P. v. Spurlock CA2/5
In September 2015, defendant Angelique Spurlock (defendant) shot and killed James McQuater (McQuater). A jury convicted her on a charge of second-degree murder, rejecting her defense that she killed McQuater—an ex-boyfriend with whom she had an abusive relationship—because she thought he was going to kill her. We consider whether the trial court erred in instructing the jury on intimate partner battering (IPB) and in various evidentiary rulings, including a decision to admit evidence that defendant previously attacked McQuater with a machete or axe. We also decide whether the case should be remanded to give the trial court an opportunity to exercise newly-conferred discretion to strike a firearm sentencing enhancement that figured in defendant’s sentence.
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