Opinion ID: 1801680
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Sufficiency of Evidence for Robbery and Robbery-murder Special Circumstance

Text: In addition to kidnapping Polly, defendant removed two items from her home: red leggings, taken from a dresser drawer, and a nightgown belonging to her friend, Gillian P., taken from a plastic bag Gillian had brought to Polly's house for their slumber party. Defendant contends that his intent to steal the leggings and nightgown did not arise until after he bound the girls; thus, he argues, there is insufficient evidence to support his convictions for robbing Polly and Gillian and the related special circumstance finding. We disagree. (32) Robbery is the taking of `personal property in the possession of another against the will and from the person or immediate presence of that person accomplished by means of force or fear and with the specific intent permanently to deprive such person of such property.' ( People v. Lewis, supra, 43 Cal.4th 415, 464, quoting CALJIC No. 9.40.) (33) Even if in this case defendant's intent to steal arose only after he bound the girls, sufficient evidence supports the robbery convictions. Gillian and Polly remained blindfolded and bound when defendant carried away the leggings and the nightgown, and they had every reason to believe that they were still being held hostage at knifepoint, given defendant's earlier threat to slit their throats. Because a robbery can be accomplished even if the property was peacefully or duplicitously acquired, if force or fear was used to carry it away, the evidence supports the jury's determination that defendant used force and fear to take the property. ( People v. Gomez (2008) 43 Cal.4th 249, 256 [74 Cal.Rptr.3d 123, 179 P.3d 917].) Although Polly and her friend, Gillian, may not have been aware of the thefts because they were blindfolded, that circumstance is irrelevant, for as long as force or fear is used, it makes no difference that the victim was unaware of the robbery. ( People v. Jackson (2005) 128 Cal.App.4th 1326, 1331 [27 Cal.Rptr.3d 793].) Consequently, sufficient evidence supported both robbery convictions. Defendant argues the evidence shows that he committed the robberies only to facilitate his murder of Polly, and thus they cannot serve as the foundation for a robbery-murder special circumstance. We disagree. (34) For a felony-murder special circumstance to apply, the felony cannot be merely incidental or ancillary to the murder; it must demonstrate an independent felonious purpose, not an intent simply to kill. ( People v. Abilez (2007) 41 Cal.4th 472, 511 [61 Cal.Rptr.3d 526, 161 P.3d 58]; see also People v. Marshall (1997) 15 Cal.4th 1, 41 [61 Cal.Rptr.2d 84, 931 P.2d 262] [a letter taken by the defendant from the victim as a token of her rape and murder was insufficient to sustain the defendant's robbery-murder special circumstance, because the taking of the letter was merely incidental to the murder].) But even if a defendant harbored the intent to kill at the outset, a concurrent intent to commit an eligible felony will support the special circumstance allegation. ( People v. Raley (1992) 2 Cal.4th 870, 903 [8 Cal.Rptr.2d 678, 830 P.2d 712]; see also People v. Abilez, supra, 41 Cal.4th 472, 511 [sufficient evidence supported special circumstance allegations of robbery, burglary, and sodomy murder, as the defendant demonstrated independent felonious purposes consisting of an intent to take money and a desire to injure and humiliate the victim through the forced sex act].) Here, the evidence shows that defendant's primary motive in entering Polly's home was to kidnap and sexually abuse her, not to kill her. Defendant appears to have taken the leggings to use as a gag, thereby facilitating his kidnapping and sexual assault of Polly. It is less clear why defendant took the nightgown; perhaps (as the prosecutor theorized) he took it to cover Polly's body while he was moving her from her home to his car, or perhaps he wanted Polly to wear it while he was sexually assaulting her. But there is no evidence that defendant took the leggings or the nightgown to facilitate his later murder of Polly, or that he had decided to kill her when he took those items. Defendant told the police that he only decided to kill Polly after he had kidnapped her in order to cover [his] tracks. Thus, by his own admission, defendant killed Polly to conceal the felonies he had already committed. As a result, the robberies of Polly and Gillian may have been incidental to the kidnapping and the attempted sexual assault, but they were not incidental to Polly's murder. Therefore, the jury properly could find true the robbery-murder special-circumstance allegation.