People v. Palmer CA2/2

BACKGROUND

In 2011, a jury convicted defendant and two codefendants, Joel Childress and Eric Allen, of first degree murder in violation

2 of Penal Code section 187, subdivision (a).1 That jury found true the special circumstance allegation that defendant intentionally killed the victim while he was an active participant in a criminal street gang and the murder was carried out to further the activities of the gang. (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(22).) The jury also found defendant guilty of two counts of attempted willful, deliberate, and premeditated murder (§§ 187, subd. (a), 664) and one count of making a criminal threat in violation of section 422. The jury found true both the allegation that a principal personally and intentionally used and discharged a firearm, within the meaning of section 12022.53, subdivisions (b), (c) and (e)(1), proximately causing great bodily injury and death to the victims, and that the crimes were committed for the benefit of a criminal street gang, with the specific intent to promote, further and assist in criminal conduct by gang members, within the meaning of section 186.22, subdivision (b)(1)(C). The conviction was affirmed on direct appeal, but a federal…