People v. Serrano

Following a jury trial, defendant, Rolando Serrano, was convicted of first-degree murder and three counts of armed robbery and sentenced to concurrent prison terms of 35 years for first-degree murder and 20 years for each armed robbery. He now appeals, contending that there was no probable cause for his arrest, the failure of counsel to offer an instruction on his theory of defense denied him his right to effective assistance of counsel, and his murder sentence is excessive.

At the hearing on the motion to suppress evidence, Detective John Santo Padre testified that on December 10, 1990, he…