People v. Eaton CA3

BACKGROUND

On October 9, 1992, T.F. and his grandmother E.S.1 were leaving a restaurant when they were confronted by Eaton and Walter Maurice Savage. Savage grabbed E.S.’s purse while Eaton pointed a semiautomatic handgun at T.F. and demanded his wallet. When T.F. did not respond, Eaton shot T.F. in the right temple, killing him. A jury found Eaton guilty of first degree murder (Pen. Code, § 187, subd. (a))2 and second degree robbery (§ 211) with firearm use enhancements for both offenses (former § 12022.5, subd. (a)). The trial court found true that Eaton had a prior serious felony conviction

1 To protect their privacy, we refer to the victims by their first and last name initials. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.90(b)(4).) Undesignated rule references are to the California Rules of Court. 2 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.

2 (§ 667, subd. (a)) and had served a prior prison term (§ 667.5, subd. (b)). The court sentenced Eaton to 25 years to life for the murder conviction, five years (the upper term) for the robbery conviction, five years (the upper term at the time) for the firearm use enhancement for the murder, five years for the prior serious felony…