People v. Seay CA3

BACKGROUND

Defendant was a frequent visitor to the library where Clark worked as a library supervisor. He violated library rules many times; the police were sometimes summoned, and Clark prepared a notice to ban defendant from the library. A police officer gave defendant the notice. Two months later, Clark was leaving a library meeting when defendant shot and killed her in her car. Before trial, the court received reports from mental health experts: two describing defendant’s competency to stand trial and two regarding his sanity at the time of the crime. Each of the experts diagnosed defendant with various mental disorders. A jury found defendant guilty of first degree murder (§ 187, subd. (a)) and found true allegations that defendant committed the murder while lying in wait (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(15)) and personally discharged a firearm causing death (§ 12022.53, subd. (d)). At the sentencing hearing, defense counsel asked the trial court to strike the firearm enhancement, saying: “I would ask -- under Penal Code Section 1385 and the Court’s newly-found power over the last few years from the legislature -- to strike the [section] 12022.53(d) enhancement. [¶] I understand that…