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People v. Creech4/30/2003
After an 11-day trial, a jury convicted Jaime Creech of the first degree murders, with special circumstances, of Derek Mattingly and Stephanie Larkin. (Pen. Code, §§ 187, subd. (a), 190.2, subd. (a)(3).) Creech was sentenced to prison for two life terms without parole.
Creech challenges his conviction on these grounds: (1) the trial court erred by admitting statements made by witness Samuel Martinez during an interview with a hypnotherapist; (2) Creech was denied his constitutional right to testify on his own behalf; (3) Creech's trial counsel was ineffective; and (4) substantial evidence does not support the conviction in that prosecution witness John Kearns was inherently not credible.
We conclude:
1. The trial court erred by admitting the statements made by Martinez during the interview with the hypnotherapist. But admission of the statements was not prejudicial in light of the evidence supporting conviction and the fact the statements were consistent with evidence admitted without objection.
2. Creech was not deprived of his constitutional right to testify. At the hearing on Creech's motion for a new trial, his trial counsel testified that Creech never insisted on testifying. The trial court believed that testimony, and we defer to the trial court's assessment of the evidence.
3. Creech's trial counsel was not ineffective, and the alleged deficiencies were not prejudicial.
4. Kearns was not an inherently incredible witness. Creech's challenges to Kearns's testimony go to its general credibility and weight, which the jury properly assessed. The jury apparently accepted Kearns's testimony, and we defer to the jury's assessment of credibility. Substantial evidence supports the conviction.
Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of conviction.
FACTS
We view the evidence in the light most favorable to the judgment of conviction and resolve all conflicts in its favor. (People v. Barnes (1986) 42 Cal.3d 284, 303; In re Roark (1996) 48 Cal.App.4th 1946, 1948, fn. 3.)
A. Derek Mattingly and Stephanie Larkin are Murdered on March 17, 1998.
On the morning of March 17, 1998, Derek Mattingly and Stephanie Larkin were found dead in the apartment they shared. Both had been killed execution style. Mattingly had been shot four times in the head, from close range, as he lay in a recliner. Larkin, who was disabled, also had been shot four times in the head from close range as she lay in her bed. Her left thumb showed injury, indicating she had used her left hand in a futile attempt to defend herself. The same gun was used to commit both murders.
Larkin worked for The Orange County Register newspaper as a classified advertising representative. The apartment she shared with Mattingly was located on Grand Avenue in Santa Ana, directly across the street from The Orange County Register building. A little white house stood on one side of the apartment complex.
A neighbor saw Mattingly and Larkin get out of their truck and go into their apartment at about 11:30 p.m. on March 16, 1998. On March 17, Larkin failed to appear for her work shift, which started at 7:00 a.m.
B. Creech Knows Mattingly and Buys Drugs from Him.
Mattingly was a drug dealer. He sold primarily methamphetamine. His custom was to have people call before coming to his apartment. He always kept the doors to his apartment locked.
Creech was a drug user. He preferred methamphetamine. He knew Mattingly, having been introduced to him by a mutual acquaintance, Travis Ashbrook, about a year before the murders. Ashbrook had been the middleman between
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