People v. Lee CA2/4

Filed 10/27/14 P. v. Lee CA2/4 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FOUR

THE PEOPLE, B252982

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. VA081176) v.

BRIAELL MICHAEL LEE,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Robert J. Higa, Judge. Jennifer Peabody, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. No appearance for Respondent.

_______________________________

INTRODUCTION Briaell Michael Lee appeals from a judgment and sentence, following his conviction for second degree murder. He contends that the trial court erred in admitting hearsay testimony; that he was denied a fair trial due to the composition of the jury pool; and that the trial court erred in declining to instruct on duress as a defense to murder. Finding no reversible error, we affirm. PROCEDURAL HISTORY Appellant and codefendant Cimarron Bernard Bell were charged with the murder of Mario Larios, Edgar Valles, and Fernando Pina (Pen. Code, § 187, 1 subd. (a)). Appellant was tried after Bell. A jury found appellant guilty of the murder of Larios, found the murder to be in the second degree, and found true the allegations that appellant personally and intentionally used and discharged a firearm (§ 12022.53, subds. (b), (c), (d) & (e)(1)). Appellant was found not guilty of the murder of Valles and Pina. The trial court sentenced appellant to 15 years to life for the murder, plus 25 years to life for the section 12022.53, subdivision (d) allegation. Appellant filed a timely notice of appeal. FACTUAL BACKGROUND On January 30, 2004, the bodies of Larios, Pina, and Valles were found inside a white Mercedes, dead from gunshot wounds. A firearms examiner determined that bullets recovered from Larios and Pina were fired from a Rohm revolver. He also determined that a bullet recovered from Valles was fired from a Smith and Wesson revolver. A. Neysa Wyatt’s Testimony Neysa Wyatt, Bell’s girlfriend at the time of the murders, testified at the trials of appellant and Bell. According to Wyatt, in early 2004, Bell placed some