People v. Bennett CA5

INTRODUCTION

In 2010, a jury convicted defendant Johnnie Albert Bennett of first degree murder (Pen. Code, § 187) and the trial court sentenced defendant to 25 years to life. (Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.) At trial, the jury was instructed on first degree murder based on two theories: premeditation and deliberation and lying in wait. In November 2019, defendant filed a petition for resentencing under former section 1170.95 (now § 1172.6), which the trial court denied days later. Our court reversed the trial court’s order and remanded for further proceedings. The court then held a hearing on remand at which it again denied defendant’s petition without issuing an order to show cause on the grounds the jury was not instructed on felony murder or the natural and probable consequences doctrine. On appeal, defendant contends the court erred in denying his petition at the prima facie stage, arguing the jury instructions on aiding and abetting, implied malice, and lying-in-wait murder allowed for the jury to convict him of murder under a theory by which malice was imputed to him based solely on his participation in the crime, relying on People v. Maldonado…