Duke

People v. Duke

Good Law
74 Cal. App. 4th 23·87 Cal. Rptr. 2d 547
Court of Appeal of CaliforniaAugust 10, 1999E021252, E021607California3,957 words

Opinion

Opinion

Ramirez, J.

In a joint trial, a jury convicted Robert Bemett Duke and another jury convicted Richard Allen Hann of first degree murder (Pen. Code, § 187), and made the special circumstance findings that each murder occurred during a robbery (Pen. Code, § 190.2, subd. (a)(17)(i)) and during a kidnapping for robbery (Pen. Code, § 190.2, subd. (a)(17)(ii)). Duke’s jury further found that the murder involved torture. (Pen. Code, § 190.2, subd. (a) (18).) In bifurcated proceedings, Hann admitted suffering three prior convictions for which he served prison terms. (Pen. Code, § 667.5, subd. (b) .) He was sentenced to prison for life without the possibility of parole, plus three years. Duke was sentenced to prison for life without the possibility of parole, plus one year, under Penal Code section 667.5, subdivision (b). Both defendants appeal. Hann raises jury instruction issues, in which Duke joins, all of which we reject. We therefore affirm his conviction. Duke raises an evidentiary issue, which we reject. However, we agree with his contentions that he should not have received a one-year sentence under Penal Code section 667.5, subdivision (b), and that the trial court erred in…

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