Opinion ID: 2600276
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Underlying Judgment

Text: On February 2, 1978, petitioner entered Wolffs Jewelry Store in Richmond, shot Raymond Murphy (the store manager) and John Benjamin (an employee), and fled with more than $30,000 worth of jewelry. Murphy, who was shot in the right side of the neck, suffered fatal injuries. Petitioner was identified as the killer by Dorothy Dorton, age 13, and by Dorton's 14-year-old aunt, Ruby Judge, who had both been in the store at the time of the robbery murder. Petitioner was also identified by Judge's adult sister and Dorton's aunt, Ernestine Jackson, who was waiting in her car outside the jewelry store. Petitioner's defense at trial, and in these proceedings, was that these three eyewitnesses had erred in their identifications and that his brother, Larry Bell, who was some inches taller and had a substantially bigger build and a lighter skin tone, was the real culprit. Jackson testified at trial that she had driven to Wolffs Jewelry Store around 4:00 p.m. to pick up a watch that had been repaired. She waited with Dorton and a younger niece in the car while Judge went inside to pick up the watch. As they waited, petitioner walked by and Jackson called out, How're you doing, Ronnie Bell? Petitioner greeted her and continued walking toward the jewelry store. Jackson told Dorton that petitioner was the man who had killed her father, Alcus Dorton, almost 10 years earlier and had been convicted of manslaughter. Dorton, who had no recollection of her father, said she wanted to get a good look at petitioner and left the car. Dorton entered the store and found petitioner waiting while Judge was being helped. Dorton walked over to Judge and told her to ask petitioner if his name was Larry. Judge did so; petitioner said no. After Judge and Dorton went to the rear of the store to pay for the repair, petitioner drew a gun from his waist and shot Benjamin and Murphy. Petitioner then scooped up some jewelry, placed it in a bag, and walked, out of the store. Dorton was instructed by an employee to push an alarm button. Judge testified that she saw petitioner enter the store, followed by Dorton. She asked petitioner if his name was Ronnie Bell; petitioner said no. Petitioner subsequently shot the two men at the store, scooped up some jewelry in a bag, and fled. Jackson, who remained in the car, saw petitioner walk away about 15 minutes after their first encounter, carrying a plastic bag she had not seen earlier. He turned a corner and ran out of sight. After Dorton informed her that two men had been shot inside the jewelry store, Jackson called the police. Jackson identified petitioner in a photo lineup and at trial. Jackson had attended school with both Bell brothers and had known each for at least 10 years. She testified that she could tell the brothers apart: Larry was taller than petitioner and had a lighter complexion. Dorton identified petitioner in a photo lineup and at trial without hesitation or difficulty and testified that she was positive the person she had seen in the jewelry store was petitioner and not his brother Larry, since she had seen Larry in the past and could distinguish between them. She identified two photos of Larry at trial and also testified that Larry was taller and had a lighter complexion. Judge likewise was familiar with both Bell brothers and noted their differing heights and skin tone. She too identified petitioner in a photo lineup and at trial. She was positive that petitioner had been in the jewelry store. No physical evidence or fingerprints at the scene linked petitioner to the crimes, but groove marks on a slug obtained from Murphy's body were consistent with a slug discharged from a .38-caliber Colt Detective Special with a two-inch barrel. Petitioner had obtained such a gun in exchange for $50 from his father, reportedly on his brother Larry's behalf, in December 1977. The People presented evidence that, on the day of the murder, Larry Bell had been with a woman in a motel located more than a mile from Wolffs Jewelry Store. The couple injected cocaine intravenously from early afternoon until 10:30 or 11:00 p.m., and Larry was at the motel the entire time, except for a 30- to 45-minute period when it was dark or near dark. Larry did not have a gun with him in the motel room. The principal defense witness, Psychologist Robert Shomer, questioned the identifications by all three witnesses, opined that the child witnesses may have been confused and allowed their identifications to be influenced by others, and criticized the manner in which the police interviewed the witnesses. Dr. Shomer also found unrealistic the witnesses' claim that they bore petitioner no ill feeling over his having killed Alcus Dorton and warned that their claim might indicate strong, unconscious hostility towards petitioner. The defense also presented evidence that Larry had used a gun similar to a .38-caliber Colt Detective Special in an assault a few days after this robbery murder and that a ring taken from the robbery was found in Larry's possession when he was arrested on unrelated charges on February 9, 1978. Larry was not called to testify or for the purpose of allowing the jury to view him, but petitioner's wife testified that Larry was only an inch and a half taller than petitioner. She admitted, however, that Larry had lighter skin and was more muscular than her husband. A defense investigator testified that it would have been possible to walk from Larry's motel to Wolffs Jewelry Store in about 15 minutes. Petitioner was convicted of murder with personal use of a firearm; robbery and attempted murder causing great bodily injury, also with personal use of a firearm; and being a felon in possession of a firearm. The jury found true the special circumstance allegation that the murder was committed in the course of a robbery. The penalty was fixed at death. ( People v. Bell, supra, 49 Cal.3d at pp. 513-519, 262 Cal.Rptr. 1, 778 P.2d 129.)