People v. Oldham CA5

INTRODUCTION

Petitioner Lamarr Marquis Oldham petitioned the superior court, pursuant to former section 1170.95 (now § 1172.6) of the Penal Code,1 for resentencing on his conviction for first degree murder. The trial court held an evidentiary hearing and denied the petition on the ground petitioner was a major participant in the underlying robbery who acted with reckless indifference to human life. On appeal, petitioner contends substantial evidence does not support the court’s findings that he was a major participant in the robbery who acted with reckless indifference to human life. We affirm.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

We summarize the factual record considered by the trial court at the evidentiary hearing, which consisted of live witness testimony, an excerpted copy of the preliminary hearing transcript,2 and a transcript of petitioner’s change of plea hearing. On December 11, 2013, R.R.3 and Damian Villavicencio went to the parking lot of a restaurant in Modesto to sell marijuana to petitioner’s codefendant, Isaiah Stafford. Petitioner also was present in the restaurant parking lot, as was Stafford’s girlfriend, Luisa. During the encounter, Villavicencio was fatally shot in the…