People v. Noble CA5

INTRODUCTION

Appellant Leon James Noble appeals an order denying his petition under Penal Code section 1172.6 to vacate his murder conviction.1 His conviction stems from the armed robbery of a convenience store in Hanford in 1995 where appellant’s confederate Clifton Perry shot and killed the store owner. Both men were charged with special circumstances murder, and the prosecution sought the death penalty. (§ 190.2, former subd. (a)(17)(i).) Appellant and Perry were found guilty of special circumstances murder in 1996 (§ 190.2, former subds. (a)(17)(i), (d); see Prop. 115 as approved by voters, Primary Elec. (June 5, 1990) § 10), but the jury found not true the special allegation that appellant personally used a firearm during the commission of the robbery (§ 12022.5, subd. (a)). At the penalty phase, the jury reached a verdict of death as to Perry and life without the possibility of parole (LWOP) as to appellant. In 2021, appellant sought relief from his special circumstances murder conviction under section 1172.6. After an evidentiary hearing where the only evidence admitted was the 1996 trial transcript, the trial court found beyond a reasonable doubt that appellant was a…