People v. Copon CA6

I. INTRODUCTION

Pursuant to a plea agreement, defendant Benjamin Rodolfo Copon pleaded guilty in 2013 to one count of willful, deliberate, and premeditated attempted murder (Pen. Code, §§ 187, 189, 664, subd. (a)).1 Defendant also admitted sentencing enhancements that he personally and intentionally discharged a firearm and proximately caused great bodily injury (§§ 12022.53, subd. (d), 12022.7), that he suffered a prior serious felony conviction (§ 667, subd. (a)), and that he suffered a prior strike conviction (§§ 667, subds. (b)–(i), 1170.12)). The trial court sentenced defendant to 39 years to life, consecutive to five years. In 2023, defendant petitioned under section 1172.6 to have his attempted murder conviction vacated and to be resentenced. The trial court denied the petition without

1 All further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated. issuing an order to show cause, concluding that defendant failed to establish a prima facie case of eligibility for relief. Defendant asserts that the trial court erred in dismissing his petition at the prima facie stage because the trial court erroneously relied on the preliminary hearing transcript and…