People v. Brown CA3

I. BACKGROUND

A jury found defendant and a co-defendant, Brian Franklin Thames, guilty of first- degree murder (§ 187, subd. (a)) and attempted murder (§§ 187, subd. (a), 664, subd. (a)) in May 1994. The jury found true allegations that Thames used a deadly weapon in the commission of the murder, acted willfully and with premeditation in the commission of the attempted murder, and inflicted great bodily injury in the attempted murder. The jury found not true allegations that defendant acted willfully and with premeditation in the commission of the attempted murder. Defendant was sentenced to 25 years to life for the murder, with an additional 16 years for the attempted murder and other enhancements. Defendant and Thames appealed their convictions and another panel of this court affirmed. (People v. Thames et al. (Nov. 30, 1995, C018384) [nonpub. opn.].) A. The Murder and Attempted Murder We take certain facts from the unpublished opinion we issued in 1995 affirming defendant’s convictions in People v. Thames, supra, C018384: The evidence at trial showed that Thames and defendant set out to commit acts of violence against unsuspecting strangers on the night of January 1, 1993.…