Opinion ID: 1405704
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Guilt Phase Evidence: The Defense Case.

Text: Defendant testified that he had been living at the ranch for about five months in July 1981. The family car was a 1975 Chevrolet Impala, which was silver with a black naugahyde top. He was cultivating marijuana for profit and had about 100 plants at that time. When he visited Peggy Steuben on the July 4, 1981, weekend he had a full beard, and his hair was two or three inches below his collar. When speaking of why someone might kill a witness to a crime he was never speaking about himself. On the Monday following that weekend visit he had cut off his beard, but left sideburns to the bottom of his ear and a moustache just past the corners of his mouth. Defendant testified that on July 8, 1981, he arose at 7:30 a.m., shaved, and drove alone to Placerville where he cashed his unemployment check at the supermarket, and purchased a money order for $150 which he mailed to his landlord. [7] He returned home by 10:15 a.m., and remained until 1:30 p.m. when he and his brother Kevin drove to Georgetown, where they purchased beer. They then went to Georgetown Springs, where they drank the beer. They returned to their house about 3:30 p.m., and might have been driving fast. Kevin left the house, driving the family car about 6:30 p.m. When he heard a vehicle on the property later that evening defendant went outside and saw two cars, one of them a patrol car. The other, a brown Camaro, stopped first next to the patrol car, and then drove up the driveway, shining its spotlight on buildings below the house. It then proceeded to the house. [8] The driver ignored defendant's mother who asked what he wanted, and drove back to the patrol car. When Kevin returned shortly thereafter, defendant left the house in the trunk of the car because he assumed these cars were there because of the marijuana. He was on parole. He told Kevin to tell Dana he was dealing cocaine because he might be ripped off if anyone knew he was growing marijuana. [9] On July 9, defendant went back to the family house. No police were there, but defendant decided to go visit some friends until he could find out what was happening. He walked from the bus station to an on-ramp to Highway 50, and from there hitched a ride to Ms. Steuben's house in Rancho Cordova. He had sideburns, a moustache, and hair below his collar at that time. That afternoon he walked to the American River, stopping en route to telephone his own home and learned from Kevin that the police were there looking for him. He returned to the Steuben home where he shaved off his moustache, trimmed his sideburns, and cut two inches off his hair. He then went back to the American River where he found a place to sleep and remained for five days. When he saw an article in the newspaper on July 14 saying he was being sought for a murder, he was scared. He hitchhiked to San Anselmo, spent a night near a creek there, and then committed the kidnapping described by Ms. Dobbs. He did not recall saying he was a murderer, but acknowledged that he told the women he was wanted for murder. He did so to scare them into doing what he wanted. He denied committing the murder of Ms. Pennington or rape of Ms. D. Defendant weighed about 190 pounds at the time of trial. He testified that he had weighed 195 to 200 pounds in July 1981. At trial he had a full beard because it was difficult to obtain a razor in jail, and he liked having a beard. The remainder of the defense case was directed primarily to attempts to discredit the identification testimony by pointing out inconsistencies in Ms. D.'s statements, and dangers inherent in eyewitness identification. Dr. Loftus, a psychologist, testified regarding the effects of stress on human memory, about photo biased identification, and the likelihood that a person who was confident in making an identification was wrong. The officers to whom Ms. D. had described her assailant testified regarding her statement that he was Mexican or possibly Mexican, her description of the car, and her recall of defendant's moustache, beard, and hair. A member of the El Dorado district attorney's staff recalled that Ms. Steuben had told him that defendant had been clean shaven when she saw him on the day after the events in question. Evidence was also offered that in each month a pharmacy in Placerville sold six to twelve cool cushions of the same brand as that seized in defendant's car.