People v. Davis CA2/4

FACTS

A. Prosecution Evidence 1. Murder of Lester Donaldson (Count 1) In 2012, appellant was a parolee assigned to parole agent Maridee Richards. According to Richards, on Friday, October 12, 2012, appellant was released from county jail and appeared at the Long Beach Parole Office, where Richards placed a G.P.S. monitoring device on his ankle. Appellant told Richards that he was residing in a motel in Bellflower. The following Monday (October 15), at approximately 6:00 a.m., the monitoring center informed Richards that appellant’s device had been cut off or removed. Richards and another parole agent went to appellant’s motel room, where they found a dead person in the bed. Appellant was not present. A search disclosed appellant’s monitoring device in a dumpster near the motel.2 The dead person was identified as Lester Donaldson. Dr. Kevin Young, a medical examiner, performed an autopsy on Donaldson’s body. According to Young, Donaldson displayed abrasions on the left side of his neck, a broken neck bone, and hemorrhages in his eyes. Young opined that Donaldson died of strangulation. Young further stated that to cause Donaldson’s death, it was necessary for the perpetrator to…