People v. Ochoa

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 18, 2020
DocketB297183
StatusPublished

This text of People v. Ochoa (People v. Ochoa) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Ochoa, (Cal. Ct. App. 2020).

Opinion

Filed 8/18/20 CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION SEVEN

THE PEOPLE, B297183

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BA427590-03) v.

ALBERTO OCHOA,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, George G. Lomeli, Judge. Convictions are affirmed and matter is remanded for resentencing. Eric R. Larson, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Xavier Becerra, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey, Zee Rodriguez and Nathan Guttman, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. _____________________ In Miller v. Alabama (2012) 567 U.S. 460 (Miller) the United States Supreme Court held that mandatory sentencing schemes imposing prison terms of life without parole on juvenile offenders violate the Eighth Amendment because they fail to consider youth-related mitigating factors that may diminish a juvenile’s culpability and suggest a capacity for reform. Applying the principles of Miller in People v. Gutierrez (2014) 58 Cal.4th 1354, 1361 (Gutierrez), the California Supreme 1 Court held Penal Code section 190.5, subdivision (b), which prescribes a sentence of life without parole or a term of 25 years to life for a 16- or 17-year-old defendant found guilty of special circumstances murder, “authorizes, and indeed requires” consideration of the youth-related mitigating factors identified in Miller before imposing life without parole on a juvenile homicide offender: “Under section 190.5(b), a sentencing court must consider the aggravating and mitigating factors enumerated in Penal Code section 190.3 and the California Rules of Court. [Citation.] Section 190.5(b) does not expressly direct the sentencing court to consider those factors, but ‘since all discretionary authority is contextual, those factors that direct similar sentencing decisions are relevant, including “the nature and circumstances of the offense, the defendant’s appreciation of and attitude toward the offense, or his traits of character as evidenced by his behavior and demeanor at the trial.”’” (Gutierrez, at p. 1387.) Legislation initially enacted shortly before the decision in Gutierrez now provides for youth offender parole hearings at

1 Statutory references are to this code unless otherwise stated.

2 statutorily prescribed points, including with the passage of Senate Bill No. 394 (2017-2018 Reg. Sess.) for youth offenders sentenced to life without parole, effectively mooting Eighth Amendment challenges to sentences of life without parole or the functional equivalent of life without parole. (See People v. Franklin (2016) 63 Cal.4th 261.) Section 190.3 requiring the sentencing court to consider the aggravating and mitigating factors detailed in Gutierrez before imposing the harsher sentence on a youth offender under section 190.5, subdivision (b), however, remains in place and unchanged. Here, Albert Ochoa, sentenced to life without parole for the murder of Xinran Ji during an attempted robbery committed when Ochoa was 17 years old, contends the trial court abused its discretion by failing to heed Gutierrez and consider youth-related mitigating factors at sentencing. Because the record does not indicate the trial court considered those factors before imposing life without parole and we cannot presume the court understood its duty to do so notwithstanding the then-recent passage of Senate Bill No. 394, we agree and remand the matter for resentencing. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND 1. The Amended Information An amended information filed May 15, 2015 charged Ochoa with murder (§ 187), second degree robbery of Claudia Rocha (§ 211), attempted second degree robbery of Jesus Ontiveros (§§ 664, 211) and assault with a deadly weapon on Ontiveros (§ 245, subd. (a)(1)). The information specially alleged Ochoa had committed the murder during an attempted robbery (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(17)); had personally used a deadly or dangerous weapon, a baseball bat, during the commission of the murder of Ji,

3 robbery of Rocha and attempted robbery of Ontiveros (§ 12022, subd. (b)(1); and had inflicted great bodily injury on Ontiveros during the aggravated assault (§ 12022.7, subd. (a)). Ochoa pleaded not guilty and denied the special allegations. 2. Remand for a Transfer Hearing in Juvenile Court, and Return of the Matter to Adult Criminal Court Prior to trial Ochoa successfully moved, without objection, to remand his case to juvenile court for a hearing pursuant to then-newly adopted Proposition 57, the Public Safety and Rehabilitation Act of 2016, which repealed prior statutory provisions that had permitted direct filing in adult criminal court of certain cases involving juveniles. Following a hearing, the juvenile court found Ochoa’s case should not be retained in juvenile court and transferred the matter back to adult criminal court. 3. The Trial According to the evidence presented at trial, Ochoa, along with his companions Andrew Garcia, Alejandra Guerrero and Jonathan Del Carmen, decided to go “flocking,” a term Ochoa explained to police meant “robbing someone.” They found Ji, a 24-year-old USC graduate student, walking home to his apartment from a study session just after midnight. In a particularly brutal attack, Ochoa and Garcia beat Ji with a metal baseball bat when Ji refused to relinquish his backpack. Guerrero hit Ji with a wrench. The beating crushed Ji’s skull. After his attackers left, Ji, bloodied and severely injured, managed to return to his apartment, where he died a short time later. The attack was captured on surveillance cameras, and the footage was played for the jury.

4 After the attack on Ji, Ochoa and his companions drove to the beach, where they encountered Rocha and Ontiveros and demanded the couple’s possessions. Rocha complied. Ontiveros stepped in front of Rocha to protect her. After Ontiveros lost his footing and fell to the ground, Ochoa swung the baseball bat at Ontiveros’s head. Ontiveros blocked the blow with his arm. Ontiveros managed to escape his attackers and flag down police officers on patrol. Ochoa and his companions initially chased Ontiveros but fled the scene when they saw him talking to the police. They were arrested a short time later. 4. The Verdict and Sentence The jury found Ochoa guilty on all counts. It specifically found Ochoa was “the actual killer” of Ji and found true all special allegations relating to the murder charge. The jury received no instructions, and made no findings, as to the special allegations relating to the other counts. At sentencing the court stated, “with regard to count 1, murder in the first degree, coupled with the special circumstance alleged under [section] 190.2(a)(17), the defendant shall receive the term of life without the possibility of parole, plus one year for use of a deadly weapon pursuant to Penal Code section 12022(b)(1).” Neither the People nor Ochoa addressed in sentencing memoranda or at the hearing the court’s discretion to impose a term of 25 years to life pursuant to section 190.5, subdivision (b); and the court did not explicitly address that alternative or any youth-related mitigating factors when imposing life without parole. As to the robbery and aggravated assault counts, the court imposed consecutive terms of three years for the robbery of Rocha, eight months for the attempted robbery of Ontiveros and

5 one year for the assault with a deadly weapon on Ontiveros. In selecting consecutive sentences, the court expressly found the crimes involved great violence, great bodily injury or the threat of great bodily injury, a high degree of cruelty and particularly 2 vulnerable victims.

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People v. Ochoa, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-ochoa-calctapp-2020.