Taylor

Defendant Robert Clarence Taylor appeals from a judgment of the Orange County Superior Court imposing the death penalty following his conviction of first degree murder (Pen. Code, § 187), 1 attempted murder (§§ 664, 187), burglary (§ 459), and two counts of robbery (§ 211), accompanied by a special circumstance finding that he committed the murder while engaged in the commission of a burglary and robbery (§ 190.2, former subd. (a)(17)(i), (vii)), and an additional finding that he personally used a firearm during these crimes. Defendant’s appeal is automatic. (§ 1239, subd. (b).) As will appear, we conclude we should affirm the judgment in its entirety.

I. Facts

Defendant Taylor, together with codefendants James Norman DeWitt and Nanette Scheid (see People v. Scheid (1997) 16 Cal.4th 1 [ 65 Cal.Rptr.2d 348 , 939 P.2d 748 ] (Scheid), involving the separate appeal of this codefendant), burgled, robbed, shot and killed Ryoko Hanano (Ryoko) and attempted to kill her husband Kazumi Hanano (Kazumi), leaving him a quadriplegic. The victims had advertised their black 1984 Chevrolet Corvette for sale. On July 8, 1988, Scheid, evidently posing as a prospective buyer, called the…