People v. Wagner CA3

BACKGROUND

The complaint deemed an information charged defendant with murder and two counts of robbery. It alleged a special circumstance that the murder was committed by defendant while he was engaged in the commission of a robbery. It further alleged defendant had two prior serious felony convictions and served two prior prison terms. We take the facts from our original decision affirming defendant’s conviction. (People v. Wagner (Mar. 30, 1998, C024362) [nonpub. opn.].)2 In 1994, defendant entered the Del Paso Boulevard pawnshop of the murder victim (husband) and his wife and placed a gun to the wife’s face and ordered her to get on the floor. He also ordered the husband to get on the floor. The husband twice asked the defendant to take only their money and property and not property belonging to their customers. The wife then heard a gunshot. After defendant left the shop, the wife found her husband had been shot and his wrists were bound with shoelaces. He died shortly thereafter from the gunshot wound.

Our recitation of the facts from our prior appellate opinion is solely for the purpose of efficiently summarizing the background of this case. We do not rely on these…