Gann

*998 Opinion

I.

INTRODUCTION

In a joint trial with separate juries, brother and sister Nathaniel Marcus Gann and Brae E Hansen were convicted of first degree murder in the shooting death of their stepfather. Gann’s jury did not sustain a special circumstance allegation that he committed the murder by means of lying in wait within the meaning of Penal Code 1 section 190.2, subdivision (a)(15). Hansen’s jury, however, made a true finding as to the lying-in-wait special circumstance. The trial court sentenced Gann to 25 years to life, and sentenced Hansen to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

In his appeal, Gann claims that the trial court erred in allowing his jury to hear evidence of statements that Hansen made to a 911 operator and to police officers prior to her arrest, and in admitting the rebuttal testimony of a former girlfriend of Gann’s who claimed that Gann had raped her when they were in high school. Gann argues that the cumulative prejudicial effect of these two evidentiary errors requires reversal. In addition, Gann claims that the trial court erroneously instructed his jury concerning Hansen’s prearrest statements. Gann further contends that the trial…