Opinion ID: 1172016
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: introduction

Text: On June 29, 1981, a first amended information was filed in Lassen County Superior Court charging defendant, Benjamin Wai Silva, with murdering Kevin Thorpe and Laura Craig. Both counts of the information alleged six special circumstances: murder for financial gain (Pen. Code, § 190.2, subd. (a)(1); all further statutory references are to this code); multiple murder ( id. subd. (a)(3)); murder of a witness to prevent testimony ( id. subd. (a)(10)); heinous, atrocious and cruel murder ( id. subd. (a)(14)); felony murder (robbery and kidnapping for robbery) ( id. subd. (a)(17)); and torture murder ( id. subd. (a)(18)). The information also alleged that defendant was armed with, and used, firearms in the commission of the murders (§§ 12022, subd. (a), 12022.5). The information also charged defendant with kidnapping and robbing Kevin and Laura. Each of these four counts additionally alleged that defendant was armed with and used a firearm, and inflicted great bodily injury (§ 12022.7). The seventh count in the information charged defendant with unlawful possession of a machine gun (§ 12220), and the eighth count charged him with unlawful possession of a silencer for a firearm (§ 12520). Three additional counts were severed prior to trial and therefore are not before us. Also on June 29, defendant filed a motion for change of venue which was granted; the case was transferred to San Bernardino County. On August 5, 1981, defendant's motion to dismiss under section 995 was granted in part. Specifically, the court struck the witness-murder special circumstance with respect to both Kevin and Laura, the torture-murder special circumstance with respect to Kevin, and the felony-murder (robbery) special circumstance with respect to both murder charges. The felony-murder (kidnapping for robbery) special circumstance was left intact. The court also struck the allegation that defendant used a machine gun in counts 5 and 6 (robbery of Kevin and Laura), but left intact the charge that he used a handgun. On January 11, 1982, a second amended information was filed in San Bernardino County, reflecting an order permitting the district attorney to reinstate the witness-murder special circumstance as to both murder counts, and to allege that, with respect to the robbery charges in counts 5 and 6, defendant was armed with, and personally used, a shotgun and a machine gun, as well as a handgun. A jury found defendant guilty of first degree murder of Kevin and found each of the special circumstances (except for the multiple-murder allegation) and enhancements in count 1 to be true. Defendant was found not guilty of the murder of Laura. The jury found defendant guilty as charged with respect to every other count in the information and found all of the enhancements charged therein true, except for the great bodily injury enhancements charged in counts 4 and 6 (the kidnapping and robbery of Laura). Defendant was subsequently sentenced to death. This appeal is automatic. (§ 1239, subd. (b).) As will appear, we reject defendant's claims of prejudicial error and affirm the judgment in its entirety.