People v. Tillman CA3

BACKGROUND

During a post-arrest police interview, defendant confessed to shooting Murillo multiple times and admitted that he did so while robbing him of cocaine. Our recitation of relevant facts is based on that confession and on undisputed corroborating evidence. On January 5, 2021, at around 6:30 p.m., defendant and three others drove to a convenience store so that defendant could rob Murillo. Defendant set up the robbery by contacting Murillo on social media and agreeing to buy an ounce and a half of cocaine from him for $1,250. About 30 minutes before meeting Murillo at the convenience store, defendant responded to a text message from a girlfriend, saying that he was going to “hit a lash, RQ.” One of the detectives who interviewed defendant testified that “lash” was street slang for robbery and “RQ” was an abbreviation for “real quick.” Defendant confirmed this understanding during the interview when he admitted that he “ ‘went there to rob him.’ ” Defendant said he viewed Murillo as a “ ‘soft’ ” person who pretended to be hard. The group pulled up next to Murillo’s car, and defendant got into Murillo’s front passenger seat. He had a loaded .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun…