People v. Philbrook CA3

California Court of Appeal·Decided April 10, 2025·No. C097875·Unpublished

Opinion

Filed 4/10/25 P. v. Philbrook CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Nevada) ----

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent, C097875

v. (Super. Ct. No. F16000256C)

NATHAN ROBERT PHILBROOK,

Defendant and Appellant.

In 2014, defendant Nathan Robert Philbrook and two other men, Finley Fultz and Daniel Devencenzi, drove from Reno to Nevada County to steal marijuana from a greenhouse. Defendant and Devencenzi had stolen marijuana from the same location about two weeks earlier. Defendant decided to do so again because the marijuana was unattended the first time. But in case that had changed, defendant and Fultz went to the location armed with loaded AR-15 firearms. They went at night and made their way to the greenhouse. Isaac Zafft was apparently asleep inside the greenhouse when they arrived. When defendant went inside to look around, Zafft stood up and came towards

1 him. Defendant pointed his gun at Zafft and told him to get on the ground. When Zafft ran out of the greenhouse, Fultz shot him to death. Charged with first degree felony murder with a robbery-murder special- circumstance allegation, defendant pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and attempted robbery in exchange for his testimony against Fultz. In accordance with the plea agreement, the trial court sentenced defendant to 23 years in state prison. Defendant now appeals from the denial of his Penal Code section 1172.6 petition to recall his manslaughter sentence, arguing the evidence is insufficient to support the trial court’s finding that he acted with reckless indifference to human life.1 In a supplemental brief, defendant also argues that a new law, Assembly Bill No. 2483 (2023- 2024 Reg. Sess.) (Assembly Bill 2483), effective January 1, 2025, applies retroactively to this case and required the trial court to accept an initial agreement between the parties that defendant was eligible for resentencing. Disagreeing with each of defendant’s contentions, we will affirm the trial court’s order. BACKGROUND At the hearing on defendant’s section 1172.6 petition, the People relied on the trial transcript from Fultz’s trial, including testimony from defendant and his wife, Amber Nelson.2 Defendant also testified at the section 1172.6 hearing. We summarize the

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code. Defendant’s original petition was filed under former section 1170.95. Effective June 30, 2022, that section was renumbered section 1172.6 without change to the text. (Stats. 2022, ch. 58, § 10.) We will refer to the current statute. 2 Devencenzi did not testify at Fultz’s trial, but rather testified during a conditional examination, which was played for Fultz’s jury. The record in this appeal does not contain the transcript of the conditional examination. However, this court summarized that testimony in People v. Fultz (2021) 69 Cal.App.5th 395. Although we do not rely on that summary, we note that it is generally consistent with the testimony of defendant and Nelson, upon which we do rely in reciting the relevant facts. (See id. at pp. 408-410.)

2 background facts based on that testimony and the written factual basis for defendant’s guilty plea. In 2014, defendant lived in Reno with Nelson. He grew marijuana in the garage and also stole the product from other growers. Devencenzi and Fultz were friends of defendant. Sometime in late June 2014, defendant and Devencenzi drove to a rural and wooded area off of Highway 20 in the Penn Valley area of Nevada County to steal marijuana. Defendant selected the location for such thefts by searching Google Earth for signs of a growing operation. They found the marijuana unattended in a greenhouse and stole about 75 pounds of the product. About two weeks later, Fultz called defendant and said he needed money. Defendant responded that he might be able to help. What defendant had in mind was making a return trip to the same greenhouse to steal more marijuana, this time with Fultz and Devencenzi. The plan was for defendant and Fultz to drive to the location in Fultz’s truck while Devencenzi followed them in his truck. Defendant explained that he and Fultz would be armed, so he needed Devencenzi to follow them in the event that law enforcement got behind them while they drove. Should that occur, Devencenzi would swerve to draw their attention away from Fultz’s truck. According to defendant’s testimony, the guns were to be used only if they were getting shot at, but he did not say that to Fultz. The following evening, Fultz and Devencenzi met defendant at his house. They left for the target greenhouse in accordance with the plan. Fultz had an AR-15 rifle. Defendant had an AR-15 pistol and also brought night vision binoculars and an extra clip of ammunition. They arrived at their destination well after dark and parked down the road from the greenhouse. The three men walked along the side of the road, traversed a cattle gate, and made their way to the greenhouse using the woods as cover.

3 When they got to the greenhouse, defendant could see that the mature plants were gone. He went in anyway, using the night vision binoculars to assist his eyesight. As defendant described, all that remained were several pots with immature plants in them, “like they were starting over.” Defendant exited the greenhouse and talked to Fultz outside. They decided that defendant should go back inside and take a closer look. When defendant did so, he heard a rustling noise off to one side of the greenhouse. Defendant turned towards the noise and was surprised to see a man getting to his feet. The man, Zafft, moved in defendant’s direction. Defendant pointed his gun, which had a laser sight, at Zafft and told him to get on the ground. Instead, Zafft ran out of the greenhouse and towards Fultz’s location outside. Defendant heard a single gunshot and saw a muzzle flash, followed by someone screaming, then “a few more shots” and more muzzle flashes, and then silence. Defendant, Fultz, and Devencenzi ran back to the trucks and drove to defendant’s house. They burned certain items of clothing and destroyed the gun Fultz used to kill Zafft. Fultz later said he fired a warning shot, the guy started screaming, and Fultz fired more shots to shut him up. In July 2016, defendant, Fultz, and Devencenzi were each charged with first degree felony murder with a robbery-murder special-circumstance allegation. Defendant pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and attempted robbery, with a prior strike conviction, in exchange for his testimony against Fultz. In accordance with the plea agreement, the trial court sentenced defendant to serve 23 years in state prison. Defendant did not appeal from the judgment. (People v. Philbrook (May 10, 2022, C088692) [nonpub. opn.] (Philbrook).) In January 2019, defendant filed a section 1172.6 petition. The People had stipulated that defendant was not the actual killer, did not intend that anyone be killed, and did not act with reckless indifference to human life. The trial court nevertheless denied the petition without issuing an order to show cause or holding a hearing.

4 Defendant appealed and this court reversed.

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