People v. Vasquez CA4/2

BACKGROUND

On July 26, 2004, when Vasquez was 15 years old, he shot and killed Sergio

Sanchez after a brief argument. (People v. Vasquez (Sept. 14, 2012, E054057) [nonpub.

opn.].) In 2011, Vasquez was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison after a jury convicted

him of second degree murder and found true three firearm enhancements. Vasquez

appealed, and we affirmed the judgment in an unpublished opinion. (Ibid.)

2 In August 2023, Vasquez filed a petition for recall and resentencing under section

1170, subdivision (d). Relying on Heard, Vasquez argued that he had been sentenced to

the functional equivalent of LWOP and therefore was entitled to relief under equal

protection principles. The People opposed the petition, arguing that Heard did not apply

because Vasquez’s sentence was not the functional equivalent of LWOP. After a

hearing, the trial court denied Vasquez’s petition on the ground that his sentence was

neither LWOP nor its functional equivalent.

DISCUSSION

Section 1170, subdivision (d), provides: “When a defendant who was under

years of age at the time of the commission of the offense for which the defendant was

sentenced to imprisonment for life…