People v. Bloxton CA2/2

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

I. Facts3

A. The underlying crimes On a Sunday night in August 1993, defendant, Efren Bullard (Bullard) and others approached two men who were using a gas station pay phone in Long Beach, California. Defendant and Bullard had firearms. With guns drawn, defendant and his companions demanded that the men hand over their valuables. Defendant and his group soon realized that the two men had driven separate cars—namely, a Bronco and a Camaro. From the Bronco, the group pulled out one man’s wife by her hair and demanded her jewelry and money; they then proceeded to ransack the Bronco. After a third man got out of the Camaro, defendant and his group lined up all four victims by the Bronco and demanded that they turn out their pockets. One member of the group commented that he was “going to kill all of the victims because they were Mexican.” When the robbers went to ransack the Camaro, they discovered David Hoppes (Hoppes) inside the car. Defendant and Bullard pulled Hoppes from the Camaro and started to beat him and to go through his pockets. When Bullard announced his intention to kill Hoppes because Hoppes “was White,” defendant responded, “I…