People v. Oryall CA4/1

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedSeptember 15, 2022
DocketD078561
StatusUnpublished

This text of People v. Oryall CA4/1 (People v. Oryall CA4/1) 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. Oryall CA4/1, (Cal. Ct. App. 2022).

Opinion

Filed 9/15/22 P. v. Oryall CA4/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

THE PEOPLE, D078561

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v. (Super. Ct. No. CRN8537)

MICHAEL ORYALL,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of San Diego County, Harry M. Elias, Judge. Affirmed. Christopher Nalls and Athena Shudde, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Charles C. Ragland, Assistant Attorney General, Steve Oetting and Michael Dolida, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. Michael Oryall sought resentencing under Penal Code1 section 1172.6

(formerly section 1170.95).2 The trial court denied the petition, finding that Oryall was an aider and abettor who acted with intent to kill, and separately that Oryall was a major participant in the underlying crime who acted with a reckless indifference to human life. The court declined to consider Oryall’s youth at the time of the crime, explaining those considerations had been made when he was charged, and youthfulness could be reconsidered at his youthful offender parole hearing. Oryall contends there is insufficient evidence to support the court’s findings. He asks us to review the denial of his petition de novo because there was no live testimony, and he alternatively contends there was not substantial evidence to support the court’s factual conclusions. He also argues the court erred in its analysis of whether he acted with a reckless indifference to human life because the court did not consider his youth at the time of the crime. We conclude the proper standard of review is substantial evidence, and we find that substantial evidence supports the trial court’s conclusion that Oryall acted as an aider or abettor with intent to kill, and we affirm the court’s ruling on that basis. We do not reach the issue of whether there is substantial evidence to support the theory that Oryall was a major participant who acted with reckless indifference because the court reasonably denied the petition on the alternative ground. For this reason, we likewise

1 Further statutory references are to the Penal Code.

2 Assembly Bill No. 200 (Stats. 2022, ch. 58, § 10) renumbered section 1170.95 to 1172.6, effective June 30, 2022. 2 make no determination as to the impact of the court’s failure to consider Oryall’s youth as it assessed whether Oryall acted with reckless indifference to human life. I. BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL FACTS In September 1983, Oryall pled guilty to second degree murder (§ 187) and admitted to being armed with a firearm in the commission or attempted commission of a felony (§ 12022, subd. (a)), specifically admitting he “committ[ed] a felony resulting in the killing of a human being while armed with a rifle.” The court sentenced him to 15 years to life plus one year for the enhancement, initially housed in the California Youth Authority. In February 2019, Oryall filed a petition for resentencing pursuant to section 1172.6. The court appointed counsel, set a briefing schedule, and eventually ordered an evidentiary hearing under section 1172.6, subdivision (d)(3). The trial court considered the documents provided by the parties, including the published opinion People v. Crenshaw (1986) 177 Cal.App.3d 259 (Crenshaw), a forensic psychological report by Dr. Kristina Malek, the preliminary hearing, the change of plea, parole hearings, and probation

reports.3 A. Crenshaw The following facts appear in Crenshaw, supra, 177 Cal.App.3d 259 at pages 261 through 262: “On February 5, 1983, Oceanside police officers went to a tomato field near the San Luis Rey River to investigate reports of multiple gunshot

3 Although the trial court suggested it had admitted statements from parole hearings, those documents are not in the record before us. 3 victims. Four victims were found in the area and taken to the hospital. Two were dead on arrival, another was in very critical condition and the fourth in stable condition. All four were young (late teens to early twenties) undocumented Mexican farmworkers camping in the vicinity of the river bottom. The police later searched the area where the shootings occurred and found numerous bloody trails and blood spots where the victims had either stopped, or tripped and fallen in the course of attempting to flee from the ambush. The police also found 11 spent .22 caliber casings behind some bushes where the weapon had been fired. “The least injured victim told investigating officers he and his companions left their encampment to cross the river to a 7-Eleven store in a residential area. After they crossed the river, shots were fired. He saw a ‘white man’ kneeling while holding a rifle to his face and firing it in rapid succession. He was hit in the leg by a bullet but kept running away from the gunman. While fleeing, he observed three male Caucasians entering a parked vehicle and saw one of them place what he believed to be a rifle in the driver’s seat before driving away. “The two deceased victims fell about 500 feet from each other. One had been shot twice in the back; the other had suffered one gunshot wound entering his left side and passing through his entire body to the right side. “One surviving victim suffered a leg wound to the right thigh. The other suffered from two gunshot wounds, one to the back and the second to the rear of his neck. The round entering his back perforated his colon. The second round passed through the back of his head and came out near his right cheek bone. He was, for a time, considered in critical condition. “Following his arrest, Crenshaw was interviewed and admitted accompanying Oryall and a juvenile coparticipant to the crime scene on the

4 afternoon of February 5, 1983. He said they went to the field planning to rob undocumented Mexicans. Crenshaw admitted shooting at least one of the farmworkers; he said Oryall shot the remaining victims.” B. Recorded Police Interview Oryall told officers he owned the .22 caliber long rifle, which was a semiautomatic weapon that held 19 bullets. He and Crenshaw each carried half the rifle across the river before Crenshaw took the weapon. Oryall also had a hunting knife and a pocket knife on him. Oryall explained their plan had been to go and ask the farmworkers for their money. He brought the rifle because the minor, B.S., had asked him to. He denied planning to shoot the workers, but he told the officers that when Crenshaw shared he planned to shoot the workers, Oryall told Crenshaw, “[F]ine, you get caught, you get caught.” Oryall had never seen Crenshaw shoot a gun; however, he knew Crenshaw was going to shoot the Mexican workers. He believed he could not do anything about it. Oryall told police he and B.S. were in some bushes, about 25 feet away from Crenshaw, when he heard gun shots. Crenshaw, B.S., and Oryall all took off running, and as he passed one of the victims, B.S. handed him the gun. He denied firing the weapon that day. Oryall did not contact the police or an ambulance. When he arrived home, he changed out of his clothes. C. Preliminary Hearing At the preliminary hearing, Oceanside detective Ian Johnston testified about his interviews of Oryall. He told the court that as Oryall, Crenshaw, and B.S. drove from one side of the area to the other, they talked openly about the potential robbery and shooting.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

People v. McKinnon
259 P.3d 1186 (California Supreme Court, 2011)
People v. Beeman
674 P.2d 1318 (California Supreme Court, 1984)
People v. Swain
909 P.2d 994 (California Supreme Court, 1996)
People v. Crenshaw
177 Cal. App. 3d 259 (California Court of Appeal, 1986)
People v. Olguin
31 Cal. App. 4th 1355 (California Court of Appeal, 1994)
People v. Chun
203 P.3d 425 (California Supreme Court, 2009)
People v. McCoy
24 P.3d 1210 (California Supreme Court, 2001)
People v. Smith
124 P.3d 730 (California Supreme Court, 2005)
People v. Perez
113 P.3d 100 (California Supreme Court, 2005)
People v. Stewart
93 P.3d 271 (California Supreme Court, 2004)
In Re Rosenkrantz
59 P.3d 174 (California Supreme Court, 2002)
People v. Thompson
231 P.3d 289 (California Supreme Court, 2010)
People v. Koontz
46 P.3d 335 (California Supreme Court, 2002)
People v. Banks
351 P.3d 330 (California Supreme Court, 2015)
People v. Clark
372 P.3d 811 (California Supreme Court, 2016)
People v. Becerrada
393 P.3d 114 (California Supreme Court, 2017)
People v. Perez
416 P.3d 42 (California Supreme Court, 2018)
People v. Vivar
485 P.3d 425 (California Supreme Court, 2021)
People v. Lewis
491 P.3d 309 (California Supreme Court, 2021)
In re Cudjo
977 P.2d 66 (California Supreme Court, 1999)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
People v. Oryall CA4/1, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-oryall-ca41-calctapp-2022.