People v. Monterroso

• Citation: 34 Cal.4th 743,22 Cal.Rptr.3d 1,101 P.3d 956
• Decision Date: 13 December 2004
• Docket Number: No. S034473.,S034473.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court (California)
• Parties: The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Christian Antonio MONTERROSO, Defendant and Appellant.

22 Cal.Rptr.3d 1

34 Cal.4th 743

101 P.3d 956

The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Christian Antonio MONTERROSO, Defendant and Appellant.

No. S034473.

Supreme Court of California.

December 13, 2004.

Rehearing Denied February 16, 2005.

Certiorari Denied October 3, 2005.

Jerry D. Whatley, Santa Barbara, under appointment by the Supreme Court, for Defendant and Appellant.

Bill Lockyer, Attorney General, Robert R. Anderson, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Gary W. Schons, Assistant Attorney General, William M. Wood, Garrett Beaumont and David Delgado-Rucci, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

Certiorari Denied October 3, 2005. See 126 S.Ct. 61.

BAXTER, J.

An Orange County jury convicted defendant Christian Antonio Monterroso of the first degree murders of Tarsem Singh and Ashokkumar Patel; the attempted willful, deliberate and premeditated murder of Allen Canellas; two counts of burglary; three counts of robbery; and two counts of false imprisonment by violence; all by use of a firearm. (Pen.Code, §§ 187, subd. (a), 211, 236, 459/460, subd. (b), 664, subd. (a), 12022.5, subd. (a).)¹ The jury found true the burglary-murder and robbery-murder special circumstances as to each murder and a multiple-murder special circumstance. (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(3), former subd. (a)(17)(i) and (vii).) After a penalty trial, the jury returned a verdict of death. The court denied defendant's motions for new trial (§ 1181) and to modify the penalty verdict (§ 190.4, subd. (e)) and sentenced defendant to die.

This appeal is automatic. We affirm the judgment.

I. BACKGROUND

In the early morning hours of November 21, 1991, defendant Christian Antonio Monterroso robbed and murdered Tarsem Singh, a clerk at the Circle K Market on West Vermont Street in Anaheim, and Ashokkumar Patel, a clerk at Hanshaw's Liquor Store on nearby Lincoln Avenue. Each man was shot and killed with a .45-caliber automatic pistol, which police recovered later that day at defendant's apartment. Police also recovered personal property belonging to Singh and Patel in defendant's bedroom.

A. The Murder of Tarsem Singh

Defendant started drinking beer with Felipe Lopez, 16-year-old William Galloway, and a man named Fabian late in the afternoon of November 20, 1991, at the apartment where defendant lived with Galloway and his mother. The men also ingested some cocaine. Lopez observed that defendant had a gun in his waistband. Later in the evening, the adults went to a bar and a liquor store and returned to the apartment complex. A little before mid-night, defendant left again, this time by himself.

Sometime after midnight, Gonzalo Chavez saw defendant outside the Circle K Market, which was about five blocks from the apartment complex. Defendant followed Chavez into the store. Chavez was about to buy cigarettes and gum when defendant pulled out a gun and demanded money from him and from the store clerk, Tarsem Singh. Defendant also asked Chavez for his car keys, but Chavez said they were in the car. Defendant cursed Chavez and pushed him and Singh towards the bathroom at the back of the store. Defendant said he would kill Chavez if Chavez came out. When Chavez pleaded with defendant not to kill him and pushed the gun away, defendant fired at the floor. Defendant then fired three or four shots at Singh, who was trying to get up from the floor.

When the store bell rang to indicate someone else had entered the store, defendant returned to the front. A short time later, defendant led another Hispanic male into the bathroom. Defendant demanded car keys from his prisoners and then took the other Hispanic male out of the bathroom. At some point, defendant told Chavez and the other Hispanic male, "I won't harm you because we're the same race, but don't point a finger at me." When defendant was not looking, Chavez hid in the ice machine. Meanwhile, more people came into the store, and defendant demanded money from each of them and told them to take off their clothes.

Carlos Chacon entered the store to find defendant pointing a gun at another man's head. Defendant led Chacon and the other man to the bathroom and told Chacon to lie on top of Singh, who was bleeding from his gunshot wounds. Before Chacon could do so, defendant looked at Singh and said, "You're still alive son of a bitch." Defendant shot Singh twice more, adding, "This proves I am not playing games." Defendant brought Chacon to the front briefly to help him look for money and then led him back to the bathroom.

When Rodrigo Pelayo and his brother arrived at the Circle K, defendant was holding a Hispanic male by the hair and had a gun to the man's head. Defendant ordered the Pelayos to put their money on the counter and to take off their clothes. A few seconds later, three to five more Hispanic males came in, and defendant told them to take off their clothes and put their money on the counter. He told this new group he was not "kidding around. I already have dead man in the back." Defendant ordered the group into the bathroom and shut the door.

A few minutes later, Allen Canellas arrived. Canellas was homeless and a panhandler and a drug addict, but Singh, the Circle K clerk, had given him some corn dogs and soda a few hours earlier. Canellas considered Singh to be "a nice man." When Canellas entered the store, he found money on the counter and clothes piled up in front. He called out to Singh, but Singh did not answer. Instead, defendant came to the front of the store and asked, "Can I help you?" Canellas saw defendant had a gun and fled. Defendant fired as Canellas left through the glass door. Canellas felt the bullet whiz by his ear, kept running, and called 911. Meanwhile, another customer, this time an African-American male, entered the store and was ordered into the bathroom.

The police arrived at the Circle K at 12:34 a.m. The glass door in front was shattered. There were two piles of clothing in the front and a .45-caliber casing on the floor. Singh lay dead on his left side in a pool of blood in the back of the store. He had been shot six or seven times.

Eight people were in the bathroom. All were upset and frightened. The seven Hispanic males were naked from the waist up. The eighth, an African-American male, was dressed but said that his car had been stolen. The car was later recovered near defendant's apartment.

A Circle K representative estimated that $14.09 was missing from the cash register.

Later that day, Rodrigo Pelayo and Carlos Chacon each identified defendant as the perpetrator of the robbery and murder. They also identified defendant in court. Canellas's description of the perpetrator on the night of the shooting was consistent with defendant's appearance that night.

B. The Murder of Ashokkumar Patel

While defendant was at the Circle K, Lopez and Galloway went to a bar. Defendant was already home when they returned. Around 1:30 a.m., the three left in Lopez's car to look for cocaine but were unsuccessful. At defendant's suggestion, they stopped at Hanshaw's Liquor Store on West Lincoln Avenue on the way home. Defendant directed Lopez to park the car on the street (instead of in the parking lot) and went inside. Lopez observed that defendant still had his gun.

Defendant returned about 10 minutes later. He was carrying two 12-packs of beer and told Lopez to drive home. When they arrived, Lopez saw defendant counting money in the bedroom, but it did not look like much.

Anaheim police responded to a report of a burglary at Hanshaw's at 4:16 a.m. When they arrived, they heard a faint voice behind the counter. The clerk, Ashokkumar Patel, had been beaten and shot in the back but was still alive. Patel said he had been robbed and shot by a short Mexican male. Around $90 was missing from the register.

Police set up surveillance outside defendant's apartment later that day. Galloway's mother, Jean Brock, had found defendant's gun and hid it. When defendant arrived home around 10:00 p.m., he asked Brock, who was on the phone with the police, where his gun was. Following police instructions, Brock told defendant to leave. Defendant was arrested by police outside the apartment. Brock received a $500 reward for her assistance.

The 11 casings from the Circle K and the single casing from Hanshaw's had come from the .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol found at defendant's apartment. Police also found a .45-caliber magazine hidden in the stereo speaker in defendant's bedroom and a .45-caliber casing under the mattress. Singh's driver's license and other identifying documents were found in a wallet underneath an end table in the living room. A Citibank card with Patel's picture and other identification were found in a dresser drawer in the bedroom defendant shared with Galloway. An Indian religious medallion and some Indian currency were on top of the dresser.

Patel died 11 days later of multi-organ system failure caused by the bullet wounds. He also suffered blunt force trauma that caused bleeding into the brain.

C. Penalty Phase

The prosecution presented victim impact evidence through the testimony of the victims' relatives. Ashokkumar Patel was remembered as a very generous person and a devoted son, husband, and father to his two children. Because of Indian custom, his wife had never had to worry about earning a living. She did not speak English and was now helpless. Tarsem Singh, who was only 28 years old when he died, was a hardworking person and a positive role model for the younger members of the family. His murder caused his family to split apart: his mother and two brothers returned to Fiji, while his father, who was still unable to work, remained in the United States with Tarsem's other brothers.

The prosecution presented additional evidence of defendant's conduct involving force or threats of force.

On the evening of March 8, 1988, defendant confronted Susan Selstad, an English teacher and choir director at Katella High School, in the school parking...