P. v. Stanton
On August 25, 2007, appellant/defendant David Stanton (David) shot and killed Jon Flaherty.[1] Davids sister, Shawna Stanton (Shawna), was present during the homicide and helped him cover up the crime. Davids defense was that Flaherty had a history of violent assaults on his family and friends, David was afraid of him, and David shot Flaherty because he thought Flaherty was going to kill both Shawna and himself.
A joint jury trial was held for David and Shawna. David was charged with first degree murder (Pen. Code[2], 187, subd. (a)), but the jury was unable to reach a verdict and a mistrial was declared on that count. David and Shawna were both convicted of possession of a firearm by a felon ( 12021, subd. (a)(1)), and Shawna was convicted of being an accessory after the fact ( 32).[3]
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