Rhodes

By information, defendant was charged in count I with grand theft of an automobile (violation of Pen. Code, § 487, subd. 3); in count II, with robbery of one dollar (violation of Pen. Code, § 211); and in count III, with murder (violation of Pen. Code, § 187). Initially, defendant pled not guilty to each of the three counts; thereafter, he withdrew his not guilty plea to count I and entered a plea of guilty to that count. His sentencing on count I was deferred until the conclusion of his trial on counts II and III. Defendant’s motion for suppression of evidence under Penal Code section 1538.5 was denied. He was tried by a jury and was found guilty of both count II (robbery in the first degree) and count III (murder in the first degree). Specifically, the jury found “said murder to have been committed in the course of a robbery or attempted robbery,” thus basing their verdict upon the felony-murder rule. Defendant’s motion to have a new jury impanelled for the penalty phase of his trial was denied, as was his motion for a new trial. On count III, the jury fixed the penalty at life imprisonment. Defendant’s renewed motion for a new trial and motion for probation were…