People v. Sanders CA1/1

I. BACKGROUND

A. Murders and Convictions Sanders and his co-defendant Marrin Hughes were “longtime acquaintances and, perhaps, cousins.”2 In 2007, they began selling drugs in an area claimed by Harris and his associates. Harris verbally confronted both Sanders and Hughes about this in the month before the killings. 13-year-old S.C. lived in his mother’s second-floor apartment near the scene of the murders. He knew Harris, Sanders, and Hughes and was aware of their conflict. On the day of the killings, S.C. came home from school and spoke to Sanders and two others across the street from his apartment. Sanders retrieved a gun, and when one of the others asked if he would sell it, Sanders declined, saying he “needed it.” Later that afternoon, Sanders walked into S.C.’s mother’s apartment, “told everybody to stay in the house,” pulled the gun from his waistband, and left. S.C. went onto a balcony and saw Sanders and Harris arguing outside, on the sidewalk just beyond the gate to a fence in front of the apartment. Coria was nearby, also on the sidewalk. Harris answered his cell phone and turned away from Sanders. Sanders pulled out his gun, shot Harris, and rummaged through his…