Title: THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. AMY LYNN PREASMYER, Defendant and…
Court: California Court of Appeals, Second District, Third Division
Case Number:
Date: Apr 28, 2010
Fact:
A jury found defendant and appellant Amy Lynn Preasmyer guilty of the special circumstance, lying in wait murder of her then fiancée, Richard Cowles, Jr.; conspiracy to commit murder; and solicitation of murder. She was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. At her trial, the court excluded evidence of defendant’s state of mind six years after the murder. On appeal, defendant contends the exclusion of that evidence was an abuse of discretion and violated her Sixth Amendment right to present a defense. She also contends that her conviction for solicitation of murder must be reversed, because the charge was time-barred. Finally, she raises various sentencing issues. We agree that defendant’s conviction for solicitation of murder must be reversed and that minor modifications to her sentence must be made; but we otherwise affirm the judgment.
Issue:
Conclusion:
The judgment is reversed as to count 4, solicitation of murder. The court construction fine in the amount of $5,000 plus $30 is stricken. Defendant is awarded an additional 160 days of worktime credit. The clerk of the superior court is directed to modify the abstract of judgment and to forward the modified abstract to the Department of Corrections. The judgment is otherwise affirmed.