Soun

On Saturday, July 7, 1990, a shopkeeper named Chan Khun was shot and killed in his San Jose video store. Within 36 hours Bonset Soun had been identified as the gunman, had given a detailed confession, and had directed police to the rifle he had used. Soun was found guilty of first degree murder in the attempted commission of robbery (Pen. Code, §§ 187, 190.2, subd. (a)(17)(i)) and two other felonies, and was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. On appeal Soun does not question the sufficiency of the evidence admitted at trial to prove that he killed Khun. He argues;

We have concluded that none of Soun’s assertions warrants reversal and that the judgment of conviction should be affirmed. We shall publish only our discussion of Soun’s first assertion.

The basic facts are essentially undisputed.

Soun (a young Cambodian) and five other Asian youths drove from Oakland to San Jose, on Saturday morning, in response to an acquaintance’s request that they rob a gambling establishment for him. Their vehicle was a blue 1981 Toyota two-door sedan owned by one of Soun’s confederates. Soun owned a rifle, and took it with him in the Toyota.

Once in San Jose,…