People v. Costello CA3

BACKGROUND

This court described the details of the underlying offenses in an opinion in defendant’s prior appeal. (People v. Costello (May 9, 2023, C095289) [nonpub. opn.] (Costello).) Defendant acknowledged that in 2018, Robert Lee told him retired podiatrist Dr. Thomas Shock had performed surgery on Lee’s wife, her foot became infected, and she died. Lee asked defendant to kill Shock and offered to pay him. According to defendant, he recruited his friend Mallory Stewart, Jr., but told him they were only pretending to go along with Lee’s plan to get more money out of Lee. (Costello, supra,

C095289.)

Defendant told Lee that Stewart would kill Shock, and Lee paid them. Defendant said he called Lee the next day for more money, but Lee informed him the murder had already been committed and he would not give defendant more money. Codefendant Raymond Jacquett shot and killed Dr. Shock. A subsequent investigation determined that Lee withdrew $5,600 from a bank in the days before the murder. Cellphone records indicated that phones associated with defendant, Stewart, Jacquett, and Lee all contacted each other in the days leading up to the murder, on the night of the murder, and on the…