The People v. Easter CA5

INTRODUCTION

Appellants/defendants Ernest Tevin Williams, Mark Patrick Thompson, and Brian Demetrius Easter were charged with committing a series of armed robberies against three different victims over a two-day period. Two of the victims reported that they were robbed by three men. During his postarrest interview, Williams confessed his participation in the three robberies, and said the gunman in one of the crimes was “Alex.” Williams did not identify Easter as a suspect. At their joint jury trial, Thompson testified and admitted he participated in two robberies with Williams, and he was the gunman in one of the crimes. Easter did not make any pretrial statements and testified at trial that he did not commit any of the robberies. However, two of the victims identified Easter as the third suspect who robbed them. After a joint jury trial, Williams, Thompson and Easter were convicted of counts I and II, the second degree robberies of, respectfully, Garrett Gaynor and Joshua Franco (Pen. Code,1 § 211), and the jury found gang enhancements true for those offenses (§ 186.22, subd. (b)). The jury also found that Thompson personally used a firearm in count I, and Easter personally used…