P. v. Fava
A jury found defendant Troy Dante Fava guilty of the murder of Adam Atencio (Pen. Code, § 187, subd. (a)),[1] grand theft (§ 487, subd. (a)), and burglary (§ 459). The jury also found that defendant was armed with a firearm in each count. (§ 12022, subd. (a)(1).) In a bifurcated trial, the court found that defendant had two prison priors. (§ 667.5, subd. (b).) Defendant was sentenced to 35 years to life, and appeals.
At trial, the evidence showed that Adam Atencio was shot and killed on March 7, 2008, at the apartment of Lucas Buckingham in Hesperia, after defendant and several of his cohorts burglarized the apartment and beat up Buckingham. Buckingham’s Glock handgun was stolen from the apartment. It was unclear whether defendant or one of his cohorts shot and killed Atencio with a second handgun, a Sig Sauer.[2]
Shortly after the shooting, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Deputy Frank Hardin and other deputies entered defendant’s home with guns drawn. After searching defendant for weapons, Deputy Hardin told defendant he was a suspect in a shooting that had just occurred nearby, and asked defendant to step outside so that a witness could identify him or rule him out as being involved in the shooting. In response, defendant said he had not left his house all day and could not have been present at the shooting. Defendant was not read his Miranda[3] rights before he made the statement.
Comments on P. v. Fava