People v. Jackson
| Decision Date | 14 May 2014 |
| Docket Number | No. S086269.,S086269. |
| Citation | 58 Cal.4th 724,319 P.3d 925,168 Cal.Rptr.3d 635 |
| Court | California Supreme Court |
| Parties | The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Jonathan Keith JACKSON, Defendant and Appellant. |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
See 5 Witkin & Epstein, Cal. Criminal Law (4th ed. 2012) Criminal Trial, § 20.
Gilbert Gaynor, Santa Barbara, under appointment by the Supreme Court, for Defendant and Appellant.
Edmund G. Brown, Jr., and Kamala D. Harris, Attorneys General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Gary W. Schons, Assistant Attorney General, Annie Featherman Fraser and Adrianne S. Denault, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
A jury convicted defendant Jonathan Keith Jackson of the first degree murder of Monique Cleveland (Pen.Code, § 187),1 the willful, deliberate, and premeditated attempted murder of Robert Cleveland ( §§ 664, 187), and being a felon in possession of a firearm (former § 12021, subd. (a)(1), now § 29800, subd. (a)). The jury found true the allegations that defendant inflicted great bodily injury upon the attempted murder victim (§§ 12022.7, subd. (a), 1192.7, subd. (c)(8)), that he personally used a handgun in the commission of the murder and attempted murder ( §§ 12022.5, subd. (a), 1192.7, subd. (c)(8)), and that a principal was armed with a handgun in the commission of the murder (§ 12022, subd. (a)(1)). The jury also found true the special circumstance that the murder was committed while defendant was engaged in the commission or attempted commission of a robbery. (§ 211; former § 190.2, subd. (a)(17)(i), now § 190.2, subd. (a)(17)(A).) 2 The jury, however, was unable to reach a penalty verdict as to the murder conviction, and the court declared a mistrial. At the penalty retrial, the jury returned a verdict of death on the murder conviction. Appeal to this court is automatic. (§ 1239, subd. (b).)
As we explain below, we find no prejudicial error at the guilt or penalty phase of defendant's trial. We therefore affirm the judgment in its entirety.
Robert Cleveland (Robert) and his wife, Monique Cleveland (Monique), were shot during an attempted robbery at their residence. Monique was shot in the face and died. Robert survived gunshot wounds to his face, upper back, and abdomen. The evidence included Robert's account of the crimes and testimony from two witnesses who heard defendant, at separate times, confess to the crimes.
In June 1996, Robert and Monique lived in a remote area of Mead Valley. Robert was a drug dealer who regularly sold to members of the Mead Valley Gangster Crips, including defendant, whom Robert knew by the name “Valley J.” Robert conducted many drug transactions in his home and often hid drugs in a light fixture in a recessed part of the kitchen ceiling.
One night in June 1996, members of the Blanton family, who lived nearby, heard multiple gunshots. Shortly thereafter, they received a call from Robert asking for help. Robert had also called 911 to report the shootings.
Michael Blanton and his two daughters rushed to the Cleveland home, where they found Robert slumped on the back porch, bleeding from gunshot wounds. Robert could barely speak but said he had been shot by Valley J. Monique was found in the hallway; she had been shot in the face and was already dead. Michael Blanton noticed that the plastic cover from the light fixture in the kitchen ceiling was on the ground.
When police officers arrived at the scene, Robert was struggling to remain conscious. He told the responding officers that Valley J. and two or three other individuals had tried to rob him, and that Valley J. had shot him. Inside the house, the police found “Vally J” written in blood on the kitchen floor. In the bedroom, the police located a phone book listing a number for “Valley J.”; that number corresponded to the house where defendant's girlfriend lived. The police also discovered a package of rock cocaine in the light fixture in the kitchen. A total of $507 was found in two different pairs of pants belonging to Robert.
Robert underwent multiple surgeries to repair the gunshot injuries to his face, upper back, and abdomen. While recuperating in the hospital, Robert identified a photograph of defendant as Valley J.
During a search of defendant's grandparents' house, the police recovered a green folder with the written notation, “Mista Valley Jay, MVGC Crips.” The folder contained paperwork bearing both defendant's real name and the moniker “Valley Jay.” Defendant was later taken into custody in Los Angeles for drinking in public; he gave the arresting officer a couple of false names.
Robert was one of the three main witnesses in the guilt phase, and he testified as follows. On the night of the shooting, defendant came to Robert's house in a minivan containing at least three other individuals. Defendant got out and knocked on the door. As Robert picked up his .45–caliber handgun and went to answer the door, he heard Monique go into the bathroom down the hall. Robert let defendant in and locked the door behind him. Defendant owed Robert $150 from a previous drug transaction and wanted to get additional drugs. Robert told defendant he did not have any drugs for him that night and said they could discuss the matter again the next morning. During the course of this conversation, Robert set his gun down on the kitchen counter.
As defendant walked toward the door to leave, he suddenly pulled out a gun and shot Robert in the face from one or two feet away. Robert fell to the floor and looked up to see defendant struggling with his gun, which apparently had jammed. As Robert started to pull himself up from the floor, defendant opened the door. One of defendant's companions then entered and shot Robert in the side while saying, and, “Let's get the bitch too.” At least one other person also entered the house. When the men asked where the drugs were hidden, Robert pointed to the light in the recessed kitchen ceiling and then heard the light cover hit the ground. Robert began losing consciousness and was only vaguely aware of hearing additional gunshots. He did not recall being shot a third time. After the men left, Robert regained consciousness. Thinking he was dying, Robert wrote defendant's name in blood on the kitchen floor and then somehow managed to call for help. Although drugs and large sums of cash had been in the house, it appeared nothing was taken.
The second main witness was Kevin Jackson (Jackson), who was unrelated to defendant. Jackson testified that a day or two after the shooting, he was smoking marijuana with defendant and “Alex” and asked whether they had heard that Robert and Monique had been shot and killed. Defendant replied, A short time later, defendant told Jackson, “Don't trip, but I did that.”
Defendant then described to Jackson a version of the events that largely tracked Robert's testimony. Defendant said he had gone to purchase drugs from Robert, but there had been a dispute about the money defendant owed Robert. Defendant felt that Robert had “disrespect[ed]” him, and defendant decided “to take what he came for instead of paying for it.” Defendant left the house and went to the car where his friends were waiting. He told them he was going to “jack” Robert and “take everything [he] had.” Defendant returned to the house, and Robert answered the door holding a gun. When Robert put the gun on the counter, defendant pulled out his own gun. Robert was substantially bigger than defendant, and he jumped at defendant and tried to take defendant's gun. Defendant had recently been hospitalized following a motorcycle accident and “couldn't take a chance on [Robert] grabbing him,” so defendant stepped back and shot Robert. Defendant then let in his “homies,” and one of them told him to finish what he started. Defendant found Monique in another part of the house. While she was down on the floor, he grabbed her by the hair and asked her where the money was. Monique replied, “What money?” Defendant then “blew her brains out,” using a gun he had borrowed from one of his cohorts. During their conversation, defendant opened a nightstand drawer and showed Jackson the gun he used to shoot Robert.
The third main witness was Kevin Jackson's younger brother, Donald Profit, who was 14 years old at the time of the crimes. Like defendant, Profit was a member of the Mead Valley Gangster Crips. Profit testified he had been smoking marijuana with defendant one or two days after the crimes, when defendant told Profit he “messed up” and confessed to shooting Robert and Monique. Defendant said he shot Robert in the head because he “had to get paid” and shot Monique because he “didn't want no witnesses.” Defendant and his cohorts then searched the house for drugs. Profit claimed defendant had told him he had taken eight ounces of “dope” from Robert. Profit later stated he had seen defendant with this quantity of drugs some two weeks before the shooting.
Two expert witnesses testified regarding the likely manner in which Monique had been killed. Dr. Joseph Choi, a forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy, testified the gun had likely been between two and four inches from her face when she was shot. In his opinion, Monique's injuries indicated she had been lying facedown on the floor while the shooter stood over her, lifted her head by the hair, and shot her in the left cheek. Elissa Mayo, a senior criminalist with the California Department of Justice, analyzed the blood spatter at the crime scene. Based on that analysis, Mayo estimated that Monique'shead was no higher than two feet above the floor when she was shot.
The defense rested without introducing any evidence.
After convicting defendant of the charged crimes, the jury was unable to reach a penalty verdict. The following evidence was presented...
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...Ch. 2, §7.1; §11.1.3(2)(a); Ch. 4-A, §4; §4.1.4(2)(a); Ch. 5-C, §2.2.2(3)(a); Ch. 6, §2.2.2(4); §6; Ch. 7, §3.1.2 People v. Jackson, 58 Cal. 4th 724, 168 Cal. Rptr. 3d 635, 319 P.3d 925 (2014)—Ch. 6, §3.9.1(1) People v. Jackson, 221 Cal. App. 4th 1222, 165 Cal. Rptr. 3d 70 (2d Dist. 2013)—C......