Gonzalez

Defendant Perla Isabel Gonzalez (Perla) recruited her brother and her boyfriend to assault Roberto Canas-Fuentes (Canas). After Canas fended off a knife attack and gained the upper hand in the fight, Perla handed the boyfriend a loaded rifle. Canas wrested the rifle away and shot the boyfriend dead. The jury convicted Perla of the attempted premeditated and deliberate murder of Canas and, based on the provocative act doctrine, the first degree murder of her boyfriend.

We recently held that similar circumstances could support a conviction of first degree murder if the defendant personally acted willfully, deliberately, and with premeditation during an attempted murder. (People v. Concha (2009) 47 Cal.4th 653, 658 [ 101 Cal.Rptr.3d 141 , 218 P.3d 660 ] (Concha).) Here, substantial evidence supports Perla’s conviction for the murder of her boyfriend. As in Concha , the trial court erred in instructing the jury on the requirements for premeditated and deliberate first degree murder; however, we conclude the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.

BACKGROUND

Joan Curiel and her husband, Canas, had a three-year-old daughter together. When they separated, Curiel moved…