Noguera

Defendant William Adolf Noguera was convicted by a jury of one count of first degree murder. (Pen. Code, §§ 187, 189; all statutory references are to this code except as indicated.) The jury also found that in committing the murder, defendant used dangerous and deadly weapons, namely, a martial arts tonfa and a wooden dowel (§ 12022, subd. (b)); it also found true a special circumstance allegation that the murder was committed for financial gain. (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(1).) Following a penalty trial, the jury returned a verdict of death. We affirm the judgment.

Sometime between 11:30 on the night of April 23, 1983, and 4:30 the following morning, Jovita Navarro was murdered in the bedroom of her La Habra bungalow. La Habra police found Jovita's body after being summoned by a "911" call from Mindy Jackson, Jovita's next-door neighbor. After securing the area, investigating officers went to the Jackson residence where they interviewed Dominique Navarro, Jovita's 16-year-old daughter. Dominique told them she had returned from a date with her then-18-year-old boyfriend around 2:00 that morning; after chatting briefly with her mother, who was reading in bed, and…

Defendant William Adolf Noguera was convicted by a jury of one count of first degree murder. (Pen. Code, §§ 187, 189; all statutory references are to this code except as indicated.) The jury also found that in committing the murder, defendant used dangerous and deadly weapons, namely, a martial arts tonfa and a wooden dowel (§ 12022, subd. (b)); it also found true a special circumstance allegation that the murder was committed for financial gain. (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(1).) Following a penalty trial, the jury returned a verdict of death. We affirm the judgment.

Facts

I. Guilt Phase Evidence

A. The murder of Jovita Navarro: the prosecution’s case.

Sometime between 11:30 on the night of April 23, 1983, and 4:30 the following morning, Jovita Navarro was murdered in the bedroom of her La Habra bungalow. La Habra police found Jovita’s body after being summoned by a “911” call from Mindy Jackson, Jovita’s next-door neighbor. After securing the area, investigating officers went to the Jackson residence where they interviewed Dominique Navarro, Jovita’s 16-year-old daughter. Dominique told them she had returned from a date with her then-18-year-old boyfriend around 2:00 that…

I concur in the judgment. After review, I have found no reversible error or other defect.

I write separately to comment on the majority’s treatment of defendant’s claim under Stringer v. Black (1992) 503 U.S._[ 117 L.Ed.2d 367 , 112 S.Ct. 1130 ] (Stringer). As I stated in my dissenting opinion in People v. Proctor, ante, page 499 [ 15 Cal.Rptr.2d 340 , 842 P.2d 1100 ]:

“In Stringer , the United States Supreme Court held that ‘if a State uses aggravating factors in deciding who shall be eligible for the death penalty or who shall receive the death penalty, it cannot use factors which as a practical matter fail to guide the sentencer’s discretion’ in contravention of the Eighth Amendment. [Citation.] It explained: ‘Although our precedents do not require the use of aggravating factors, they have not permitted a State in which aggravating factors are decisive to use factors of vague or imprecise content. A vague aggravating factor employed for the purpose of determining whether a defendant is eligible for the death penalty fails to channel the sentencer’s discretion. A vague aggravating factor used in the weighing process is in a sense worse, for it creates the risk that the jury…