People v. Webb

• Decision Date: 07 December 1993
• Docket Number: No. S006938,S006938
• Citation: 6 Cal.4th 494,24 Cal.Rptr.2d 779,862 P.2d 779
• Court: California Supreme Court
• Parties: , 862 P.2d 779 The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Dennis Duane WEBB, Defendant and Appellant.

Page 779

24 Cal.Rptr.2d 779

6 Cal.4th 494, 862 P.2d 779

The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Dennis Duane WEBB, Defendant and Appellant.

No. S006938.

Supreme Court of California,

In Bank.

Dec. 7, 1993.

Rehearing Denied Jan. 26, 1994.

Harry M. Caldwell, Anthony Miller, Miller & Caldwell, Malibu, for defendant and appellant.

Carol Frederick Jorstad, Office of the Atty. Gen., Los Angeles, for plaintiff and respondent.

BAXTER, Justice.

Defendant Dennis Duane Webb was convicted by a jury of two counts of first degree murder (Pen.Code, § 187), ¹ one count of robbery (§ 211), and one count of burglary (§ 459). The jury found that defendant personally used a firearm in the commission of each offense (§§ 12022.5, 1203.06). Under the 1978 death penalty law (defendant was sentenced to death), three special circumstances were found true--multiple murder, robbery-murder, and burglary-murder (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(3), (17)(i) & (17)(vii)).

We find no prejudicial error at the guilt or penalty phases of defendant's trial. The judgment will be affirmed in its entirety.

I. GUILT PHASE EVIDENCE

A. Prosecution Case

The victims, John and Lori Rainwater, were a young married couple who lived in and managed an apartment complex in the city of Atascadero, San Luis Obispo County. On February 5, 1987, the day of the murders, the couple had a 15-month-old daughter and a week-old son.

The Rainwaters were last seen alive by a neighbor, Tim Clyde, about 9:45 p.m. on February 4. Clyde approached the complex from a phone booth nearby and saw John and Lori standing with a large man in the beam of the porch light at their front door. Clyde noticed that Lori had an unusual "frown" on her face, but he did not see the face of the large man. Clyde was certain, however, that he was at least 6 feet tall and weighed 200 to 220 pounds. Defendant fits this general description. As explained further below, he met the victims shortly before the crimes while searching for rental housing.

About 6 a.m. on February 5, eight hours after the incident described by Clyde, residents of the complex were awakened by screams and gunshots. On a walkway outside the units, Lori was found lying face down and dead in a pool of blood. She was nude and had been shot once in the head at point-blank range. Her two children were found pinned underneath her body, essentially unharmed. Neighbors discovered John's dead body elsewhere on the grounds. He was also nude, and gunshot wounds had been inflicted at close range to his head and chest. A trail of blood led from the Rainwaters' apartment to the spot where each body was found. The condition of the victims' bodies suggested they had been held captive for some time before their deaths. A nylon stocking was tied as a gag through each victim's mouth. On John, the stocking ran down his back and was wrapped around his hands, which were tied behind him with a cloth belt. Another stocking was tied around one of John's ankles, and one of Lori's wrists was similarly bound. Ligature marks were found on the victims' unbound wrists and ankles. The autopsy physician opined that some of the bindings had been present for "at least several hours" before death. In addition, residue consistent with adhesive tape was found on the back of John's arms and neck.

There was evidence the Rainwaters had been beaten during the ordeal. The autopsy disclosed several deep, blunt force lacerations on each victim's scalp. Miscellaneous abrasions and bruises were found on both bodies. Lori's thighs were smeared with blood.

A foreign pubic hair was found on Lori's vulva (external genitalia). The two prosecution experts who examined the hair did not find it to be consistent with sample hairs taken from Lori's husband or from defendant.

Two .38-caliber bullets of an uncommon variety described further below were recovered from John's body. (The bullet that killed Lori was not recovered.)

When authorities arrived shortly after the shootings, the Rainwaters' bed was burning. Expert testimony indicated that the fire burned for only a few minutes and could have been intentionally set.

The apartment was in disarray and the victims' blood was spattered on many surfaces. The following items were seized: a roll and several yards of used duct tape; a label for "Shurtape Cloth Tape, K-Mart, $3.97;" two makeshift "mittens" made from socks wrapped with duct tape; a tan ski jacket bearing a Sears label; a pack of Camel Light cigarettes found inside a pocket of the jacket; and a Camel Light cigarette butt found in the bed. ²

Investigators discovered a total of $307 in various places in the apartment. ³ However, other money belonging to the victims appeared to be missing. ⁴

Defendant's activities during the relevant time period were described in large part by his girlfriend, Sharon White Bear. Sharon testified that a month or so before the crimes, defendant moved from Utah to San Luis Obispo County to be near her. ⁵ Sharon lived in the town of Paso Robles, and defendant initially rented a motel room on a weekly basis in nearby Atascadero. He worked for low hourly wages at a local construction site, and soon started searching for more affordable housing in the same area.

Because of a vacancy sign out front, defendant and Sharon visited the Rainwaters' complex four different times in the three weeks preceding the crimes. A resident of the complex testified that he directed them to the Rainwaters' unit on one of these occasions. According to Sharon, defendant spoke with Lori once and with Lori and John another time. During one of these visits, defendant learned the couple collected rent from the tenants. Defendant ultimately rented an apartment elsewhere.

Several witnesses testified that they saw defendant with Sharon's .38-caliber Smith and Wesson revolver a few hours before the crimes on February 4. Between 5:30 and 6 p.m. that day, defendant retrieved the gun from Sharon's sister, Davene, and took it to Sharon's apartment. He admired it in the presence of Sharon and her daughter, Arlene, and then placed it in the storage room of Sharon's carport. Defendant left in his car and did not return to spend the night with Sharon--an atypical occurrence. ⁶

According to Sharon and her daughter, defendant was first seen on February 5 between 7 and 7:30 a.m., an hour or so after the Rainwaters were shot. He arrived at Sharon's apartment freshly showered, asking for a ride to work.

Sharon testified that later the same day, defendant bought a substantial amount of cocaine from one Reuben Rangel. Much of the $2,300 or $2,400 purchase price came from money ($1,700) defendant had apparently earned from prior drug sales and placed in Sharon's safe. An additional $400 or $500 came from a white envelope he was carrying in his pants pocket at the time. Sharon explained that defendant used cocaine and also sold it to earn money for a motorcycle. She purchased three pounds of marijuana from Rangel on the same occasion.

The next day, February 6, a local task force executed a narcotics search warrant at Sharon's apartment. The officers seized over three pounds of marijuana and discovered defendant flushing "bindles" of cocaine down the toilet. Defendant, Sharon, and one of Sharon's adult sons were arrested at the scene. Officer Miller of the task force seized all three of Sharon's handguns, including the .38-caliber Smith and Wesson revolver, which was found in the carport storage spot used by defendant two days earlier. Defendant told Sharon shortly after their arrest that the gun could cause "trouble."

Although the .38-caliber revolver was inventoried and placed in an evidence bag during the raid, Officer Miller inadvertently left it behind in Sharon's apartment. The gun was discovered later the same evening by Sharon's sister, Davene, and by Michael Rohde and his wife. Testimony by Davene and Mrs. Rohde indicated that Michael became "excited" when he saw the gun. He promptly took it home, buried it, and burned the evidence bag. Michael told defendant over the phone the same night that the police "only got two [of Sharon's guns]. Everything's okay. Do you understand?"

Sharon was soon released on bail in the drug case, but defendant (a parolee) remained in custody for four months until his arrest in this case. Sharon testified that during the three months between the time of her release and the time she first contacted police about the Rainwater case, defendant made various statements indicating that he and possibly Michael were involved in the killings.

The first few statements concerned the .38-caliber revolver. In the week following Sharon's release, defendant repeatedly demanded over the phone that she retrieve the gun from Michael and "break it down and get rid of it." Frightened by his tone, Sharon complied. She and her sister removed the handgrips and some screws and springs, but were otherwise unable to dismantle the gun. Sharon then drove alone to a coastal location known as Ragged Point and threw the gun over the cliff. She discarded the smaller pieces at various places along the highway.

Defendant also inculpated himself in the Rainwater crimes when Sharon visited him in jail one day. Defendant, who was already "visibly upset," confirmed through Sharon that the police had released a composite drawing of the killer. After first looking furtively in the direction of jail guards, defendant stroked the spot on his shaven chin where a goatee had been at the time of the murders. He also pulled the imaginary trigger of a gun and simultaneously said "boom" three times (the total number of gunshots sustained by the victims). After defendant made additional statements of a guilty nature, ⁷ Sharon expressed concern that both she and defendant had left fingerprints in the Rainwaters' apartment when they inquired about the vacancy. Defendant replied, "Trust me. Just trust me. We wiped it down real good." Sharon did not visit defendant in jail after this...