People v. Bowen CA1/3

BACKGROUND

I. Trial Evidence2

One evening in February 2003, Edward Mitchell and Monterrio Davis decided to commit a robbery. Davis had a .25-caliber gun. The men drove around Oakland looking for potential victims. Davis shot and robbed two victims. In another incident, Mitchell shot a different victim after attempting to rob him. The two men later picked up Bowen and Demar Lacy. By the time they got into the car, the group had two guns — Davis’s gun and another with an extended clip, which could hold more than an average amount of ammunition. The four men then drove to San Francisco to commit more robberies. They stopped at a liquor store where two women were standing outside. Bowen attempted to rob one of the women by hitting her with a gun; she fled. The men then drove away, looking for additional victims. The group saw Armando Arce walking in an alley with two women. Bowen identified Arce as a robbery target. The men drove into the alley, and all exited the car. Bowen attempted to rob Arce and, during the ensuing scuffle, shot Arce 12 times, killing him. The women ran away. The men all got back in the car and left. Bowen did not testify at his trial. The jury found him…