People v. Stoker CA4/1

California Court of Appeal Jul 30, 2024 No. D081342Unpublished

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Holding. The court held that there was sufficient evidence of premeditation and deliberation to support a first-degree murder conviction and that the prosecutor's closing argument did not constitute misconduct.

Issues

Whether there was sufficient evidence to support the first-degree murder conviction.
Whether the prosecutor committed misconduct during closing argument by misstating the requirements for premeditation and deliberation.

Disposition. Affirmed

Quotations verified verbatim against the opinion

“From the evidence, the jury could conclude that Stoker formed the plan to kill Hughes when he set down his bag.”

“Stoker’s uninterrupted pointed actions in setting down his bag, crossing the street, walking directly to the bus stop, sitting beside Hughes, and then almost immediately stabbing Hughes in the throat, indicate deliberation, not impulsiveness.”

“we conclude that the prosecution’s statement that premeditation and deliberation “can happen in an instant” was not inaccurate and did not constitute misconduct.”

Filed 7/30/24 P. v. Stoker CA4/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

THE PEOPLE, D081342

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v. Super. Ct. No. SCD283673) RAYMOND LEE STOKER, JR.,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of San Diego County, Jeffrey F. Fraser, Judge. Affirmed. William G. Holzer, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Charles C. Ragland, Assistant Attorney General, Steve Oetting and Evan Stele, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

INTRODUCTION Raymond Lee Stoker, Jr. stabbed and killed Kevin Hughes. After trial, a

jury convicted Stoker of first degree murder (Pen. Code, § 187, subd. (a))1 and found true the special allegation that he personally used a deadly weapon, a knife, to commit the offense (§ 12022, subd. (b)(1)). On appeal, Stoker contends (1) there was insufficient evidence to support the first degree murder conviction, and (2) by failing to object to the prosecutor’s misstatements in closing argument, his trial counsel provide inadequate assistance. Finding no merit in these contentions, we affirm the judgment. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND On the afternoon of May 27, 2019, Kevin Hughes was stabbed once in the neck as he sat at a bus stop in downtown San Diego. He stumbled away from the bus stop and collapsed on the street nearby. First responders took Hughes to the emergency room, where he died of his injury. There were no eyewitnesses to the attack. Dana Jones, an employee of the San Diego District Attorney’s Office, testified that by splicing and editing video information from cameras in various

People v. Stoker CA4/1

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COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

THE PEOPLE, D081342

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