People v. Lockhart CA2/2

California Court of Appeal·Decided August 13, 2026·No. B335012A·Unpublished

Opinion

Filed 8/13/26 P. v. Lockhart CA2/2 Opinion following transfer from Supreme Court NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION TWO

THE PEOPLE, B335012A

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. TA069600)

v.

JAMES HOLLOVER LOCKHART,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Sean D. Coen, Judge. Affirmed.

Heather J. Manolakas, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey, Assistant Attorney General, Idan Ivri, Scott A. Taryle and Melanie Dorian, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

Pursuant to an order by the California Supreme Court, we vacate our original opinion and issue this opinion instead.

After being convicted of forcible rape (Pen. Code, § 261, subd. (a)(2))1 and several other offenses, defendant and appellant James Hollover Lockhart was sentenced to 106 years to life in state prison, in part based on multiple serious felony convictions he sustained in 1993 (the 1993 convictions). In 2023, defendant was resentenced pursuant to section 1172.75; the trial court reduced his total sentence to 105 years to life.

On appeal, defendant challenged the trial court’s failure to strike both a five-year sentence enhancement for a prior serious felony (§ 667, subd. (a)(1)) and any of the 1993 convictions, which the trial court deemed prior “strike” convictions under California’s “Three Strikes” law (§ 667, subds. (b)–(i)). We affirmed, in part based on our rejection of defendant’s contention that the court erred in ascribing 11 prior strikes to him based on the 1993 convictions. (People v. Lockhart (Feb. 11, 2025, B335012) [nonpub. opn.].)

Defendant filed a petition for review with the California Supreme Court. On April 23, 2025, the Court granted review in this case, and, in an order filed March 25, 2026, transferred the case back to us with directions to vacate our prior opinion and reconsider the cause in light of People v. Shaw (2025) 18 Cal.5th 1089 (Shaw).

We remain convinced that defendant is not entitled to resentencing relief. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court’s order.

1 All further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated.

BACKGROUND

I. The 1993 Convictions2 In February 1993, defendant was charged with 11 counts of robbery. The information alleges that defendant robbed one victim on November 17, 1992 (count 12); one victim3 on November 27, 1992 (counts 1–2); three victims on December 19, 1992 (counts 8–10); and five victims on December 29, 1992 (counts 3–7). He was also charged with assaulting one of the December 29 victims with a stun gun (count 11).

A contemporaneous probation report describes the robberies as follows:

1. On November 17, 1992, defendant robbed a dry cleaners.

“[A] clerk[] reported defendant enter[ing] [the store] holding a handgun which he pointed at her. He walked behind the counter and told her to ‘give the money.’ In fear for her life she removed her money from her pocket which she gave the defendant. He then ordered her to walk to the back of the store . . . . He demanded more money and the victim opened the register from which she removed money which she gave to the defendant . . . . Defendant demanded her ring which she gave [him]. He also picked up her purse . . . before he left[.]”

2 On May 21, 2026, defendant filed an unopposed motion to augment the record with the information and probation report from his 1993 convictions. We hereby grant the motion.

3 The probation report describes two victims of the November 27 incident.

2. On November 27, 1992, defendant robbed a second dry cleaners. “The [store] owner . . . reported that [defendant] entered the location and pointed a gun at [the owner] and [an employee]. [¶] While pointing a gun at them the defendant reportedly ordered both to lay on the floor. He then removed money and jewelry from both and ordered the owner to open the cash register from which he removed money and then fled the location.”

3. On December 19, 1992, defendant robbed a store.

Defendant followed “the owner . . . to the rear [of the store] . . . and started to walk into the office where he was told he could not enter. At that time she saw the defendant holding a small automatic gun in his right hand. Defendant ordered [the owner and two customers] to the office area and told them to lie face down on the floor and empty their pockets and remove their jewelry . . . . The defendant then told the owner to get up and to give him all the money from the cash register . . . . He then said that he knew she had more than that and [she] told him that he could get the money out of her tote bag which was in the office. They went back to the office, defendant again told her to lie down and . . . picked up [her] stun gun. When [one of the customers attempted to] overpower the defendant[,] the defendant activated the stun gun which he placed against the right side of [the customer’s] head several times[,] . . . said ‘somebody is going to die here tonight[,]’ . . . picked up the owner’s tote bag[,] . . . then maced everyone and ran out of the front door.”

4. On December 29, 1992, defendant robbed a restaurant.

After speaking to the owner, defendant briefly exited the restaurant only to return “[a] few minutes later . . . armed with a gun and told all [four] customers [present] to lie on the floor. They complied, and he took victims’ jewelry and money. The defendant then told [the owner] to stand up. When she did so he placed her in a choke hold, placed the gun against her neck and walked her to the rear of the restaurant and told her to give him all the money in the cash register. After she complied he again told her to lie on the floor and left locking the front doors.”

Defendant was convicted of 10 counts of robbery and one count of assault with a stun gun, and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was paroled on December 8, 2002. II. The 2003 Conviction and Sentence In 2003, a jury convicted defendant of forcible rape (§ 261, subd. (a)(2); count 1), criminal threats (§ 422; count 2), false imprisonment (§ 236; count 3), assault with a deadly weapon by means likely to produce great bodily injury (§ 245, subd. (a)(1); count 4), and forcible oral copulation (§ 288a, subd. (c)(2); count 5).4 The events underlying these convictions took place on or about April 16, 2003.

At a bifurcated bench trial, the trial court found that the 1993 convictions constituted serious felonies and prior strikes

4 The jury acquitted defendant of another count of forcible oral copulation (count 6) and found not true the allegation that he committed the rape with a knife.

under the Three Strikes law (§§ 667, subds. (a)–(i) & 1170.12, subds. (a)–(d)).

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