Philip Andrew Lacy, 27, of South San Francisco, was shot and killed on July 13, 2008, on a downtown Palo Alto street. He and friends were sitting in a parked car after a night out when an assailant approached asking for a cigarette. After Lacy handed over a cigarette, the assailant pulled a handgun and demanded Lacy’s gold necklace, valued at $5,000. A struggle followed; Lacy was shot, found on the sidewalk, and later died of his wounds.

Investigators arrested 23-year-old Otto Koloto of Gilroy and charged him with first-degree murder and robbery. At trial friends of Lacy testified that Koloto approached under the pretense of asking for a cigarette before robbing and shooting Lacy. Koloto testified the encounter was a drug deal that turned violent and that he acted in self-defense. The jury convicted Koloto of first-degree murder under California’s felony murder rule and imposed life without the possibility of parole.

What details about that night or about Lacy’s movements beforehand might help clarify how the encounter began?