People v. Scott

927 P.2d 288 (1996)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Calvin Hughes became the target of a family vendetta. Hughes and Elaine Scott were romantically involved, Hughes and his sister, Eugenia Griffin, shared Scott's apartment. Hughes and Scott became increasingly acrimonious, and they got into a physical altercation. Defendant Damien Scott (D) and Derrick Brown (D1), Scott's adult sons, came to her aid and forced Hughes and Griffin out of the apartment. Hughes borrowed Griffin's car and, accompanied by his friend Gary Tripp, returned to retrieve his personal belongings. Scott attempted to bar his entry. Hughes forced his way into the apartment and gathered his things. Hughes and Tripp drove to A Park to meet Griffin. Nathan Kelley and his teenage son, Jack Gibson, had parked nearby. As Hughes stood beside Kelley's car, talking to him through the open window, three cars entered the park. Gunfire erupted. Ds riding in the first car sprayed the area with bullets. Hughes took cover behind the front bumper of Kelley's car. When there was a lull in the shooting, Hughes sprinted toward the park gym. A renewed hail of gunfire followed him. A bullet hit the heel of his shoe. The shooting stopped when Hughes took cover behind the gym. The gunmen left the park. Kelley's and Griffin's vehicles had been riddled with bullets; Gary Tripp had been shot in the leg and buttocks; and Jack Gibson had been killed when a bullet struck him in the head. Ds were jointly charged with the murder of Jack Gibson, the attempted murder of Calvin Hughes and Gary Tripp, and assault with a firearm on Calvin Hughes, Nathan Kelley, Gary Tripp, and Eugenia Griffin. At a second trial, at the prosecution's request, the trial court instructed the jury on transferred intent. The court stated as follows: 'As it relates to the charge of murder, where one attempts to kill a certain person, but by mistake or inadvertence kills a different person, the crime, if any, so committed is the same as though the person originally intended to be killed, had been killed.' The jury was also instructed on second degree express malice and implied malice murder. The jury convicted Ds of second-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder, and two counts of assault with a firearm. The Court of Appeal rejected Ds' argument that a transferred intent instruction only applies when the prosecution elects to charge the defendant with first-degree murder of the unintended victim, and not also with attempted murder of the intended victim. Ds appealed.