Opinion ID: 844251
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Buchanan's asserted intent to pressure Gamble during her police interview

Text: In essence, defendant argues, with respect to Buchanan's interview of Gamble, that the first two paragraphs of Buchanan's memorandum were relevant, and were admissible under the state-of-mind exception to the hearsay rule (Evid. Code, § 1250), [30] not only to impeach any disclaimers Buchanan might assert on the witness stand, but also to prove circumstantially that Buchanan acted in conformity with his expressed intent by pressuring Gamble to say that the Martin murder gun was defendant's, and that defendant told her to put it in her purse when the police stopped her car. In turn, defendant asserts, evidence that Buchanan exerted such pressure on Gamble was relevant to impeach her trial testimony by suggesting, contrary to her denials, that she experienced such pressure, succumbed to it, and thus falsely incriminated defendant. Contrary to the trial court's ruling, defendant insists, he was not limited to using the contents of Buchanan's memorandum to impeach testimonial denials by Buchanan that he improperly pressured Gamble. Defendant's claim that the first two paragraphs of the Buchanan memorandum were thus admissible as substantive proof he acted on the intent therein expressed has probable merit. (See People v. Griffin (2004) 33 Cal.4th 536, 575-579 [15 Cal.Rptr.3d 743, 93 P.3d 344] [under state-of-mind exception to hearsay rule, 12-year-old murder victim's statement to friend that she intended to confront the defendant if he molested her again was admissible to prove she did confront him prior to the murder]; see also, e.g., People v. Majors (1998) 18 Cal.4th 385, 404-405 [75 Cal.Rptr.2d 684, 956 P.2d 1137] [murder victim's statement of intent to conduct drug deal with people from Ariz. on the night he was killed was admissible, under state-of-mind exception to hearsay rule, to prove he carried out such intent].) As defendant suggests, the first two paragraphs of the memorandum, read together, permit the reasonable inference that Buchanan followed through on his stated intent to threaten her with prosecution as an accessory in order to get her to admit that defendant hid, or told her to hide, the murder weapon in her purse. We need not finally resolve the issue, however, for any error in failing to admit this evidence was harmless by any applicable standard. As we have indicated elsewhere, the admissible evidence that defendant was Martin's killer was extremely strong. Lloyd Marcus, an eyewitness to the fatal shooting of Martin, identified the killer by defendant's nickname of Popeye. Defendant admitted to Harold Black that he crept up on Martin and shot Martin in the head. The ballistics evidence was consistent with Marcus's eyewitness account of two bullets fired at close range. One week after the killing, the murder weapon was found in a car driven by defendant's girlfriend, and in which he was a passenger. Given the other evidence, the fact that the gun was in his girlfriend's purse, rather than on his person, and that she initially sought to protect him by claiming ownership, was not likely to persuade a rational jury that defendant was not associated with the weapon. Moreover, aside from any support the Buchanan memorandum might have provided, the defense was able to cross-examine Gamble effectively about the truthfulness of her claim that the murder weapon belonged to defendant. In particular, the defense elicited that at the time she and defendant were arrested, Gamble claimed the gun was hers, and that she subsequently pled guilty to possession of the weapon. Counsel questioned Gamble closely on why she was willing to enter such a plea if the gun was not hers. She answered that the judge told her she would need a lawyer to contest the charge, but was then confronted with her signed plea waiver form indicating that she was entitled to a free appointed attorney if she could not afford to retain one. She finally admitted she was seeking to purchase a firearm at the very time the murder weapon was found in her purse. Under these circumstances, it appears clear that introduction of the Buchanan memorandum would not have altered the jury's perception of Gamble's credibility, or otherwise undermined its acceptance of the powerful evidence that defendant was Martin's killer. No basis for reversal appears.