Henry K. Lee San Francisco Chronicle (California, USA)
A state appeals court has upheld the conviction of an Oakland man who shot and killed a Cambodian immigrant mother of three as she prepared to deliver The Chronicle with her husband.
Rondell Johnson was sentenced to 75 years to life in prison in Alameda County Superior Court for the Oct. 3, 2000, murder of Sareth So, 43, in front of her home on the 6200 block of Seminary Avenue in East Oakland.
Johnson, who was 20 at the time of the slaying, was also convicted of attempted murder, attempted robbery, robbery and assault with a firearm. Those involved a spree of robberies in the days before So was killed. The victims were picked at random, police said. Johnson was arrested on the day So was slain.
In his appeal, Johnson's lawyers said the police lineup procedure was unreliable and "unduly suggestive." But in a ruling Wednesday, a three-judge panel of the First District Court of Appeal rejected the claims.
"The record provides absolutely no basis to question the reliability of the evidence identifying defendant as the perpetrator of the many crimes for which he was convicted," wrote Justice Stuart Pollak.
Rondell Johnson was sentenced to 75 years to life in prison in Alameda County Superior Court for the Oct. 3, 2000, murder of Sareth So, 43, in front of her home on the 6200 block of Seminary Avenue in East Oakland.
Johnson, who was 20 at the time of the slaying, was also convicted of attempted murder, attempted robbery, robbery and assault with a firearm. Those involved a spree of robberies in the days before So was killed. The victims were picked at random, police said. Johnson was arrested on the day So was slain.
In his appeal, Johnson's lawyers said the police lineup procedure was unreliable and "unduly suggestive." But in a ruling Wednesday, a three-judge panel of the First District Court of Appeal rejected the claims.
"The record provides absolutely no basis to question the reliability of the evidence identifying defendant as the perpetrator of the many crimes for which he was convicted," wrote Justice Stuart Pollak.
No comments:
Post a Comment