People v. Arceo

In People v. Arceo (2011) 195 Cal.App.4th 556, the declarant "bragged" to friends about his and the defendant's joint involvement in two murders, describing how he killed one victim and was going to shoot the second victim, but at defendant's request he handed the gun to the defendant and the defendant shot the second victim. (People v. Arceo, supra, 195 Cal.App.4th at p. 576.) Arceo found the entire statement admissible, reasoning that the declarant's statements describing his intent to shoot the second victim and defendant's taking over of this shooting "clearly subjected the declarant to criminal liability for the second murder." (Id. at p. 577.) Also, the statements were made under circumstances showing their trustworthiness, including that they were made in a conversation between friends in a noncoercive setting and with no attempt to shift blame. (Ibid.)