People v. Vargas CA2/8

BACKGROUND

In 2009, a grand jury indicted appellant Carlos Jauregui Vargas on two counts of murder, in violation of Penal Code1 section 187, subdivision (a), and other offenses. Later, pursuant to a plea agreement, the People filed a felony complaint under a different case number charging Vargas with two counts of voluntary manslaughter and other offenses. Vargas pleaded no contest to the felony complaint, including the two counts of voluntary manslaughter. (§ 192, subd. (a).) In exchange for his plea, the indictment, which included the two murder charges, was to be dismissed. The trial court sentenced Vargas to 31 years in state prison. In 2022, Vargas filed a petition for resentencing pursuant to section 1172.6. Counsel was appointed on his behalf. On July 21, 2023, the trial court summarily denied the petition, finding that Vargas was ineligible for resentencing as a matter of law because he was never charged with murder. The court stated: “The petitioner was charged by complaint with manslaughter. The petitioner was never charged with murder and took manslaughter as a plea bargain and he was never charged with any case that dealt with imputed malice, and he pled to the…