People v. Superior Court (Gibson)

Opinion

WHITE, P. J.

By this petition the People challenge a Monterey County Superior Court ruling which dismissed a kidnaping charge

[553]

and removed the “special circumstance” allegations from a first degree murder prosecution against Dale Clayton Gibson. In ruling in Mr. Gibson’s favor on his Penal Code section 995 motion to dismiss the kidnaping charge and strike the special circumstances* the trial court did not evaluate the evidence independently, but found itself bound by what it characterized as “factual determinations” of the magistrate. We have concluded that it was not so bound and that the writ should issue in order to permit a redetermination of Mr. Gibson’s motion.

The purported “factual determinations” of the magistrate consisted of the following comments made at the conclusion of the preliminary hearing: “Now, as far as Mr. Gibson is concerned, the only evidence we have on Mr. Gibson is the fact that there is a body out there, that it’s his wife, and she’s been shot, apparently, with a high velocity projectile and that it went through her skull and killed her. From that point on, all we have is oral admissions of the defendant and, of course, they are to be viewed very carefully. One, there are two witnesses that are very doubtful in my mind whether they could be mistaken or their memories are very weak. There is [sic] enough witnesses to come in to indicate to me that Mr. Gibson did in fact say, T killed her.’ There are other statements which are admissions as well which seem to indicate that yes, in fact, he did kill her. It’s extremely weak. For the purposes of the preliminary hearing, it seems to me that there is enough to get it over the hurdle. Now, as far as the special circumstances, the fact that we have a body out there on the coast that’s been killed by a high velocity projectile to the skull, I can’t—I can’t find from that any financial gain situation. I can’t find from that any lying-in-wait situation. I can’t find from that any kidnaping situation. I can’t find any heinous, atrocious, and cruel killing and, of course, I can’t tie in the last one with regards to the Enfield rifle. So, there is [sic] no special circumstances insofar as Mr. Gibson is concerned. As far as Count number II, the kidnapping, there’s no evidence to show that Mr. Gibson in any way kidnapped his wife. So, it’s just a nonspecial circumstance murder that I feel that Mr. Gibson is involved in.”