Opinion ID: 1237936
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Conspiracy and Barnes Murder

Text: Before this case arose, Steven Barnes, an AB member, had testified as a prosecution witness against other AB members and against several non-AB members. During the summer of 1982, the AB leadership, which included Michael Thompson and Clifford Smith, decided to retaliate. The decision was made during a series of meetings at Palm Hall, an area inside the state prison at Chino. Prison authorities had placed Steven Barnes in protective custody, so the AB leaders decided to kill members of his immediate family instead. They selected defendant to do the killing. Defendant was then serving a sentence in the Montana state prison, but he was scheduled for release from prison soon without parole supervision. One of the AB leaders brought defendant to Palm Hall in August 1982 by subpoenaing him to testify at the leader's trial. After defendant arrived at Palm Hall, AB leaders offered him the contract to kill Richard Barnes. Defendant accepted. The AB leaders instructed him to procure weapons in Northern California before returning south to kill Richard Barnes. Janet Myers visited Smith regularly in prison. She was an AB runner, relaying messages to and from other AB members. Smith instructed Myers to take care of defendant. Defendant went to Myers's house on the day he was released from prison. Joseph O'Rourke, an AB leader who normally supplied weapons to AB members in Southern California, picked defendant up there. Defendant spent about one month working for O'Rourke. After O'Rourke was arrested in October 1982, defendant went to Humboldt County, where he spent most of the next three months. Defendant returned to Southern California in late January 1983. He stayed at the Santa Ana home of Michelle Scarborough, another AB runner, for approximately a week. He then stayed with Myers in Claremont. Defendant had a blue airline bag in which he kept a sawed-off shotgun and a revolver. While staying with Myers, defendant made a weekend trip to Auburn, near Folsom Prison, where he stayed with Rebecca Williams. One night Myers drove defendant to different addresses he wanted to see. One of the addresses was the Temple City residence of Richard Barnes. On February 12, 1983, at 11 p.m., defendant left Myers's house with Tammi Shinn, another AB runner. He returned early the next morning, collected his belongings, and left. On February 13, 1983, sheriff's deputies discovered the body of Richard Barnes in the bedroom of his residence. The body was on the bed. The cause of death was three contact-range gunshot wounds to the back of the head inflicted by a .22-caliber handgun. After the murder, Myers brought Smith a note signed by defendant. It stated: That's took care of. Everything went well. I am going back north. I will be in touch with you later. Myers destroyed the note after showing it to Smith. The evidence against defendant on the conspiracy and Barnes murder counts consisted primarily of the testimony of Michael Thompson, Clifford Smith, and Janet Myers. In addition, the prosecution introduced evidence that defendant had testified in an earlier, unrelated trial that he was an AB member. Credit card receipts showed that defendant had purchased gasoline in Pomona on February 12 and in Anaheim on February 13, 1983. In the room defendant had occupied in his mother's house in Eureka, police found a slip of paper on which Richard Barnes's address had been written, together with the name Nate, a nickname for Steven Barnes, and the words send subpoena to him. In defendant's wallet, which they obtained from defendant's mother, police found another note with a reference to an address and telephone number for Steve Barnes' step-father in Fountain Valley.