People v. Romero

• Court: California Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: WERDEGAR, J.
• Citation: People v. Romero, 62 Cal.4th 1, 354 P.3d 983, 191 Cal.Rptr.3d 855 (Cal. 2015)
• Decision Date: 27 August 2015
• Docket Number: No. S055856.,S055856.
• Parties: The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Orlando Gene ROMERO and Christopher Self, Defendants and Appellants.

62 Cal.4th 1

354 P.3d 983

191 Cal.Rptr.3d 855

The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent

v.Orlando Gene ROMERO and Christopher Self, Defendants and Appellants.

No. S055856.

Supreme Court of California

Aug. 27, 2015.

As Modified on Denial of Rehearing Oct. 14, 2015.

Michael P. Goldstein, under appointment by the Supreme Court, for Defendant and Appellant Orlando Gene Romero.

William D. Farber, San Rafael, under appointment by the Supreme Court, for Defendant and Appellant Christopher Self.

Edmund G. Brown., Jr., and Kamala D. Harris, Attorneys General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Gary W. Schons, Assistant Attorney General, Holly D. Wilkens, Ivy B. Fitzpatrick and Theodore M. Cropley, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

Opinion

WERDEGAR, J.

Defendants Orlando Gene Romero and Christopher Self were convicted of the first degree murders of Joey Mans, Timothy Jones, and Jose Aragon, the willful, deliberate, and premeditated attempted murders of Kenneth Mills, Paulita Williams, and Randolph Rankins, the attempted robbery of Kenneth Mills and Vicky Ewy, shooting at the vehicle occupied by Kenneth Mills and Ewy, the mayhem of Kenneth Mills, the second degree robberies of William Meredith, Jerry Mills, Sr., Jerry Mills, Jr., and Albert Knoefler, the second degree burglary and vandalism of Magnolia Center Interiors, and receiving stolen property. (Pen.Code¹ §§ 187, subd. (a), 189, 205, 211, 459, 496, 594, subd. (b)(2), 664.) The juries² also found true robbery-murder special-circumstance allegations as to all three murders, two multiple-murder special-circumstance allegations for each murder, and arming enhancement allegations. (§§ 190.2, subd. (a)(3), (17)(i), 12022, subd. (a)(1).) Self was also convicted of the willful, deliberate, and premeditated attempted murder and second degree robbery of John Feltenberger and the kidnapping for robbery and second degree robbery of Alfred Steenblock, and the jury found true great bodily injury enhancement allegations as to the crimes against Feltenberger and Kenneth Mills and arming enhancement allegations. (§§ 187, subd. (a), 209, subd. (b), 211, 664, 12022, subd. (a)(1), 12022.7.) Romero was also convicted of the kidnapping for robbery and second degree robbery of Robert Greer, the second degree robbery of Roger Beliveau, and receiving stolen property (Feltenberger's ammunition pouch), and the jury found true arming enhancement allegations. (§§ 209, subd. (b), 211, 496, 12022, subd. (a)(1).) The juries returned death verdicts, and the trial court entered judgments of death. This appeal is automatic. (Cal. Const., art. VI, § 11, subd. (a); § 1239, subd. (b).) For the reasons that follow we reverse Self's conviction and sentence for Knoefler's robbery, vacate five multiple-murder special-circumstance findings for each defendant, and otherwise affirm the judgments.

I. Facts

A. Guilt Phase

1. Prosecution case

In 1992, defendants and brothers Romero and Self³ engaged in a two-month crime spree. They were joined at times by Jose Munoz, who pled guilty and testified against defendants at trial,⁴ and Daniel Chavez, whose case was severed before trial. Defendants were also implicated by their recorded statements to police, which were played for the jury, and by witness identification and physical evidence.

a. Meredith robbery

On October 8, 1992, about 10:30 p.m., defendants and Munoz robbed William Meredith and stole his 1991 Nissan Pathfinder. They subsequently made a withdrawal and a charge on Meredith's Visa card.

b. Mans and Jones murders

In the early hours of October 12, 1992, defendants, Munoz, and Chavez noticed Timothy Jones and his best friend Joey Mans in a car at a hilltop area near Lake Mathews. Romero and Munoz ordered the men out of the car at gunpoint. Romero told Mans to relax and everything would be all right, and had Mans lie down on the ground next to Jones. Romero told Chavez to “[s]hoot,” adding, “[s]omething like this.” Romero shot Mans in the back, killing him. He attempted to shoot Jones, but the gun malfunctioned. Jones got up and ran down the hill, and defendants ran after him. Self beat Jones with his fists and a pipe and shot him four times, killing him. Defendants stole the victims' car keys and a box containing boots, shoes, magazines, and toiletries.

c. Kenneth Mills and Ewy assault

On October 22, 1992, between 11:30 p.m. and midnight, Kenneth Mills and his girlfriend Vicky Ewy took a drive to look at the lightning. Defendants and Munoz pulled up beside them and Self shot Mills, who was driving, in the face. Defendants continued to chase them until Mills turned onto a golf cart path. Mills permanently lost vision in his right eye.

d. Williams and Rankins attempted murders

In the early morning hours of October 26, 1992, Randolph Rankins was unsuccessful in purchasing methamphetamine for defendants and Munoz. Romero said he would “be seeing” Rankins later; defendants and Munoz then left. Romero told Self and Munoz that if Rankins did not refund their money, they should “take him out,” and Self agreed. About an hour later, Rankins was with acquaintance Paulita Williams in her car at the intersection of Alexander Street and Myron Street in Riverside County. Williams was trying to back up to make a turn she had missed. Defendants' car appeared and blocked Williams's car, and Munoz and Self got out. As Munoz began shooting, Rankins escaped from the car. The bullets struck Williams in her left side and shattered the driver and passenger windows. Self, who appeared to be smiling, began stabbing Williams in the arm. Munoz pushed Self away and shot Williams. Williams suffered a punctured lung and three cuts on her hand and arm, including a nine-inch-long gash on her arm that required about 80 stitches. One of the bullets left a deep gash on her back about six inches long and an inch and a half wide, and pellets were embedded in her spine, shoulder bone, and muscle. Williams still felt the pellets constantly and could not bear weight on her shoulders.

e. Magnolia Center Interiors burglary and vandalism

On the night of November 13, 1992, defendants broke into Magnolia Center Interiors in Riverside. File drawers were emptied, fire extinguishers were sprayed on fabric samples, and glue was sprayed into computers, telephones, fax machines, and calculators. Words similar to “You're going to die” were written on a sonogram picture of the shop owner's unborn son and the picture was stabbed with a sharp object. The words “Just when you thought” and the number “666” were written on the wall and the words “Now you die” were written in the bathroom. The store safe was closed but its combination lock was missing and its hinges had been tampered with. A pair of bolt cutters was found by the safe and several screwdrivers and chisels had been “beaten flat,” as though “somebody was pounding” on the hinges “trying to pull the hinge pins out.” A set of unlabeled master keys to offices around the city and a set of keys to the shop van were taken, along with personal objects.

f. Steenblock kidnapping and robbery

On November 18, 1992, about 1:15 p.m., Alfred Steenblock was eating lunch in his 1992 Pontiac Grand Prix parked at the Mission Grove Plaza shopping center in Riverside. Self approached Steenblock, pointed a gun at his face, and told him to move over. Self drove Steenblock to an empty field. Another car followed and parked behind them, and two men, including Chavez, got out. Self demanded Steenblock's wallet, took out his automated teller machine (ATM) card, and asked for his personal identification number (PIN). He also took about $80 in cash and Steenblock's watch. The men instructed Steenblock to get out of the car, walk into the field, and stay there for an hour, and then left, taking Steenblock's car. Steenblock's partially stripped car was later recovered in a rural area of Mead Valley.

g. Knoefler robbery

On November 20, 1992, about 3:30 p.m., Albert Knoefler was tending beehives at Markham Street and Washington Street in Riverside County. Parked nearby was his 1987 pickup truck. Romero approached Knoefler, struck up a conversation about the bees, and walked around the bee yard. Romero then brandished what appeared to be a sawed-off shotgun and demanded the keys to Knoefler's truck. Munoz appeared wearing a ski mask. Romero said he needed money for gas, and Knoefler handed him about $50. The men left in the truck. The truck was stripped and found several weeks later.

h. Robbery of Jerry Mills, Sr., and Jerry Mills, Jr.

On November 21, 1992, about 12:45 p.m., Jerry Mills, Sr., and his 15–year–old son, Jerry Mills, Jr., were engaged in target practice shooting about two miles south of the Perris Airport in Riverside County. A gray hatchback pulled up and Self pointed a shotgun at Mills. Defendants and Chavez got out of the hatchback and took from Mills his pickup truck, along with a Colt Gold Cup .45–caliber semiautomatic pistol, a Ruger .22–caliber semiautomatic pistol, a Ruger .22–caliber convertible Western-style single action revolver, a Ruger 10/22 semiautomatic rifle with a dark mahogany stock and a scope, a “banana clip” or curved 25–round magazine, a 10–round magazine for the rifle, an ammunition box, toolbox, and about $150. Mills's abandoned truck was found a half-hour later.

i. Aragon murder

On November 25, 1992, 22–year–old Jose Aragon was practicing motorcycle stunts in San Timoteo Canyon in Riverside County. Defendants and Munoz engaged Aragon in friendly conversation and, after Aragon showed them some stunts, Self shot him. Romero picked Aragon up and asked: “How does it feel to get shot? Does it burn?” Romero placed Aragon in the bed of his (Aragon's) pickup truck. Munoz asked him for his keys and wallet, and Self told Aragon to tell him his ATM access code or he would kill him. After Aragon gave Self the code, Self put his gun to Aragon's ribs and fired repeatedly. Aragon was shot 11 times; all wounds were inflicted before and contributed to his...