## Facts

- Defendants entered locked vans at a Fresno car lot and removed spare tires, leaving physical evidence including fingerprints on jacks.
- A police cadet observed defendants rolling tires toward an older Plymouth, then watched them enter the car and drive away quickly.
- Police pursued defendants in a high-speed chase for roughly 7 miles over about 10–12 minutes.
- During the chase, defendants ran a red light and struck another vehicle, killing its driver.
- Defendants were charged with murder and multiple burglary counts.
- The trial court, on a Penal Code § 995 motion, dismissed the murder count and substituted vehicular manslaughter.
- The prosecution appealed, arguing the felony-murder rule required reinstatement of the murder charge.

## Issues

1. Whether a burglary of motor vehicles can serve as the predicate “burglary” for first-degree felony murder under Penal Code § 189.
2. Whether an unintentional killing during flight from the burglary occurred “in the perpetration of” the burglary for felony-murder purposes, including whether the felony continued until defendants reached a place of temporary safety.

## Decision

- The appellate court reversed the order dismissing the murder count and the substitution of vehicular manslaughter.
- The court held that burglary is an enumerated felony under Penal Code § 189 and may support first-degree felony murder without a separate “inherently dangerous” inquiry.
- The court held the killing occurred during the continuous course of the burglary because defendants were still fleeing and had not reached a place of temporary safety.
- The court concluded defendants could be prosecuted for first-degree murder under the felony-murder rule, while noting that an implied-malice theory could also support murder based on the dangerous driving.

## Legal Principles

- Under Penal Code § 189, a killing committed “in the perpetration of” an enumerated felony, including burglary, constitutes first-degree murder.
- For felony-murder, the felony may include the escape phase and continues until the perpetrators reach a place of temporary safety; deaths during that continuous transaction fall within “in the perpetration of” the felony.
- Felony murder imposes liability for a death occurring during the commission of the predicate felony even when the death is unintended.
- An intermediate appellate court may apply the felony-murder rule as defined by statute and controlling precedent even while criticizing its policy reach; narrowing is for the Legislature or the state supreme court.

## Conclusion

The court reinstated the murder charge, holding that an unintentional death caused during high-speed flight from a burglary could be prosecuted as first-degree felony murder because burglary is enumerated in § 189 and the felony was ongoing until defendants reached temporary safety.


People v. Fuller, 86 Cal. App. 3d 618 (Cal. Ct. App. 1978)