People v. Cain CA3

BACKGROUND

Defendant went to J.G.’s apartment, assaulted J.G., choked him, and threw him down the stairs. Defendant tied J.G.’s feet and tied the other end of the rope to the back of a motorcycle. When a police officer arrived on the scene, defendant sped away on the motorcycle with J.G. still tied to the back. Defendant led police officers on a high-speed chase, dragging J.G. by his ankles through public streets until J.G. slammed into a curb and the rope snapped. The jury found defendant guilty of first degree murder and fleeing a pursuing peace officer’s motor vehicle while driving recklessly. The jury also found true the special circumstance allegation that the murder was intentional and involved the infliction of torture (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(18)). In bifurcated proceedings, defendant admitted two prior convictions: (1) attempted voluntary manslaughter (§§ 664/192) in 2008 and (2) assault with a deadly weapon (§ 245, subd. (a)(1)) in 2007. At sentencing, the trial court declined to exercise its discretion to strike any of defendant’s prior strikes. The trial court sentenced defendant on count one to life without the possibility of parole for murder with a special circumstance…