People v. Pierce CA5

INTRODUCTION

Defendant Darnell Lucifer Pierce was found guilty of the premediated first degree murder of Mubarek Alnajar (Pen. Code, §§ 187, subd. (a), 189, count 1),1 that occurred on January 13, 2021.2 Thereafter, the trial court sentenced Pierce to a total aggregate indeterminate term of 50 years to life, plus a consecutive determinate term of three years. On appeal, Pierce contends: (1) there was “insufficient evidence to prove [he] was the perpetrator beyond a reasonable doubt . . . and the speculative inferences advocated by the prosecution are insufficient to support [his] conviction in this case[;]” (2) “[t]he trial court abused its discretion in allowing the prosecution to admit photographs of firearms [People’s Exhibit Nos. 82, 83, 84, 88, & 89] that were not connected to the charged offenses along with a law enforcement witness’s opinion that some of those photographs depicted a nine-millimeter pistol [because] [t]he evidence was irrelevant and thus inadmissible in this case[;]” (3) “[t]he trial court abused its discretion and violated [his] rights of due process, fundamental fairness in the trial court proceedings, and to present a complete defense by precluding the…