P. v. Kennedy
Defendant Christopher Lee Kennedy appeals from a judgment of conviction entered after a jury found him guilty of first degree murder (Pen. Code, § 187, subd. (a)) and found true the allegations that the murder was committed by means of lying in wait, and during the course of a robbery and kidnapping (id., § 190.2, subds. (a)(15), (17)). Defendant was also found guilty of conspiracy to commit a crime (id., § 182, subd. (a)(1)), with the jury finding one or more of the alleged overt acts to be true. In addition, the jury found him guilty of robbery (id., § 211), kidnapping to commit a crime (id., § 209, subd. (b)(1)), and arson causing great bodily injury (id., § 451, subd. (a)). Defendant admitted the truth of the two prior strike convictions (id., §§ 667, subds. (b)-(i), 1170.12). The jury deadlocked as to penalty, and the People ultimately elected not to retry the penalty phase of the trial.
The trial court sentenced defendant to life without the possibility of parole for the murder and imposed a concurrent indeterminate term of 25 years to life in prison for the conspiracy. It imposed a concurrent indeterminate term of 15 years to life in prison for the kidnapping and a concurrent term of nine years for the arson causing great bodily injury, and it stayed a determinate term of three years for the robbery.[1]
On appeal, defendant contends the trial court erred in admitting the statements of Ronald Kupsch[2] and admitting evidence of racist gangs. We find no error and affirm.
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