Benton

By jury trial appellant was convicted of discharging a firearm at an inhabited dwelling house. (Pen. Code, § 246.) Outside the presence of the jury appellant had admitted five prior convictions. Appellant was sentenced to state prison.

The victim, Wilma Harris, had known appellant for about 15 years. She had been a friend, sounding board or confidante. He sometimes became angry at her, including on two recent occasions when they argued about a newspaper article and when he came to her home requesting medical assistance and she told him he should go to a hospital instead. He had never threatened her, however.

On October 21, 1977, Mrs. Harris stayed up late watching Johnny Carson and Tom Snyder from her bed. The Tom Snyder show had been on for 15 to 20 minutes when she got up to go to the bathroom. After using the toilet, she suddenly observed appellant outside the house looking through the bathroom window. She addressed him by name, said, “That’s not nice. You don’t peek in people’s windows,” and closed the louvered window. Adjacent to the bathroom was a side door. Mrs. Harris heard appellant at the door, saying, “Open the door, I would like to talk to you.” She told him…