People v. Blaney CA4/1
Opinion
Opinion
INTRODUCTION
In 2000, a San Diego jury found Randy Scott Blaney guilty of the first degree murder of Christopher Englebrecht and the attempted murder of E.S. In 2023, after the enactment of Senate Bill No. 1437 (2017–2018 Reg. Sess.) (hereafter, Senate Bill 1437), Blaney petitioned to have his convictions
vacated and to be resentenced under Penal Code section 1172.6.1 The trial court summarily denied the petition at the prima facie stage, reasoning the record of conviction precluded relief as a matter of law. We agree. Therefore, we affirm the denial order. II
BACKGROUND
A. The Shooting and Trial2 On July 14, 1999, Blaney and Englebrecht decided to rob E.S., a pedestrian they encountered near the U.S.–Mexico border. Englebrecht pointed a gun at E.S. and demanded his money, but E.S. fought back and took the gun. Blaney fired two shots at E.S. with his own gun. E.S. returned fire and fatally struck Englebrecht. On October 31, 2000, a jury found Blaney guilty of the first degree murder of Englebrecht (§ 187, subd. (a); count 1); the attempted murder of E.S. (§§ 187, subd. (a), 664; count 2); assault with a semiautomatic firearm (§ 245, subd. (b); count 3); conspiracy to commit a…