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People v. Mayfield1/2/1997
f defendant's encounter with Sergeant Wolfley, in close proximity to defendant's watch cap, particularly when considered in conjunction with Candette Wolfley's testimony about the change in Sergeant Wolfley's demeanor when he drew his revolver and took a "combat stance" and Curtis Corbin's testimony that shortly before the shots were fired he saw a Black man behind the station who appeared to be fumbling in his pockets, supports a reasonable inference that defendant attempted to arm himself with the knife when Sergeant Wolfley pursued him, thereby escalating the encounter to one involving deadly force. This probative value was not outweighed by any risk of undue prejudice. The only form of prejudice defendant suggests is that the jury would infer that he had possession of the knife, but this was a permissible inference and not a basis for exclusion. To the extent the trial court concluded otherwise, the trial court erred.
These Conclusions dispose of defendant's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. Defendant faults trial counsel for failing to bring a motion before the trial began to exclude all evidence of the knife. Had counsel made such a motion, defendant argues, the jury would never have learned that a knife was found behind the service station and could not have speculated that defendant had been in possession of the knife. The flaw in this argument is the assumption that a motion to exclude all evidence of the knife would have been meritorious. In fact, as we have explained, evidence of the knife was relevant and admissible.
G. Other Evidentiary Rulings
Defendant challenges the trial court's rulings admitting, over various defense objections, evidence of (1) Tyrone Thomas's statement to Sergeant Wolfley that defendant might be armed with a gun; (2) test results of Howard Bell's urine indicating the presence of PCP; and (3) the results of a gunshot residue test of Sergeant Wolfley's hands.
1. Tyrone Thomas's Statement That Defendant Carried a Gun
On direct examination, Tyrone Thomas testified that when he saw defendant and Bell inside the service station minimart, defendant put his hand in the pocket of his jacket, and Thomas thought he saw the shape of a gun. Without objection, Thomas testified that he then ran outside and told Sergeant Wolfley, who had just arrived, that "the guys in the store were after me and that they had a gun." The trial was then interrupted for two weeks because of the prosecutor's illness. When it resumed, the prosecutor, continuing with direct examination, asked Thomas whether he had said anything to Sergeant Wolfley about weapons. The defense objected on hearsay grounds, and the trial court overruled the objection. Thomas then testified that he told Sergeant Wolfley that one of the men might have a gun.
The trial court's ruling was correct. The evidence was admissible for a nonhearsay purpose. One of the issues in the case was whether Sergeant Wolfley had used excessive force or behaved improperly in his confrontation with defendant. (See pt. V.A., post.) Evidence that Sergeant Wolfley had received information that defendant might be armed with a gun was relevant on this issue. Although evidence of Thomas's statement to Sergeant Wolfley was not admissible to prove that defendant in fact possessed a gun, it was admissible for the nonhearsay purpose of establishing Sergeant Wolfley's state of mind and the appropriateness of his ensuing conduct. (See People v. Turner, (supra) , 8 Cal. 4th 137, 189.)
Finally, even assuming the ruling was error, defendant was not prejudiced because the evidence was merely cumulative. Thomas had already testified, without objection, that he had told Sergeant W
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