LAKE COUNTY – A Clearlake man found guilty in Sonoma County of second degree murder had his conviction overturned in the state's First Appellate District Court.

Lance Ernest Laumann, 52, won the decision on Feb. 16, according to court documents, after the judges ruled his conviction was based on an improper legal theory.

Laumann was convicted in 1999 of several charges, chief among them second degree murder for the death of his girlfriend, Sandra “May” Lyndall, who died while Laumann was attempting to escape from police.

He also was convicted of vehicular manslaughter, evasion of a police officer, being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and several drug offenses.

In April 1999, Sonoma County officials found a loaded sawed-off rifle and the components of a methamphetamine laboratory in a car linked to Laumann.

The next month, during an early morning traffic stop, Laumann sped away from police. He led them on a high-speed chase reaching speeds of 70 to 80 miles per hour before crashing his car.

Lyndall, who was riding in the car with him, was ejected from the vehicle during the collision and later died.

Court documents say that the second-degree felony murder conviction against Laumann was predicated on his attempt to evade police, which prosecutors claimed caused him to drive in a “willful and wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property while fleeing from the police,” according to Vehicle Code Section 2800.2.

Laumann was sentenced to 30 years to life – 15 years to life for second degree murder and 15 years for the other offenses. He has been serving time in San Quentin State Prison.

Since his conviction, Laumann had repeatedly made appeals at the appellate and state Supreme Court levels. Among his arguments was that Vehicle Code Section 2800.2 was not an inherently dangerous felony under the felony murder rule, and thus could not be a predicate felony for second degree felony murder, according to court documents.

Both the appellate and Supreme Court upheld his conviction. Then, in January 2005, in reviewing another case, the Supreme Court concluded that section 2800.2 can't serve as the basis for a valid theory of second degree felony murder.

In November 2006, Laumann filed another appeal based on the January 2005 ruling. That appeal resulted in the Feb. 16 ruling.

In addition to finding that Laumann's murder conviction was based on an invalid theory, the court ruled that the jury in Laumann's trial was not instructed on the elements of implied malice necessary for a second degree murder conviction.

The court ruled that Laumann's case be remanded to the trial court in Sonoma County for further proceedings, which could include retrial under a valid murder theory or resentencing.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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