Rhodes

Defendant Donald Raymond Rhodes was charged with the murder of Robert Lee (Pen. Code, § 187; all further undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code) and with the theft of his van (Veh. Code, § 10851). A jury found defendant guilty of second degree murder and auto theft. The trial court sentenced him to state prison for 15 years to life on the murder charge and for the upper term of 3 years on the theft charge; the latter sentence was stayed pursuant to section 654. Defendant appeals from the judgment, claiming (1) his counsel should have been relieved due to a conflict of interest, (2) the trial court failed to instruct sua sponte on involuntary manslaughter, and (3) his hearsay objection to a witness’s testimony that he was planning a robbery should have been sustained. We find no merit to these contentions and shall affirm.

The Crimes

Most of the testimony concerning the crimes came from defendant’s brother, Dwayne Rhodes, and a friend, Jim Pair. Both were charged initially with the murder, but then were recharged with burglary, vehicle theft, and being an accessory after the fact. Each entered into a plea bargain in which each pleaded guilty to the…