People v. Holt

• Decision Date: 26 November 1984
• Docket Number: Cr. 21405
• Court: California Supreme Court
• Parties: , 690 P.2d 1207 The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Steven Vincent HOLT, Defendant and Appellant.

Page 547

208 Cal.Rptr. 547

37 Cal.3d 436, 690 P.2d 1207

The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Steven Vincent HOLT, Defendant and Appellant.

Cr. 21405.

Supreme Court of California In Bank.

Nov. 26, 1984.

Lynn O. Taylor and Quin Denvir, State Public Defenders, under appointments by the Supreme Court, for defendant and appellant.

John K. Van de Kamp and George Deukmejian, Attys. Gen., Robert H. Philibosian, Chief Asst. Atty. Gen., Edward P. O'Brien, Asst. Atty. Gen., William D. Stein, Herbert F. Wilkinson, Ronald E. Niver and John W. Runde, Deputy Attys. Gen., for plaintiff and respondent.

KAUS, Justice.

Defendant Steven Vincent Holt was convicted on one count of first degree murder (Pen.Code, § 187) with the use of a deadly weapon (id., § 12022.5) and one count of robbery (id., § 211) with the use of a deadly weapon (id., § 12022.5). Under the 1978 death penalty law, a special circumstance that the murder occurred while Holt engaged in and was an accomplice in the commission of a robbery (id., § 190.2, subd. (a)(17)) was found to be true. He was sentenced to death. The appeal is automatic.

Holt raises many contentions with respect to all phases of his trial. We have reviewed all the issues raised and find that prejudicial errors occurred in the guilt phase of the proceedings below. We therefore reverse the judgment finding Holt guilty of first degree murder and of robbery.

I

On February 8, 1979, about 7 p.m., Sam Troia was shot and killed in a parking lot next to Troia's Market in Monterey. Troia had just closed out the registers in the market with his brother and was taking home the daily receipts in two black vinyl bags.

A number of witnesses heard a loud noise and saw two men leaving the scene of the crime. Other witnesses saw two men in the vicinity before the crime. Officers who came to the scene found various bills of money scattered throughout the street and found two $20 bills lying in the gutter where a witness had seen two men enter a car.

Sam Troia died of massive internal hemorrhaging due to damage done to internal organs from a gunshot wound. He was killed by a .38 caliber bullet, either a semi-wad cutter or a round nose lead bullet. The bullet had entered his lower right arm, exited between the wrist and the elbow and entered the abdomen just below the rib on the right side.

On the day after the shooting, Friday, February 9, 1979, two of the witnesses went to the Monterey County sheriff's office for the purpose of constructing composite faces of the two men they had observed. After the composites were made they were distributed among law enforcement agencies and the media. On Sunday, February 11, 1979, Juan Eduardo De George and Holt were arrested and taken to the Monterey police station.

The information filed on June 4, 1979, accused Holt of first degree murder (Pen.Code, § 187) ¹ with the use of a firearm ( § 12022.5) and robbery ( § 211) with the use of a firearm ( § 12022.5). It was alleged that the murder was committed while Holt engaged in and was an accomplice in the commission of a robbery ( § 190.2, subd. (a)(17)). The information also alleged two prior felony convictions within the purview of section 667.5, subdivision (b).

Holt demurred to the information on the basis that the death penalty was unconstitutional. The court overruled the demurrer on June 21, 1979. Defendant's section 995 motion based on the restricted cross-examination of prosecution witness Gary McGowan, was denied on July 12, 1979.

Holt filed a motion for change of venue on September 4, 1979. It was denied on September 7, 1979. On September 20, 1979, the Court of Appeal stayed all proceedings pending determination of Holt's writ of mandate for change of venue. On November 8, 1979, the Court of Appeal denied the writ and dissolved the stay.

Holt's motions for sequestration of the jury and for separate juries were also denied. Holt's motion for a closed voir dire was granted in part.

Jury selection began on January 4, 1980. A single "death qualified" jury was empaneled for both guilt and penalty phases.

Prosecution Case

As will appear, the only real factual issue was whether the murder was committed by defendant Holt or his accomplice Juan Eduardo De George. ² While several other witnesses testified to parts of the events which culminated in the murder, none shed much light on the identity of the killer. Their evidence is summarized below. ³

De George testified that in February 1979, he and Holt lived next door to each other in Monterey. About 4 p.m. on February 8, 1979, De George and Holt drove De George's green 1968 Buick to the residence of F.A. Bright in Seaside. De George and Holt were planning to commit a robbery and went to Bright's house to get a handgun for Holt. Bright lent Holt a .357 magnum but said he wanted it returned. Holt and De George left Bright's house about one hour later. At the time Holt had the gun inside his sweatshirt.

De George drove to New Monterey where he dropped Holt off at the home of a friend of Holt's. Holt told De George to return "just before dark." De George returned to pick up Holt shortly before 6 p.m. They discussed a robbery and possible victims. De George stated that he wanted a gun. At Holt's suggestion, they drove to an address in Seaside where they picked up a .22 caliber revolver.

The two then headed back to Monterey and discussed robbing a gas station. They rejected this idea because a gas station was "too open" a target. As they drove randomly around Monterey, they found themselves near Troia's Market. Holt suggested that they rob the market because the store closed at 7 p.m. and the manager usually took the receipts home at night. Holt told De George that "all we'd have to do is, ... like run up, flash a gun, and the person would give up the money."

As they drove past the front of Troia's Market they noticed that the lights in the market were already off and the store was in the process of being closed. They drove by the market slowly and drove up the block to the corner where they turned and parked near a mailbox. They proceeded from the car to a parking lot near the market.

Both of them were wearing knit "watch caps" and plaid coats. When they reached the parking lot Holt put a bandana over his nose. De George testified that he told Holt it was "too soon" to put the bandana on. The men first stood near the entrance to the parking lot waiting for the market to close; later they walked to a picket fence near the sidewalk.

Shortly after 7 p.m. De George saw a man walk to a red truck parked in the lot. As he started towards the man, Holt waved him off. He then saw another man walking towards a big brown car; Holt motioned to De George to "go ahead." De George walked up behind the man and tugged on the vinyl bag the man was carrying under his left arm. The man tightened his grip, turned around to face De George, and said "What's going on?" De George then heard a shot, turned around and saw Holt with a gun in his hand. He turned back and saw the man on the ground. He heard the man say, "You son of a bitch. You didn't have to shoot me." De George bent down, picked up one of the vinyl bags and ran up the street. When he got into his car, he looked back and saw Holt bending over. Holt then ran to the car. He got in. De George gave him the .22 and he put it in the glove compartment. Holt said "I hope I didn't kill the man. I hope I shot in the arm or the leg." When Holt returned to the car he was carrying another vinyl bag. As they drove off, Holt told De George that he had "dropped all kinds of money." De George replied, "Who cares about the money. You know, there's a guy who's been shot down there."

When De George drove away he kept his lights off for about one block and then drove to a gas station for gas. From the station, Holt drove to F.A. Bright's house. While at the station, De George looked in the vinyl bag and said "we got nothing but checks." Holt then showed him the other bag which contained money.

When De George and Holt arrived at Bright's house, the three went into a bedroom and split up the money. Holt and De George gave Bright $300 for the use of the gun. Before leaving Bright's house, Holt and De George put their caps, bandanas and the stolen checks into the vinyl bags. Bright promised to destroy them. De George gave Bright another $250 to purchase cocaine for him, and Holt gave Bright $200 to buy heroin. Bright left and returned an hour later with the narcotics. De George "fixed" with cocaine and heroin about three or four times that evening. He saw Holt fix once with heroin.

De George and Holt left Bright's house about 11 p.m. and drove to a friend's house in Seaside. They heard a TV broadcast that Sam Troia had died as a result of a gunshot wound. De George went home to talk to his wife because she was a distant relative of Sam Troia. Holt remained at the friend's house. De George returned about 1 a.m. to pick up Holt and drive him home.

The People also introduced the testimony of Gary Lynn McGowan who testified that on March 12, 1979, he was in county jail awaiting sentencing on a second degree burglary charge. Holt was housed in the same pod as McGowan. In the early hours of March 12, 1979, McGowan had a conversation with Holt. Holt told McGowan that he and another person named Juan had committed a robbery. He told McGowan that he and Juan obtained a .357 gun as well as a .22 gun and that he told Juan to waive the gun in the victim's face "so that he won't hassle him." Holt told McGowan that Juan "didn't stick the gun in the guy's face," and just pointed the gun at the victim and grabbed for the bag. When the victim started wrestling with Juan, Holt ran up, pushed him away and shot him. McGowan testified that Holt stated he thought he had shot the victim in the arm and was surprised to see him fall down.

The People also introduced testimony pertaining to Holt's escape from county jail on June 21, 1979. ⁴ ...