P.

FACTS AND PROCEDURE

On June 26, 2011, defendant met the victim, Matthew Thompson, at a bus stop in

front of a grocery store in North Hollywood. They chatted and Thompson invited

defendant back to his hotel room. Early the next morning, Thompson asked defendant if

he wanted to accompany Thompson to the Coachella Valley, where Thompson lived, to

take a chair that was in the back of Thompson‟s truck to his storage unit in Cathedral

City. The two men drove out to Cathedral City to the storage unit. According to

Thompson‟s testimony, “[T]he defendant became agitated at the appearance of my

storage facility.”1 Defendant asked for the nearest bus stop and walked away. Thompson

offered to take defendant home, but defendant declined. This was around 10:00 a.m. on

June 27.

1 Defendant did not testify at trial. He told the probation officer that Thompson had asked him to help move some furniture that was located in Loma Linda, and that they would do drugs afterward. Defendant said he became wary when he realized their intended destination was Palm Springs rather than Loma Linda, and began to feel nervous about Thompson‟s motives and plan.

2 Later that afternoon, Thompson met a…