Coble

Gary Arval Coble (“Coble”) was convicted by a jury of armed robbery (Pen. Code, §§ 211 and 12022) after a trial in which the court received in evidence a four-minute tape recording of a “statement” by David Sifferman, a possible coconspirator, accomplice or aider and abetter. Although physically present at trial, Sifferman invoked his Fifth Amendment Constitutional right against self-incrimination, and refused to testify. The court concluded that therefore Sifferman was “unavailable” as a witness and admitted the tape recorded statement under authority of Evidence Code section 1230 as a statement against penal interest. In the statement, Sifferman told Deputy Sheriff Congdon while under arrest at the sheriff’s station approximately one to two hours after the robbery that he had driven Coble to the 7-Eleven Store where the robbery occurred, and before they left to go to the store, he (Sifferman) knew that Coble had a gun in his possession; that although there had been some talk about “pulling a robbery,” it really wasn’t serious talk, only “bull shit,” that after they drove up in front of the 7-Eleven Store, Coble got out of the car, entered the store and came running out…