| For Immediate Release Case # 06ZF0138 June 25, 2012 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami
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MAN FACES TRIAL FOR ROBBERY-MURDER OF SUSPECTED DRUG DEALER ON SUPER BOWL SUNDAY
*Two co-defendants have been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole
SANTA ANA – A man will face trial tomorrow for the robbery-murder of a suspected Irvine drug dealer on Super Bowl Sunday. Bernard Smith, 47, Vista, San Diego, is charged with one felony count each special circumstances murder during the commission of a robbery, second degree robbery, and a sentencing enhancement for the personal discharge of a firearm causing death. If convicted, Smith faces a maximum sentence of life in state prison without the possibility of parole. Opening statements are expected to begin tomorrow, Tuesday, June 26, 2012, in Department C-37, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana. The time is to be determined.
This is a re-trial, as Smith was previously sentenced Jan. 16, 2009, to life in prison without the possibility of parole in this case. On June 28, 2011, the California Court of Appeals, Fourth Appellate District, Division Three, overturned the conviction based on their decision that the defendant should not have been jointly tried with his co-defendant, Stephen Bennett.
Bennett, 40, Vista, San Diego County, was convicted Oct. 2, 2008, of one felony count each of special circumstances murder during the commission of a robbery, second degree robbery, and the transportation of a controlled substance, and his two 1992 prior robbery strike convictions were found true. Bennett was sentenced Dec. 12, 2008, to life in state prison without the possibility of parole.
Co-defendant Brandon Turner, 26, Oceanside, was found guilty by a jury April 14, 2008, of one felony count each of special circumstances murder during the commission of a robbery, second degree robbery, and the transportation of a controlled substance, with a true finding on the sentencing enhancement for the personal discharge of a firearm causing death. Turner was sentenced Sept. 19, 2008, to life in state prison without the possibility of parole.
On Feb. 5, 2006, Smith is accused of devising a plan with Bennett and Turner to steal money and drugs from a drug dealer. Bennett called suspected drug dealer Brian Gray to set up a meeting under the pretense of purchasing drugs. The defendants drove from Vista to the victim’s Irvine home with the intention of stealing drugs from Gray. Smith is accused of murdering the victim with Turner by shooting him several times. The defendants stole cocaine from the victim’s home and fled the scene.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Ebrahim Baytieh of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.
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