Blackburn

People v. Blackburn

Good Law
1999 Cal. App. LEXIS 608·72 Cal. App. 4th 1520·86 Cal. Rptr. 2d 134·99 Daily Journal DAR 6445·99 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 5036
Court of Appeal of CaliforniaJune 23, 1999No. E021188; No. E022053California5,359 words

Opinion

Lead Opinion

Richli, J.

Defendant Rodrick Jermaine Blackburn shot and killed two teenage boys, for no apparent reason other than that he “hate[d] Mexicans.” There was testimony that defendant Derwin Jules Jackson encouraged Blackburn to shoot the teenagers. When the shooting was over, Jackson drove Blackburn away.

Defendants contend:

The $20,000 restitution fine imposed on Blackburn was in excess of the statutory maximum. We will modify the judgment by reducing the fine to $10,000. Otherwise, we find no prejudicial error. Accordingly, we will affirm the judgment as modified.

*1525 I-VII *

VIII

Evidence That Jackson’s Prior Was a “Strike”

Jackson contends there was insufficient evidence that his prior conviction for shooting at an occupied motor vehicle (Pen. Code, § 246) qualified as a “strike.”

A prior is a “strike” if it is either a “violent felony” under Penal Code section 667.5 or a “serious felony” under Penal Code section 1192.7. (Pen. Code, §§ 667, subd. (d)(1), 1170.12, subd. (d)(1).) The only definition of a serious or violent felony potentially applicable here is “[a]ny felony in which the defendant personally inflicts great bodily injury on any person, other than an accomplice,…

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