## Facts

- A juvenile petition under Welfare and Institutions Code § 602 alleged Joe R. committed two robberies and one murder.
- Near midnight, Joe and another youth, Michael Ryles, robbed a Taco Bell manager at gunpoint, taking cash from the register and the manager’s personal money.
- Shortly after, they attempted to rob Wayne Anderson at gunpoint and forced him behind nearby buildings while demanding money and making threats; Joe also threatened Anderson and struck him during a struggle.
- Anderson fought for Ryles’s gun, gained control, and fired as Joe fled; Anderson’s shots killed Ryles.
- The prosecution pursued a felony-murder theory based on Ryles’s death during the attempted robbery.
- Joe moved to suppress physical evidence and his confession, arguing illegal searches, coercion, and Miranda violations; the juvenile court denied suppression.
- After a contested jurisdictional hearing, the juvenile court sustained all allegations, declared Joe a ward of the court, and committed him to the California Youth Authority.

## Issues

1. Whether felony-murder supports a murder finding when the only person killed is a co-felon shot by the intended robbery victim during the attempted robbery.
2. Whether California’s felony-murder rule extends to killings committed by victims or third parties, including when the decedent is an accomplice rather than an innocent victim.
3. Whether denial of suppression of physical evidence and a confession required reversal (raised on appeal but not necessary to the disposition once felony-murder was rejected).

## Decision

- The California Supreme Court reversed the juvenile court’s murder finding.
- The court held the felony-murder rule did not apply because the killing was committed by the victim (Anderson), not by Joe or an accomplice acting in furtherance of the felony.
- The court left intact the true findings on the two robbery counts and the wardship adjudication.
- The matter was remanded for proceedings consistent with the opinion, including potential consideration of non–felony-murder homicide theories if otherwise supported.

## Legal Principles

- In California, felony-murder liability is limited to homicides actually perpetrated by the felon or the felon’s accomplice (agency theory).
- A killing by an adversary of the felony (such as a resisting victim or police) is not imputable to the felons for felony-murder purposes, regardless of whether the person killed is an innocent victim or a co-felon.
- Courts should not extend felony-murder to third-party killings through a proximate-cause theory absent clear legislative authorization.

## Conclusion

The court set aside the murder adjudication because a surviving felon is not guilty of felony-murder when the intended victim kills the felon’s accomplice during the felony; the robbery findings and wardship determination remained in effect.


In re Joe R., 27 Cal. 3d 496, 612 P.2d 927 (Cal. 1980)