People v. Thomason CA5

INTRODUCTION

On July 15, 2022, a jury convicted defendant Seantazz Domonik Thomason of, among other offenses, the first degree murder of Moises Leon1 (Pen. Code, § 187; subd. (a), count 1). (Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.) Gerrell Hasley, Jr. was tried in the same trial as defendant but had a separate jury. (Hasley filed a separate notice of appeal, which we separately address in case No. F084914.) The prosecutor’s primary theory was that defendant shot and killed Leon, however, he alternatively argued defendant was guilty of murder as a direct aider and abettor even if the jury concluded he was not the actual killer. As to count 1, the trial court sentenced defendant to an indeterminate term of 25 years to life. On appeal, defendant contends: (1) he received ineffective assistance of counsel when his trial counsel failed to object and request a curative instruction after codefendant Hasley’s outburst during the trial; (2) his first degree murder conviction must be vacated “because the trial court instructed the jury on a theory of liability that allowed the jury to convict him of murder without finding that he personally acted with malice aforethought;”…