Sawyers

People v. Sawyers

Good Law
15 Cal. App. 5th 713·2017 Cal. App. LEXIS 828·223 Cal. Rptr. 3d 438·2017 WL 4250185
Court of Appeal of CaliforniaSeptember 26, 2017B266897California6,036 words

Opinion

lead Opinion

Bachner, J.

*715 A jury convicted defendant and appellant Brian Alonzo Sawyers of first degree murder, three counts of attempted premeditated murder, and two counts of shooting at an occupied dwelling. The offenses all arose from an incident in which Sawyers and one or more companions fired numerous shots into a house occupied by rival gang members and their family. The trial court sentenced Sawyers to 75 years to life in prison pursuant to the "Three Strikes" law. Sawyers contends sentencing under the Three Strikes law was unauthorized because the information failed to allege *441 his prior offense was a strike. In the published portion of the opinion, we conclude that because the information failed to give Sawyers notice that he faced sentencing under the Three Strikes law, and because the "informal amendment" doctrine does not apply, his sentence must be vacated. In the unpublished portion, we reject Sawyers's contention that the evidence was insufficient to support two of the attempted murder charges. We also agree *716 with the People that the trial court erred by awarding conduct credits. We therefore vacate the sentence, remand for resentencing, and otherwise affirm.

FACTUAL AND…

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