People V Wilkins

Facts

D lived in Long Beach with Nancy Blake. D worked at a home construction site. The homeowner had a delivery of major appliances and other items. The delivery included a refrigerator, a dishwasher, a stove, a range hood, a microwave, and a sink. It also included light fixtures, ceiling fans, door locks, and door handles. Most of the items were stored in the kitchen area and some were in the garage. D simply stole all the items but left the scene without tying them down. Danny Lay testified that a Ford pickup without a rear license plate was in front of him. There were “a lot of boxes in the back of the truck.” “A large box fell from the right corner of the truck into the freeway.” Lay had a car to his left and a car to his right, so he hit his brakes and tried to stop. He hit the box. Lay proceeded after the pickup. He turned on his flashing lights, turned his bright lights on and off repeatedly, and hit his horn. The truck slowed down and both vehicles pulled off the freeway. Lay pulled up next to the passenger side of the pickup, but there were so many boxes blocking the window, he could not see the driver. He thinks the driver looked over at him, saw him, and then “accelerated away.” Lay kept flashing his lights and honking his horn and was finally able to pull up alongside the pickup again. The driver of the pickup stopped and threatened Lay, using vulgarity. D and Lay got out of their vehicles, and D said he was “going to kick Lay's ass.” Lay said, “bring it on, but first something fell from your truck.” D looked and remarked, “Oh, my God. It's a thousand-dollar stove.” Lay saw the tailgate on the truck was down. There were no ropes or tie-downs. He also saw various-sized boxes. He remembered seeing ceiling fans and a refrigerator. He asked D for identification. D identified himself as Michael Wilkins. “Piquette swerved in an area just shy of where the stove was … to hit the big rig where we know he did.” This resulted in a deadly accident where David Piquette was killed. At trial, D said he had some tie-downs on his truck but the boxes were stacked on top of the tie-downs and he could not get to them. D admitted that he knew he ought to have tied them down. D admitted to the prosecutor that his plan was to take all of the stolen merchandise to Palm Springs and unload it himself at Doherty's house. After he made some purchases in the Home Depot parking lot, he drove all the way to Palm Springs to Doherty's house, arriving about 2:00 a.m., and realized he could not lift the items by himself. So he turned around to drive to Long Beach, starting the journey “a little after” 3:00 a.m., without even unloading the smaller items that were in the cab of the truck, or taking the time to tie anything down. He said he left the tailgate down. The court instructed the jury that D was charged with murder under the felony-murder rule based upon his alleged commission of a burglary and that the felony-murder rule requires “the act causing the death and the burglary were part of one continuous transaction.” It stated that P must prove that the burglary and the act causing the death were part of one continuous transaction. The continuous transaction may occur over a period of time in more than one location. The court denied D's request to instruct the jury on the escape rule. That instruction provides in pertinent part: “[The crime of burglary … continues until the perpetrator[s] (has/have) reached a place of temporary safety. The perpetrator[s] (has/have) reached a place of temporary safety if (he/she/they) (has/have) successfully escaped from the scene[,] and (is/are) no longer being chased[, and (has/have) unchallenged possession of the property].]” D was convicted of first-degree murder under the felony-murder rule. D appealed and claimed that he had reached a place of temporary safety before the death occurred and hence there was no felony murder.

Issues

Rule of Law

Holding and Decision

Legal Analysis

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