Protsman
People v. Protsman
Opinion
Opinion
McINTYRE, J.
A jury convicted Eugene Protsman of first degree murder and found the allegations of robbery, special circumstances and use of a deadly weapon were true. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus one year for the weapon enhancement. Protsman appeals, contending the trial court committed reversible error in excluding testimony of one of his defense experts regarding the results of a positron emission tomography (PET) scan of his brain. We hold the court properly excluded this evidence under the test articulated in People v. Kelly (1976) 17 Cal.3d 24 , 130 Cal.Rptr. 144 , 549 P.2d 1240 ( Kelly ), and accordingly, affirm the judgment.
From January to early February 1997, Protsman and his companion, Deyonne (Dee) Sproles, lived with the victim, Elisabeth Smith, in Smith's trailer in a trailer park in El Cajon. Smith was last seen alive at 4:30 p.m. on February 26, 1997, at the trailer park's dumpster. At 6:12 p.m. that day, Yellow Cab driver, Miguel Tellez, was dispatched to pick up a passenger at Smith's trailer. When Tellez arrived, Protsman flagged him down from outside Smith's trailer and asked him to wait. Protsman then went into…