendant and one Gary Roelle had purchased a used car, a yellow Chevy Nova. Roelle's uncle told the officers that defendant and Roelle had left for New York on November 17. Defendant had a girlfriend, Sue Harrell, in Holberton, New York; Roelle had relatives in a nearby town.

The officers obtained warrants to arrest Roelle and defendant and went to Holberton. There they observed the Chevy Nova parked near the Harrell residence; they obtained warrants to search the premises where Roelle and defendant were staying.

On December 13 officers went to the Harrell home to serve the warrant and make the search. Two uniformed New York officers accompanied San Bernardino Detective Ross Dvorak to the door. Defendant was arrested when he greeted officers on the porch armed with a .22 pistol. The officers entered the home where the owner, Sue Harrell's father, consented to a search of the premises. Several pieces of jewelry and guns stolen from the Bennetts were recovered from the room Harrell--who was a minor--had been sharing with defendant.

A second group of officers arrested Roelle. A consensual search of the premises turned up most of the property stolen from the Bennetts as well as a jewelry box containing a key to the Bennett house.

Defendant was returned to California and charged with murder. Roelle resisted extradition but was finally returned to California on March 24, 1980, and also charged with murder. Initially he gave a statement to police in which he admitted being at the Bennett home between 8 and 9 p.m. on November 13 and admitted leaving California with defendant and in possession of stolen goods, but declined to answer any questions which would directly link him with the killings. Later Roelle agreed to tell the full story, and in a tape-recorded statement he told substantially the same story to which he later testified at trial, admitting that he had been present at the dump and residence but placing all blame for the shootings on defendant.

The prosecution's theory at trial was that defendant had planned and carried out the robbery and killing of the Bennetts, perhaps at the urging of a friend, Don Smith. The prosecution's principal witness was Roelle, who testified that defendant planned and carried out both killings. Roelle stated that he happened to be present when the crimes were perpetrated because he innocently offered to drive defendant home from Don Smith's house on the night of November 13. By the time he realized defendant's intention, he was afraid he would be killed if he were uncooperative or tried to escape.

Roelle was acquainted with Wanda Bennett because they both scavenged for old furniture and other valuables from the Landers dump. ³ Roelle admitted he had seen Mrs. Bennett at the dump about 7:45 p.m. on November 13. Roelle had helped her move a rug from the dump to her home, using a truck he had borrowed for the evening from a friend. He left Mrs. Bennett about 9:15 p.m. and went to Don Smith's house where he, defendant, and Smith spent the evening taking speed. At approximately 12:40 a.m., Roelle prepared to leave. Defendant asked for a ride into town. On the way Roelle stopped at the dump to scavenge. He was surprised to see Mrs. Bennett was there. He spoke to her about some dresser drawers he had seen earlier and walked to the back of the dump to look for them.

While on the other side of the dump, Roelle heard a shot. He ran back and found Mrs. Bennett lying on the ground with defendant standing beside her body, holding a sawed-off shotgun and smiling. Roelle was stunned and frightened; he had not known defendant was armed. Defendant told him to cover the trail of blood while defendant dragged the body to the far side of the dump, and Roelle did so. Still following orders from defendant, Roelle parked the truck on a side road, got into the Bennetts' car with defendant, and rode to the Bennett house. He waited in the car while defendant used Mrs. Bennett's key to unlock the front door and enter the house. Roelle did not think he could escape because it was dark and he was not equipped to cope with the remote desert terrain. When defendant reappeared at the door and ordered him to come in and help collect the property, Roelle obeyed. Mr. Bennett had already been shot and, at defendant's direction, Roelle covered the victim's head with a pillow. He then helped defendant strip the house of jewelry, guns, and coins.

Defendant and Roelle drove to the truck, transferred the goods and, with Roelle driving the truck and defendant following in the car, proceeded to a remote area where defendant hid the car behind some bushes. Defendant then ordered Roelle to drive toward Smith's. Along the way defendant dismantled the shotgun, wiped it with a rag, and threw the pieces out the window. (Roelle identified the gun that was later recovered as defendant's weapon.) When Roelle slowed down, defendant produced a .22-caliber revolver and told him to keep driving.

When they arrived at Smith's house, defendant displayed the goods, left some of the guns with Smith, and placed the jewelry and coins in a shed on the property. Roelle saw Smith give defendant a half ounce of speed and a stereo. In response to a question from Smith, defendant stated that "they" were "both dead."

After leaving Smith's, Roelle dropped defendant at a trailer, where defendant sometimes slept. At that time defendant was carrying a black satchel.

Roelle testified that, several days later, he and defendant split the cost of purchasing a Chevy Nova. Roelle made repairs necessary to put the car in running condition, and after loading it with their belongings--including jewelry and guns stolen from the Bennetts--the pair left for New York. Roelle explained that he resisted extradition from New York because he was afraid "the people involved in this thing" would kill him.

The facts that Roelle had admitted his and defendant's involvement in the killings prior to trial, that Roelle had ultimately agreed to testify, and that he had pled guilty to accessory and receiving charges were brought before the jury on direct examination. ⁴ On cross-examination defense counsel established that no promises of sentence recommendations had been made.

Defendant's involvement in the crimes was corroborated by testimony of four witnesses. Regis Reddinger testified that, early on the morning of November 15, he saw defendant carrying a black satchel containing turquoise and silver jewelry. In response to Reddinger's question about where the jewelry had come from, defendant responded that "he [Reddinger] didn't want to know"...