People v. Gonzalez CA4/1

I. Background Gonzalez shot a man in the head, at close range, with a revolver loaded with a hollow point bullet. This was after his two codefendants had stabbed the man three times in the chest. In 1993 a jury convicted Gonzalez of first

degree murder (Pen. Code,1 § 187, subd. (a)) and found true he personally used a gun (former § 12022.5, subd. (a)) and had served a prior prison term (§ 667.5, subd. (b)). He was sentenced to serve 30 years to life, which included consecutive terms of four years on the gun enhancement and one

year for the prison prior.2 This court affirmed the judgment in 1996. In August 2023, upon recommendation by the Secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), the trial court recalled Gonzalez’s sentence pursuant to section 1172.75 to strike the now legally invalid one-year prison prior term enhancement. In a full resentencing at which Gonzalez was represented by counsel, the court also struck the punishment for the gun use enhancement, reducing the sentence by a total of five years. At the resentencing hearing, Gonzalez’s attorney requested the trial court to “reduce” his conviction for first degree murder to a voluntary…