Hedrington

Defendant was charged with multiple violations of the Penal Code. A jury found him guilty of the lesser included offense of attempted voluntary manslaughter (§§ 664, 192). His sole contention on appeal is that the jury should not have been given the flight instruction.

The Facts

In July of 1983, defendant was involved in an altercation at a Chowchilla gas station. When defendant arrived at the station he saw a onetime friend, Patterson, who had circulated a petition for the purpose of forcing defendant to leave town. Apparently there was bad blood between the two—both accused the other of making prior threats. Each produced witnesses to support their version of these threats. Insulting remarks directed at Patterson were made by defendant. Patterson exited the vehicle in which he was riding. The two exchanged words. Defendant said he wanted to kill Patterson, a statement defendant denies having made.

Prior to exiting his car, defendant removed an ice pick from the stereo on the dash. He allegedly did so at the request of his female companion because she was concerned about the safety of the children who were also passengers. However, the ice pick was not removed on two…