People v. Bankston

── People v. Bankston ── Court: California Supreme Court Date: June 01, 2026 Category: General IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. ANTHONY GEORGE BANKSTON, Defendant and Appellant. S044739 Los Angeles County Superior Court VA007955 June 1, 2026 Justice Kruger authored the opinion of the Court, in which Chief Justice Guerrero and Justices Corrigan, Groban, and Jenkins* concurred. Justice Liu filed a concurring opinion. Justice Evans filed a concurring opinion. * Retired Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, assigned by the Chief Justice pursuant to article VI, section 6 of the California Constitution.  PEOPLE v. BANKSTON S044739 Opinion of the Court by Kruger, J. After a first guilt phase trial, a jury convicted defendant Anthony George Bankston of the first degree murder of Benson Jones; the willful, deliberate, and premeditated attempted murder of Benjamin Jones; and possession of a firearm by a felon. (Pen. Code, § 187, subd. (a), former §§ 189, 664, subd. (1), 12021, subd. (a).) The jury also found true allegations that Bankston personally used a firearm in committing the murder and attempted murder and had personally inflicted great bodily injury on Benjamin Jones. (Pen. Code, former §§ 1203.06, subd. (a)(1), 12022.5, subd. (a), 12022.7.) The jury failed to reach a verdict on charges that Bankston committed the murder of Noel Jesus Enrique Sanchez, 1 the attempted murder of Ernest Johnson, and assault with a firearm on Linda Jones. The trial court declared a mistrial and the prosecution elected to retry the charges. At a second guilt phase trial, a jury acquitted Bankston of the attempted murder of Ernest Johnson but convicted him of the first degree murder of Jesus Sanchez and of the assault with a firearm on Linda Jones. (Pen. Code, § 187, subd. (a), former §§ 189, 245, subd. (a)(2).) The jury also found true related 1 The amended information refers to this victim as Noel Enrique Sanchez, but his family and friends testified that his name was Jesus Sanchez. We refer to him by the latter name. 1  PEOPLE v. BANKSTON Opinion of the Court by Kruger, J. assault weapon and firearm-use enhancement allegations. (Pen. Code, former § 12022.5, subds. (a), (b)(2), (d).) In a separate proceeding, the jury found true a multiple- murder special circumstance allegation. (Pen. Code, § 190.2, subd. (a)(3).) At the penalty phase, the jury returned a death verdict and the trial court entered a judgment of death. This appeal is automatic. (Cal. Const., art. VI, § 11, subd. (a); Pen. Code, § 1239, subd. (b).) As both sides agree, the penalty phase in this case was marked by errors under the California Racial Justice Act of 2020, Penal Code section 745, subdivision (a), that require us to reverse the judgment of death. We affirm the judgment in all other respects and remand for further proceedings. I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND A. First Guilt Phase 1. Prosecution evidence Benjamin Jones testified that on the afternoon of May 18, 1991, he was driving in Los Angeles, accompanied by his sister Linda Jones and his brother Benson Jones. Benjamin and Benson dropped Linda off at the corner of Beach and Firestone to purchase food at a taco truck and parked about 100 feet away in front of a liquor store. Benjamin testified at trial that this was a “Blood neighborhood”; Benson, however, was a member of the rival Crip gang. Benson was walking away from the car when Bankston and two other men approached and one of the men asked, “What’s up Blood?” When Benson turned around and approached Bankston, Bankston pulled out a .38-caliber gun 2