Rivera

Defendant David Rivera appeals after a jury convicted him of murder (Pen. Code, § 187) and burglary (Pen. Code, § 459). We reverse for error in the admission of evidence of a prior charged robbery. ( People v. Thompson (1980) 27 Cal.3d 303, 314 [ 165 Cal. Rptr. 289 , 611 P.2d 883 ]; People v. Haston (1968) 69 Cal.2d 233, 246 [ 70 Cal. Rptr. 419 , 444 P.2d 91 ].)

On the night of June 12, 1981, four youths burglarized the Stop-N-Go Market in Rialto, San Bernardino County. Four 6-packs of beer were taken from the all-night convenience store. In the course of the getaway, one of the youths, Roland Paez, stabbed the murder victim, a customer at the market who gave chase and attempted to stop the thieves.

Cresencio Quiroz was one of the two youths who entered the store and took the beer. In a taped confession Quiroz implicated defendant Rivera. Later, in separate trials, Quiroz and Paez were convicted of first degree murder and burglary. David Rodriguez, the alleged driver of the getaway vehicle, pleaded guilty of being an accessory to murder.

Three months after the crime, defendant, then seventeen years old, was arrested at his home. He was advised of his…

I concur in that part of the majority opinion which concludes that the admission of prior crimes evidence was prejudicial error. The question of prejudice seems to me a close one, but the People have not argued in their briefs that admission of this evidence was not prejudicial. While defendant’s explanation of his confession seems quite flimsy to me, it was apparently sufficient to raise a doubt as to his guilt in the minds of some jurors in the first trial. In these circumstances I cannot say that the error was not prejudicial.

Having reached this conclusion I see no need to consider the admissibility of defendant’s confession at all, much less engage in what appears to be *396 largely a semantic debate over whether People v. Burton (1971) 6 Cal.3d 375 [ 99 Cal.Rptr. 1 , 491 P.2d 793 ] establishes a “per se” or “totality of circumstances” test for determining when a minor’s request to see a parent, made prior to interrogation, must be deemed an invocation of his Fifth Amendment rights. Burton holds that such a request must be accorded that effect “in the absence of evidence demanding a contrary conclusion.” (Id., at pp. 383-384.) Both the majority and the dissent appear to…

I dissent.

There are two issues in this case: whether a juvenile subject to custodial interrogation invokes his privilege against self-incrimination when he purports to request the presence of a parent, and whether evidence of defendant’s prior conviction was erroneously admitted.

The facts are generally related in the majority opinion. However, some elaboration will be helpful, and discussion in reverse order to that employed by the majority is more consistent with the contentions of defendant and response of the People.

Defendant, though then 17 years of age, was no novice to arrest and interrogation: this was his eighth arrest. The officer, Detective Shroads, handcuffed him and advised him of his rights under Miranda v. Arizona (1966) 384 U.S. 436 [ 16 L.Ed.2d 694 , 86 S.Ct. 1602 , 10 A.L.R.3d 974 ]. On the way to the police station, defendant claims he asked Shroads to contact his father. There is conflict as to whether defendant asked that his father be present during the interrogation. Shroads testified at trial that defendant wanted his father “present,” but it is unclear whether this was defendant’s actual request. At the pretrial motion to suppress defendant’s…

Defendant David Rivera appeals after a jury convicted him of murder (Pen. Code, § 187) and burglary (Pen. Code, § 459). We reverse for error in the admission of evidence of a prior charged robbery. (People v. Thompson (1980) 27 Cal.3d 303, 314 [ 165 Cal.Rptr. 289 , 611 P.2d 883 ]; People v. Haston (1968) 69 Cal.2d 233, 246 [ 70 Cal.Rptr. 419 , 444 P.2d 91 ].)

*391 On the night of June 12, 1981, four youths burglarized the Stop-N-Go Market in Rialto; San Bernardino County. Four 6-packs of beer were taken from the all-night convenience store. In the course of the getaway, one of the youths, Roland Paez, stabbed the murder victim, a customer at the market who gave chase and attempted to stop the thieves.

Cresencio Quiroz was one of the two youths who entered the store and took the beer. In a taped confession Quiroz implicated defendant Rivera. Later, in separate trials, Quiroz and Paez were convicted of first degree murder and burglary. David Rodriguez, the alleged driver of the getaway vehicle, pleaded guilty of being an accessory to murder.

Three months after the crime, defendant, then seventeen years old, was arrested at his home. He was advised of his rights under…