McKinzie

Defendant was charged with murder (Pen. Code, § 187), and with use of a firearm in commission of the crime (Pen. Code, § 12022.5). He was tried and convicted of both the offense and the enhancement. His motion for new trial was denied, and defendant has appealed his conviction.

Facts

Late one Friday evening defendant Vernon McKinzie returned home from his job as security guard. For several days, the victim Linda Pallireto had been in the process of breaking off their off-and-on, live-in relationship; their last argument had occurred that Friday morning. When McKinzie arrived at the house the two shared, he found it dark. He decided to go across the street to see if Linda was at her cousin Susan’s house. Linda and Susan were at home in the living room, watching television; Susan’s three-year-old was asleep in another room. Linda lay on Susan’s couch, her crippled leg propped up, and a partially consumed 12-pack of beer was accessible beside the sofa.

Of the next series of events, there were only two surviving witnesses, Susan and defendant, both of whom testified. By Susan’s account, within minutes of defendant’s arrival home, which she witnessed through her living room…