Castille

In this case three defendants were tried together for murder with special circumstances and attendant enhancements. After their arrests, all three defendants were questioned in a joint interview. In the published portion of this opinion we hold that the statements made by each defendant were properly admitted against him and the other two codefendants pursuant to firmly rooted hearsay exceptions.

Factual and Procedural Background

Remon Shields, and Clemeth Ray Castille, both 17 years old, and Robert Brown, age 18, decided to rob Sharif’s Market in Oakland. Shields collected two sawed-off shotguns from the basement of his grandmother’s house: a single-shot .16-gauge Winchester and a pump-action .12-gauge Mossberg. He wrapped the guns in a dark shirt and brought them to Brown’s car. Brown drove all three to the market.

At Shields’s direction, Brown made a U-turn in front of the market and parked about 15 feet from the front door. Shields and Castille got out of the car. They wore ski masks and pulled hoods over their heads. As both men entered the store, Shields handed Castille the .16-gauge shotgun that fired pellets. Shields carried the .12-gauge Mossberg that fired a…