People v. Moore CA2/4

BACKGROUND

Because the claims on appeal do not contest the sufficiency of the evidence to support the convictions, we only briefly summarize the evidence at trial, and in connection with our discussion of the appellate contentions will review additional evidence as necessary. On the evening of July 9, 2001, defendant shot and killed Frederick Pettaway (Frederick) and Willie Williams (Williams) in front of a house on South Gramercy Place in Los Angeles. According to Rogers Pettaway (Rogers), who lived at the Gramercy house and was the brother of victim Frederick Pettaway, defendant and Frederick ran a bank robbing crew. Defendant was in charge, but he

1 All undesignated section references are to the Penal Code.

2 and Frederick had many clashes over control. They used a “sucker crew” of younger accomplices who would commit the robberies and deliver the proceeds to them, in exchange for a fee of $1,500 or less. Defendant and Frederick split partners‟ shares of the proceeds. Victim Willie Williams, a childhood friend of Frederick‟s, began as a member of the sucker crew, but worked his way up to become one of the leaders with defendant and Frederick. All told, the crew robbed six to…