State v. McDonald

OPINION

FRANCHINI, Chief Justice.

{1} Wesley McDonald was convicted of, among other crimes, first degree murder under NMSA 1978, § 30-2-1 (A) (1994) and sentenced to life in prison. The issues in this appeal concern four events at trial. We affirm.

I. FACTS AND ISSUES

{2} McDonald and his girlfriend, Julie Stanfill, met the victim, Ernesto Garcia, at the latter’s home on Friday evening, September 29, 1995. They had come to collect forty dollars owed to Stanfill for cleaning Garcia’s house. When they ai-rived, Garcia was in his ear, and they got in with him. They drove around Alamogordo for a time…