People v. Lopez CA5

INTRODUCTION

Petitioner Rafael Lopez petitioned the trial court, pursuant to former section 1170.95 (now § 1172.6) of the Penal Code,1 for resentencing on his conviction for second degree murder. The trial court held an evidentiary hearing and denied the petition after finding petitioner was the actual killer. Appointed counsel has filed a brief under the authority of People v. Delgadillo (2022) 14 Cal.5th 216 (Delgadillo), requesting that this court conduct an independent review of the record. Petitioner filed a supplemental letter brief arguing his plea was coerced and no evidence supports his conviction. We have considered petitioner’s arguments and independently reviewed the record, and we affirm the trial court’s order.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

On May 3, 1984, Julio Fernandez died after being struck in the head with a board or stick during an altercation with petitioner. Multiple eyewitnesses testified at the preliminary hearing regarding the incident. On the date of the incident, several men were living together at a home in Fresno. Fernandez stayed at the house off and on but had not stayed there for four or five days. Petitioner and his codefendant, Miguel Perez,2 had been…