People v. Coble

In People v. Coble (1976) 65 Cal.App.3d 187, the Court held inadmissible a self-serving statement in a facially deserving declaration by an alleged accomplice to a robbery. The statement involved the declarations of the alleged "wheel-man" in the robbery who drove defendant to the 7-Eleven store. The declarant told the police within two hours after the robbery that although he knew the defendant had a gun, he (the declarant) did not know that the defendant was going to rob the store. He first learned of the robbery when the defendant came out of the store and said, "Let's get the hell out of here, I just pulled a robbery." The statement included several other exculpatory declarations that the declarant did not know the defendant was going to pull a robbery and concluded with a declaration, "I didn't do it. That's it." ( Id., at pp. 190-191.) Recognizing the usual propensity of thieves who have fallen out to blame each other for the crime, this court concluded that the driver's statement insofar as it incriminated the defendant was self-serving to the declarant and hence did not satisfy the requirements of Evidence Code section 1230 ( id., at pp. 191-193).