People v. Miller CA4/1

BACKGROUND

In 2017, Lavelle Miller and Cory Thomas, inmates at West Valley Detention Center were charged with two counts each of attempting to murder two deputies. A police report indicated one deputy was stabbed and the other deputy assaulted. Miller waived a preliminary hearing. In 2018, he pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted murder for the benefit of a criminal street gang, with the prosecutor striking the allegation the attempted murders were willful, deliberate, and premeditated. His plea included a stipulation the police reports formed the factual basis for his plea. The court sentenced Miller to a determinate term of 14 years and four months in prison. In 2022, he filed a petition for resentencing. He declared he was convicted under a theory of imputed malice based on his participation in the crime and requested counsel be appointed to represent him. At a hearing on the petition, counsel argued consideration of evidence in the police

Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code. Effective June 30, 2022, the Legislature renumbered section 1170.95 to section 1172.6, with no substantive changes in the statute. (Stats. 2022, ch. 58, § 10.) We…