People v. Hofffman CA1/1

I. BACKGROUND

Defendant was charged in an information, filed June 12, 2012, with murder. (Pen. Code,1 § 187, subd. (a).) The information alleged defendant personally used a deadly or dangerous weapon (§ 12022, subd. (b)), inflicted great bodily injury on a person aged

1 All statutory references are to the Penal Code. years or older (§ 1203.09, subd. (a)), and personally inflicted great bodily injury (§ 1203.075, subd. (a)(1)). Defendant lived as a boarder in the home of the victim, a 70-year-old man. The victim was a “heavy, heavy smoker” and suffered from high blood pressure, an enlarged heart, arteriosclerosis, and emphysema. He could not walk farther than a block without becoming winded. Defendant was younger and taller than the victim. Defendant’s testimony provided the only direct evidence of the killing. He said the victim was a regular customer at a pharmacy at which defendant worked as a supervisor. In July 2011, the victim invited defendant to move in with him when he found out defendant was being forced to move. The pair initially got along fine. About two months into the arrangement, however, defendant resigned his job and began to spend more time at the apartment.…