People v. Oakley CA2/4

BACKGROUND

Around 11:00 p.m. on April 9, 2011, defendant drove an Acura sedan westbound on 141st Street in Los Angeles into the intersection at Normandie Avenue, failing to stop at the stop sign for his direction of traffic. There was no

1 All unspecified statutory references are to the Penal Code.

2 stop sign for Normandie traffic, and a Toyota Camry driven by Ralph Payne, travelling southbound on Normandie, had just entered the intersection. Without honking, defendant’s vehicle collided with the driver’s side of the Camry, sending it into a nearby fence. There were four persons in the Camry: Payne, Dennis Vann (the front passenger), Samuel Dickens and six-year-old Sylvester Payne (the rear passengers). All of them were wearing seatbelts. Payne and Vann suffered serious, but non-fatal injuries that required extensive hospital treatment. Dickens and Sylvester Payne did not survive their massive blunt force injuries. Lonnie Smith, an off-duty Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy, was inside his nearby home when he heard the crash and went to the scene. At the intersection of Normandie and 141st Street, he observed two Black males, one of whom he identified as defendant. He asked…