Opinion ID: 2622141
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Challenge to Denial of Section 1118.1 Motion

Text: Defendant contends the trial court erroneously denied his motion to dismiss the counts regarding the murder of Lori Rochon, and the attempted murder of Paul Fenn. [7] (§ 1118.1.) [8] As for Rochon's murder, defendant argues that when the motion was argued, Clark had not testified. Hence, the evidence was insufficient as to the perpetrator's identity. The standard applied by a trial court in ruling upon a motion for judgment of acquittal pursuant to section 1118.1 is the same as the standard applied by an appellate court in reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction, that is, Svhether from the evidence, including all reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom, there is any substantial evidence of the existence of each element of the offense charged.' ( People v. Crittenden (1994) 9 Cal.4th 83, 139, fn. 13, 36 Cal.Rptr.2d 474, 885 P.2d 887.) The purpose of a motion under section 1118.1 is to weed out as soon as possible those few instances in which the prosecution fails to make even a prima facie case. ( People v. Shirley (1982) 31 Cal.3d 18, 70, 181 Cal.Rptr. 243, 723 P.2d 1354; People v. Ainsworth (1988) 45 Cal.3d 984, 1022, 248 Cal.Rptr. 568, 755 P.2d 1017.) The question is simply whether the prosecution has presented sufficient evidence to present the matter to the jury for its determination. ( Ainsworth, at p. 1024, 248 Cal. Rptr. 568, 755 P.2d 1017.) The sufficiency of the evidence is tested at the point the motion is made. (§ 1118.1; Shirley, at pp. 70-71, 181 Cal.Rptr. 243, 723 P.2d 1354; see People v. Cole (2004) 33 Cal.4th 1158, 1213, 17 Cal.Rptr.3d 532, 95 P.3d 811.) The question is one of law, subject to independent review. ( Cole, at p. 1213, 17 Cal.Rptr.3d 532, 95 P.3d 811.) The prosecution's evidence showed Rochon was `shot while driving on Interstate 580 on July'6, 1989. Between April 3 and July 16, eight people, including Rochon and Fenn, were shot at within a few miles of each other on or near that freeway. Rochon was also shot during the early morning; all of the nine other assaults in this case occurred between approximately midnight and 3:00 a.m. The bullet removed from Rochon's body had polygonal markings and was fired from a Desert Eagle pistol, a fairly unusual weapon. The Desert Eagle is the only .357 magnum pistol with polygonal rifling. Before the Noyer murder on April 3, Lansing Lee, an Oakland Police Department criminalist and firearms identification expert, had never seen a .357 magnum slug with polygonal rifling. After August's murder on July 27, Lee never again saw another such slug. Defendant was arrested in possession of a Desert Eagle, and admitted having it in his possession for several months. Defendant's Desert Eagle was used to kill Noyer, Sloan, and August, and to shoot at Anderson, Lee, and de Silva. A newspaper article regarding the Rochon murder was found in defendant's bedroom. This evidence supports a prima facie case that defendant was the perpetrator. Defendant further contends that whether considered at the time of the motion to dismiss or following the defense case, there is insufficient evidence connecting him to the attempted murder of Paul Fenn. Not so. Fenn was shot at while driving on Interstate 580 early on the morning of July 16. Copper bullet jackets found in his van were from a Desert Eagle. Minutes after the assault on Fenn, and only several hundred yards away, de Silva was wounded by a shot from defendant's Desert Eagle. When Clark saw a newspaper article about the assaults on Fenn and de Silva, he called defendant and asked if he had done the shooting. Defendant said, `Man, don't say that over the phone.' An article about the Fenn and de Silva assaults was found in defendant's bedroom. The evidence was sufficient regarding defendant's identity as Fenn's attempted murderer.