People v. Williams
| Citation | 165 Cal.Rptr.3d 717,58 Cal.4th 197,315 P.3d 1 |
| Decision Date | 19 December 2013 |
| Docket Number | No. S118629.,S118629. |
| Parties | The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Robert Lee WILLIAMS, Jr., Defendant and Appellant. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court (California) |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
See 5 Witkin & Epstein, Cal. Criminal Law (4th ed. 2012) Criminal Trial, § 317 et seq.
H. Mitchell Caldwell, under appointment by the Supreme Court, for Defendant and Appellant.
Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Julie L. Garland, Assistant Attorney General, Holly D. Wilkens, James H. Flaherty III and Robin Urbanski, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
Defendant Robert Lee Williams, Jr., was convicted by a jury of two counts of first degree murder (Pen.Code, § 187; all further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated), one count of attempted murder (§§ 187, 664), and one count of sexual penetration with a foreign object (§ 289, subd. (a)). The jury found true the special circumstance allegations that defendant committed multiple murders (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(3)) and committed the murders during the commission of robbery (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(17)), burglary (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(17)), and torture (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(18)). The jury also found true the allegations that defendant personally used a firearm (§§ 12022.5, subd. (a), 1192.7, subd. (c)(8)) and inflicted great bodily injury (§§ 12022.7, subd. (a), 1192.7, subd. (c)(8)). Following the penalty phase trial, the jury returned a verdict of death.
This appeal is automatic. (Cal. Const., art. VI, § 11, subd. (a); § 1239, subd. (b).) For the reasons that follow, we affirm the judgment.
A. Guilt Phase
On the night of July 15, 1995, defendant and two accomplices entered the residence of Gary Williams and robbed and murdered him and his father, Roscoe Williams. The men also sexually assaulted and attempted to murder Gary's girlfriend, Conya L., but she escaped through a bedroom window.
Robert Scott testified that he and Gary, working together, had committed over 20 armed robberies of credit unions during the early 1990s. On July 4, 1995, Scott and Gary were sitting in Gary's truck when defendant pulled up alongside in his car. Defendant got out of his car, grabbed Gary, and pressed a black nine-millimeter semiautomatic handgun against Gary's neck, saying, “I know you niggers out there getting licks and I want my share of the money.” Scott testified that the term “lick” describes the proceeds gained from a completed robbery. Defendant threatened that if Gary failed to meet his demand, defendant would kill Gary and his family.
Gary and Scott decided to rob a credit union so they could pay defendant and make money for themselves. On July 10, 1995, the men robbed an Orange County credit union. Gary provided the guns and acted as the lookout while Scott and another man, Curtis Jackson, entered the credit union and stole $56,000. Scott and Jackson were captured following a high-speed police chase, but Gary fled in a different car and escaped.
Conya L. testified that she and Gary had been romantically involved for about a year, and that she was aware Gary made his living robbing credit unions. On the evening of July 15, 1995, Conya L. and Gary went out to dinner. As they drove back to Gary's home in Moreno Valley, Gary informed Conya L. that he needed to hurry back to the house because he had a meeting. Conya L. understood that Gary was meeting Ronald Walker, who was known as “Boochie” or “Black,” to buy a gun. As they turned onto Gary's street, they drove past a burgundy vehicle.
Upon arriving at Gary's house, Conya L. observed that Gary's father Roscoe was waiting outside. The group entered the house, and Conya L. went upstairs. From the master bedroom, she overheard Gary and Roscoe talking downstairs. Roscoe said he was going to the store and asked Gary for money. Gary gave Roscoe some money, and Roscoe left for the store.
From the bedroom window, Conya L. saw three men—defendant, Ronald Walker, and a third man who was never identified or prosecuted (third perpetrator)—leave a burgundy sedan and walk across the street toward the house. Defendant was carrying a black case. As the men approached, Conya L. heard Gary say, One of the men replied: When the three men and Gary went inside the garage, Conya L. could hear “mumbled” talking.
Shortly thereafter, Walker appeared in the master bedroom and pointed a gun at Conya L. Walker was wearing a pair of yellow dishwashing gloves but no mask. He was soon joined by defendant, who was also wearing yellow dishwashing gloves but no mask. Defendant ordered Conya L. to remove all of her jewelry, which he then stuffed in his pocket. Because the suspects were wearing gloves but not masks, Conya L. believed they intended to kill her.
Defendant asked Conya L., “bitch where's the money?” When Conya L. said she did not know, defendant directed Walker to tie her up. Walker bound Conya L.'s hands behind her back with duct tape, and defendant used a lamp cord to tie her ankles. Defendant threatened to rape and kill Conya L. if she failed to disclose the location of the money. The third perpetrator, also wearing yellow dishwashing gloves and no mask, then came upstairs and discussed stealing Gary's clothes and shoes. Defendant told him to go back downstairs to “stay on duty.” Defendant then ransacked the master bedroom, stealing gold chains and jewelry.
Eventually Roscoe returned from the store and called for Gary to let him in. Defendant instructed the third perpetrator to “snatch his ass in the house.” Conya L. heard the front door open and defendant command, The door slammed closed.
Defendant ordered his cohorts to bring Gary and Roscoe upstairs. Gary and Roscoe, with their hands and feet bound, were dragged upstairs and laid in the hallway; Conya L. observed that Gary's eye was bloody and swollen shut. Gary disclosed that money was hidden in a cologne bag in the master bathroom. Dissatisfied with the amount found in the bag, defendant said:
Defendant then forced Conya L. into a bathroom. He shut the door, instructed Conya L. to remove her shorts, and pulled down her underwear. He then removed one of the yellow rubber gloves and, using up to three fingers, digitally penetrated Conya L.'s vagina several times. Defendant paused when Gary called asking to speak with him. During the encounter, Gary referred to defendant as “Rob.” Upon exiting the bathroom, defendant said to the others: “Do his old man in front of him.”
The third perpetrator went downstairs and returned with brown plastic trash bags. He drew one of the plastic bags tightly over Roscoe's head. Conya L. testified that at that juncture, Roscoe did not appear to have been gagged with duct tape. Walker placed Gary in a choke hold and began choking him. Defendant then grabbed Conya L. and placed her in a choke hold, rendering her unconscious. Conya L. testified she felt like she was in a dream state as she lay face up on the ground with defendant leaning over her, cutting her throat with a knife. Defendant complained that the straight-edge knife was dull and ordered the third perpetrator to get him a serrated one. Defendant then began cutting Conya L.'s throat with the serrated knife. At that point, the phone rang. Conya L. saw beams from a car's headlights suggesting that a car was in the driveway.
All three men went downstairs, leaving Conya L. alone. Conya L. dialed 911, but upon hearing the men coming back upstairs, she left the 911 connection on, climbed out the window, and jumped to the ground below. Naked from the waist down, Conya L. ran from the house. After crying for help, she eventually lay down in the street, and police found her a short time later.
Riverside County Sheriff's Deputy David Glen Kirkendall testified that he responded to the 911 call and arrived at Gary's house just before 11:00 p.m. Upon arriving, Deputy Kirkendall knocked on the front door. When no one responded, he opened the garage and saw a pool of blood. He contacted police dispatch to report his finding and was informed that the office had received numerous 911 calls regarding a woman in distress. Deputy Kirkendall hurried around the block and saw Conya L. naked and “covered in blood.” When Conya L. pulled her hand away from her throat, blood began pouring out.
Gary's across-the-street neighbor Michelle Contreras testified that on the night in question she observed four cars rapidly accelerate away from Gary's house in the same direction of travel. One of the cars was Gary's Chevy Cavalier, and another was an El Camino that Gary had been storing for a friend. The Cavalier and El Camino were recovered by police in the following days, and yellow dishwashing gloves were found inside the El Camino.
Riverside County Sheriff's Investigator Brian Robert Fountain testified that law enforcement personnel found the bound bodies of Gary and Roscoe inside Gary's home. Both victims' mouths were covered with duct tape. Two knives, one serrated and one with a dull straight edge, were recovered near the bodies. An empty black gun case was found in the street in front of the house. By stipulation, the parties agreed that neither defendant's nor Walker's fingerprints or palm prints were found in the house or on the gun case. Nor did any of the shoeprints located in the house match any of the shoes subsequently confiscated from defendant or Walker. Additionally, neither defendant's nor...
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