All due respect, I'm not sure where you stand on the whole premeditation thing, but in this post you basically argued against all the major points in the premeditation theories. You call DM a "rich guy" who foots the bill for all his buddies and you explain that higher-level drug dealers "usually have a weapon and burner phones". While you state that you don't believe he was a drug dealer, what would you classify it then? A drug broker? If he's moving a decent quantity from one dealer to another dealer, do you think this risk is taken at no charge? If so, why? Because he's a "nice guy"? If he was dealing, would your explanation above not somehow explain why he had a burner phone(s), at least 2 phones in his own name and a gun?
Just interested in your take on it after reading your post.
I'm not really working from an overarching theory, I am interested in puzzling out aspects of the situation that are maybe more nuanced.
You're right to point out that DM had a weapon, DM used a burner phone, DM obtained a large amount of drugs. But I think he was motivated to commit a one-off (or every 6 month) murder mission, as a "perfect crime", rather than live off a life of crime. He could have been a drug dealer if he wanted to, but I think firstly, it means constant exposure to the risk of arrest and also - it's a lot of work! You have to consistently manage relationships, supplies, keep financial accounts, build up and repair your networks. Here's an insightful article about the challenges of successfully dealing drugs, if anyone's interested:
http://www.businessinsider.com/i-went-to-law-school-and-became-a-drug-dealer-2013-7
IMO one characteristic of DM is that he never sticks to anything for very long - he tries this, he tries that, he gets involved in some other scheme, then goes off travelling. He never ran a real chop shop, never had a real gang of thieves, never had a real property development company, etc. All those things require consistent, sustained, ongoing effort and attention.
I see DM as being more of a Leopold and Loeb type, they were two wealthy young men who committed a senseless murder just because they thought they were superior to others. Although in DM's case there might be more of a compulsive control issue, or a need to prove something to himself. Meanwhile, he was interested in dealing in real estate, safer than drugs and potentially as lucrative.
I think 1 lb of pot would be of much more interest to MS than DM. MS was already a dope dealer, who couldn't afford to buy that much. There's also the question of why MS was involved in the theft/murder, since it was DM who was going to get the truck/baja trip. So I speculate maybe MS fantasized about becoming a more important dealer, and DM was helping him do that (because MS was not competent to do it on his own).
JMO
