People v. Adams CA1/5

BACKGROUND

A.

The killing occurred on the night of March 23, 2021, at a homeless encampment on Roberts Avenue in Santa Rosa. Adams drove his car into Michael Sullivan-Snell (known as “Big Mike”) and ran over Kellie Jones, injuring Big Mike and killing Jones. Adams knew both victims; he socialized with Jones and others at the encampment, sold methamphetamine to Big Mike, and bought marijuana from him. In the days before the crash, Big Mike and Adams were involved in a dispute that culminated in a physical altercation the evening of the crash, when Big Mike punched Adams in the face and wrestled him to the ground at the encampment. The fatal crash happened later the same night.

The prosecution’s theory was that Adams attempted to kill Big Mike but accidentally killed Jones instead. A defendant who tries to kill one person but instead kills a bystander is liable for both attempted murder and murder. (People v. Concha (2009) 47 Cal.4th 653, 660.) To obtain convictions for the first degree murder of Jones and the attempted murder of Big Mike under the prosecution’s theory, the prosecution was required to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the attempted killing of Big Mike was…