People v. Spencer, S057242
| Citation | 5 Cal.5th 642,235 Cal.Rptr.3d 278,420 P.3d 1102 |
| Decision Date | 12 July 2018 |
| Docket Number | S057242 |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court (California) |
| Parties | The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Christopher Alan SPENCER, Defendant and Appellant. |
5 Cal.5th 642
420 P.3d 1102
235 Cal.Rptr.3d 278
The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
Christopher Alan SPENCER, Defendant and Appellant.
S057242
Supreme Court of California.
Filed July 12, 2018
As Modified on Denial of Rehearing September 12, 2018
Emry J. Allen, under appointment by the Supreme Court, for Defendant and Appellant.
Kamala D. Harris and Xavier Becerra, Attorneys General, Dane R. Gillette and Gerald A. Engler, Chief Assistant Attorneys General, Alice B. Lustre and Arthur P. Beever, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
CUÉLLAR, J.
A jury convicted defendant Christopher Spencer of murdering James Madden. ( Pen. Code § 187 ; all further undesignated references are to this code.) It also found true the special circumstance allegations that Spencer murdered Madden while robbing him and burglarizing his place of business. (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(17).) The jury returned a verdict of death, prompting this automatic appeal. ( Cal. Const., art. VI, § 11 ; Pen. Code § 1239, subd. (b).) We affirm the judgment in its entirety.
I. FACTS
On January 24, 1991, four days before Madden was fatally stabbed, a group of men robbed Ben Graber outside of a liquor store in San Jose. One of
the men shocked Graber with a stun gun. The use of this
weapon, along with tips from an informant, eventually led the police to Daniel Silveria, John Travis, Matthew Jennings, Troy Rackley, and defendant Spencer. By the time police located and arrested the men, they had murdered Madden—a crime for which three of the four adult defendants, Silveria, Travis, and Spencer, were convicted and sentenced to death.1
A. Robbery of Graber at the Gavilan Bottle Shop
On the evening of January 24, 1991, a group of men stopped Ben Graber as he was leaving his job at the Gavilan Bottle Shop located in San Jose. One of the men shocked Graber on his hip with a stun gun. They robbed Graber and took cash from the store.
1. The Stun Gun Robbery Investigation
John Boyles, a detective with the San Jose Police Department, investigated the Gavilan Bottle Shop robbery and another robbery at a Quik Stop convenience store that also involved the use of a stun gun. During his investigation, Detective Boyles learned that Troy Rackley and Matthew Jennings had been identified as suspects in the robberies. Detective Boyles disseminated this information generally via a broadcast "over all our channels within the City of San Jose" and specifically to Officer Brian Hyland, an officer assisting Detective Boyles with the investigation.
At approximately 5:00 p.m. on January 28, 1991, Detective Boyles received a phone call from a female informant. The informant named "Danny, John, Matt, Chris and Troy" as the perpetrators of the stun gun robberies. Later that night, Detective Boyles had another phone conversation with a woman identifying herself as "Cynthia." Based on
her voice and the information she provided, Detective Boyles identified Cynthia as the female informant with whom he had spoken earlier. Cynthia provided the detective with additional information about the robbers.
Officer Hyland tracked down the suspects’ addresses. In speaking to various family members of the group, Officer Hyland corroborated specific aspects of the tip provided by Cynthia. Because Officer Hyland had learned from the message of the informant that the group was planning to commit another robbery, he told everyone with whom he spoke to call 911 if they saw any of the suspects.
2. The Arrest
At approximately 6:45 p.m. on January 29, 1991, an unidentified male called the San Jose police to alert them that the stun gun robbery suspects were at the Oakridge Mall. Officers arrived at the mall and, at the direction of Officer Hyland, stopped two vehicles matching descriptions given by the caller—a Datsun Z and a Honda Civic. Silveria was driving the Honda, and Travis was driving the Datsun with Rackley as a passenger. The police arrested all three individuals. A search of the vehicles yielded over $2,500 in cash from the Datsun, $694.40 from the Honda, and a stun gun and a roll of duct tape in the Honda’s hatchback.
Officer Hyland soon arrived at the scene of the Oakridge Mall arrests. He spoke with Silveria, who gave Officer Hyland a description of the cars Jennings and Spencer were driving and told the officer that the two were planning to leave town. Officer Hyland had Silveria page Jennings,
who called back. Jennings said that he and Spencer were at a friend’s house. Because Silveria knew the location but not the address of the friend’s place, the police brought Silveria along to direct them. Silveria brought the officers to Alice Gutierrez, Christopher Wagner, and John Durbin’s shared apartment and pointed out Spencer’s newly acquired 1979 Triumph Spitfire in the parking lot.
Officer Hyland went up the stairs and saw Durbin in the apartment. Durbin said that Jennings and Spencer had gone to the store but would return. When the police searched the apartment, they discovered two packages containing $282 and $721 in cash.
Officer Larry Esquivel waited downstairs for Jennings and Spencer to return. When a red Chevrolet pickup truck pulled up, matching the description of the vehicle that Officer Esquivel had been expecting, police officers arrested its occupants, who turned out to be Jennings and Spencer.
B. Murder of Madden at Leewards
Madden worked as a manager at a Leewards craft store in Santa Clara. On the night before the robbery suspects were arrested, Madden was the last to leave work. At 10:53 p.m., an alarm went off at Leewards. A dispatcher from the alarm company spoke to someone at the store, but did not summon the police as the person on the other end gave the correct passcode. When Leewards employees arrived at the store the next morning, they discovered Madden’s body.
1. The Murder Investigation
Detective Sergeant Ted Keech of the Santa Clara Police Department and his partner responded to the crime scene at Leewards at approximately 8:15 a.m. on January 29, 1991. Sergeant Keech observed Madden’s body lying on the floor next to a tipped-over chair. Madden’s hands and feet were bound with duct tape, and he had duct tape wrapped around his face. His body showed numerous puncture wounds, later counted to be 32 in total. In the office where Madden’s body was found, Sergeant Keech observed empty register trays and ripped-open plastic bags on top of an empty safe.
After reviewing the scene and interviewing the assistant manager, Sergeant Keech concluded that whoever committed the robbery must have had some familiarity with Leewards’s procedures. He then looked through personnel files and noted that Silveria and Travis were recently terminated from the store. Sometime thereafter, Sergeant Keech learned that Silveria and Travis, along with the other suspects, were in the custody of the San Jose Police Department. He made his
way to the station and arrived shortly after midnight.
2. The Interrogation
About an hour before Sergeant Keech arrived, or at around 11:30 p.m. on January 29, Detective George De La Rocha of the San Jose Police Department began questioning Spencer. Detective De La Rocha advised Spencer of his Miranda rights, which Spencer waived. As Detective De La Rocha was unaware of the Leewards murder when he conducted the interview, his questions centered on the Gavilan Bottle Shop incident. Spencer admitted to driving the getaway car during this robbery and getting paid $70 for his participation. He also said that on the night of January 28—when Madden was killed—he was with Silveria, Travis, Jennings, and Rackley.
At about 4:00 a.m. the next morning, or less than five hours after waiving his Miranda rights, Spencer began talking to Sergeant Keech and his partner, the officers
investigating the Leewards break-in. Sergeant Keech took charge of the interview and interrogated Spencer about Madden’s murder. While Spencer initially denied any involvement, he eventually confessed and gave a detailed account of what had happened two nights earlier.
According to Spencer, the plan to rob Leewards was Silveria’s idea, and it was Silveria and Travis who called the shots at the scene. As they were planning the robbery, Silveria and Travis mentioned the possibility of killing Madden because he could identify them as former employees. When Silveria, Travis, Jennings, Rackley, and Spencer arrived at the Leewards parking lot,
they saw Madden’s vehicle parked in the lot. Silveria told Spencer to slash Madden’s tires, which Spencer did. Spencer, along with Silveria and Travis, accosted Madden as he exited Leewards. While Jennings and Rackley remained outside as lookouts, Silveria, Travis, and Spencer went with Madden back to the store. The three took Madden to his office and bound him with duct tape. When the alarm company called, Spencer took the tape off Madden’s face so he could give the passcode to the dispatcher.
Spencer stated that as they were getting ready to leave, Travis told Silveria and Spencer to kill Madden. Spencer stabbed Madden three or four times in the chest—admitting that he was the first to stab the victim—while Silveria shocked him with the stun gun. Silveria and Travis subsequently also stabbed Madden. All five perpetrators then left in Spencer’s Dodge Charger.
The men obtained between $9,000 and $10,000 from the robbery. Spencer used his share of the money to buy a Spitfire (trading in his Charger) and new clothes. He also said that he gave the shoes that he was wearing during the robbery to a Foot Locker store in Oakridge Mall to throw away.
The interrogation ended at approximately 5:30 a.m. on January 30, about an hour and a half after it began.
C. Prosecution of Spencer
The People charged Spencer with the murder and robbery of Madden, the burglary of Leewards, and the robbery of Graber at the Gavilan Bottle Shop. The indictment also alleged...
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People v. Spencer
...5 Cal.5th 642420 P.3d 1102235 Cal.Rptr.3d 278 The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,v.Christopher Alan SPENCER, Defendant and Appellant.S057242Supreme Court of California.Filed July 12, 2018As Modified on Denial of Rehearing September 12, 2018Emry J. Allen, under appointment by the Supreme C......