People v. Spikes CA1/2

BACKGROUND

The Underlying Crimes and Convictions As our prior opinion on direct appeal summarized the facts and procedural history:

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code. Effective June 30, 2022, former section 1170.95 was renumbered to section 1172.6. (Stats. 2022, ch. 58, § 10.) Although defendant filed his petition under former section 1170.95, we cite to section 1172.6 for consistency’s sake.

1 “In the early morning hours of April 13, 2014, defendant Demond Spikes escorted Brigid Palmer to the home of Marcus Brackinridge, where Palmer engaged in an act of prostitution with Marcus. After Palmer texted defendant that she was having trouble with Marcus, defendant—Palmer’s pimp—went into the Brackinridges’ yard, where he encountered Marcus. Defendant pulled out a gun and, after a brief tussle, killed Marcus with two shots, also shooting Marcus’s mother [Sandra Alexander], who had awakened and witnessed the murder of her son from inside the family home.” (People v. Spikes (June 21, 2019, A148920 & A149766) [nonpub. opn.] (Spikes), p. 1.) “On February 24, 2015, the San Mateo County District Attorney filed an information charging defendant with four felonies:…