People v. Johnson CA5

California Court of Appeal·Decided July 11, 2022·No. F081562·Unpublished

Opinion

Filed 7/11/22 P. v. Johnson CA5

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

THE PEOPLE, F081562 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. BF100124A) v.

GLENN MAURICE JOHNSON, OPINION Defendant and Appellant.

THE COURT * APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Kern County. Michael G. Bush, Judge. Christopher Love, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Michael P. Farrell, Assistant Attorney General, Eric L. Christoffersen and Christina Hitomi Simpson, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. -ooOoo-

* Before Detjen, Acting P. J., Meehan, J. and DeSantos, J. INTRODUCTION Petitioner Glenn Maurice Johnson petitioned the trial court for resentencing on his conviction for second degree murder. (Pen. Code,1 § 1170.95.) The court denied the petition at the prima facie stage without providing a statement of reasons. We conclude the record does not establish petitioner is ineligible for resentencing as a matter of law, and the court therefore erred in denying the petition at the prima facie stage. Accordingly, we reverse. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY We previously summarized the facts underlying petitioner’s offenses as follows 2 :

“After an evening together at a dance club, Lamar [R. 3 ] and his cousin Curtis [R.] drove to a convenience store and parked their cars nearby. Lamar stayed outside while Curtis went inside to buy some water. After Curtis saw people outside ‘scurrying around as if they were leaving hastily,’ he and Lamar started back to their cars. In an alley along the way, Curtis saw [petitioner] and [co-defendant Arthur] Lenix walking toward them. He knew [petitioner], with whom he had played basketball a few times and with whom Lamar had attended school. [Petitioner] looked as if ‘he had had a couple of drinks,’ so Curtis, on the way by, ‘patted him on the chest, hey man, wake up.’

“Once [petitioner] and Lenix were behind Curtis and Lamar, Curtis heard a metallic object hit the ground. Lamar turned around and told him Lenix ‘dropped a .38.’ Curtis turned around and saw Lenix reach down and put something in his waistband. Curtis said, ‘Let’s go.’ As soon as Curtis and Lamar got back to their cars, Deshonta [G.] was standing there telling them that some ‘East Side’ people were ‘tripping.’ That made no sense to Curtis, since nobody he knew there was a gang member. Again, he said, ‘Let’s go.’ As he drove away, he saw [Deshonta] open Lamar’s car door.

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code. 2 We quote from our nonpublished opinion in petitioner’s direct appeal to provide context for the parties’ arguments. We do not rely on this factual summary to resolve the issues presented in this appeal. (See § 1170.95, subd. (d)(3).) 3 Pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 8.90, we refer to some persons by their first names. No disrespect is intended.

2. After he turned around a corner, he saw that Lamar’s car was not behind him. He backed up and saw that Lamar was still talking to [Deshonta].

“Suddenly Curtis saw ‘Lenix walk over and fire two, three shots’ into Lamar’s head. Lamar instantly fell in front of his car. [Deshonta] and Lenix ‘hesitated for a split second’ and started walking away. Curtis started driving toward them, intending to hit them with his car. Lenix began firing the gun in his direction. [Deshonta] ran past his car. Another car pulled out of a connecting alley and stopped. As Lenix opened the passenger door, the car’s dome light and Curtis’s headlights illuminated the interior of the other car. Curtis saw [petitioner] at the wheel. Lenix got in, and [petitioner] drove away. In court, Curtis testified there was no doubt in his mind that [petitioner] was the driver of the other car.” (People v. Johnson (June 17, 2011, F055346) [nonpub. opn.], fn. omitted (Johnson III).) Petitioner was charged with first degree premeditated murder (§ 187, subd. (a); count 1), conspiracy to commit murder (§§ 182, subd. (a)(1), 187, subd. (a); count 2), and being an accessory after the fact to murder (§ 32; count 5). As to each count, the information also alleged a firearm enhancement (§ 12022, subd. (a)(1)), and a prior prison term enhancement (§ 667.5, former subd. (b)). 4 A jury found him not guilty of first degree murder, but guilty of second degree murder, conspiracy to murder, and accessory to murder. The jury also found all three firearm allegations true. (People v. Johnson (2004) 119 Cal.App.4th 976, 978 (Johnson I); see People v. Johnson (2006) 142 Cal.App.4th 776, 786 (Johnson II).) “On appeal after his first trial, we reversed the judgment and ordered a new trial because the court’s erroneous instruction on reasonable doubt impermissibly lowered the prosecution’s constitutional burden of proof.” (Johnson III, supra, F055346; see Johnson I, at pp. 985-987.) In his second trial, a jury again found petitioner guilty of second degree murder, conspiracy to murder, and accessory to murder. (Johnson II, supra, 142 Cal.App.4th at

4 The information alleged additional charges, the disposition of which is not clear from the record. However, petitioner was not convicted of the additional charges and they are irrelevant to our analysis.

3. p. 779.) “On appeal after his second trial, we reversed the judgment and ordered a new trial because the prosecutor’s withholding of discovery about his sole eyewitness violated Johnson’s constitutional right to due process.” (Johnson III, supra, F055346; see Johnson II, at pp. 785-786, 789.) In his third trial, a jury again found petitioner guilty of second degree murder, conspiracy to murder, and accessory to murder, and found the arming allegations true as to each count. In bifurcated proceedings, the court found the prior prison term allegations true as to each count. On appeal after his third trial, we struck the arming enhancement to count 3 and the prior prison term enhancements to counts 1 and 3 and otherwise affirmed.5 (Johnson III, supra, F055346.) On February 4, 2019, petitioner, proceeding in propria persona, filed a petition for resentencing pursuant to section 1170.95. The People opposed the petition on two grounds: petitioner’s conviction was not based on a felony-murder theory and Senate Bill No. 1437 (2017-2018 Reg. Sess.) (Senate Bill No. 1437) is unconstitutional. In their brief, the People provided a short factual summary of the case but did not identify an evidentiary source for those facts. On May 30, 2019, petitioner, through the public defender, filed a second petition for resentencing pursuant to section 1170.95. With the petition, petitioner submitted a declaration stating that a complaint, information, or indictment was filed against him that allowed him to be prosecuted under a theory of felony murder or murder under the natural and probable consequences doctrine; he was convicted of second degree murder at trial; and he could not now be convicted of second degree murder because of changes made to sections 188 and 189, effective January 1, 2019.

5The prior prison term enhancements arose out of a conviction for possession of cocaine base for sale (Health & Saf. Code, § 11351.5). (Johnson III, supra, F055346.) The validity of the remaining prior prison term enhancement is not before us. (See § 1171.1.)

4. On March 18, 2020, the court denied the People’s request to dismiss the petition based on the unconstitutionality of Senate Bill No. 1437.

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