Barstow

Following a jury trial appellant was convicted in two counts of violating Penal Code section 451a 1 and Penal Code section 12303.3. 2 The evidence showed that in the early morning hours of February 12, 1973, appellant had an argument with Mr. Irwin Blickenstaff. Appellant stated: “ ‘I am going to get you’ ” or “ ‘[y]ou old gray-headed son of a bitch. I will go home and get my .38 and come back and kill you.’ ” Shortly *92 thereafter appellant, who lived just up the street from Blickenstaff, returned and threw a lighted “Molotov cocktail” under Blickenstaff’s automobile, a 1969 Chevrolet El Camino pickup worth $2,000. A fire erupted underneath the car but it was extinguished, apparently because of rain, by the time the fire department arrived. There was smoke damage to the automobile.

After the fire department left, appellant returned and smashed the window of the automobile with a hammer. A neighbor, Mrs. Sizemore, observed appellant throw the Molotov cocktail and smash the windshield, and appellant was arrested at his home shortly after the incidents. On the way to the police station appellant appeared to be very angry and spontaneously stated: “‘Someday, I am going to…