People v. Perkins CA5

INTRODUCTION

In 2010, Wayne Deshown Perkins (Perkins) and Anthony Jones (Jones) were convicted after a joint jury trial of the first degree premeditated murder of Deondre McGruder (Pen. Code, § 187, subd. (a), § 189),1 with a gang special circumstance (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(22)). Perkins was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. In 2020, Perkins filed a petition for resentencing pursuant to section 1170.95, and alleged he was entitled to relief because he was not the actual killer, and his murder conviction was based on the felony-murder rule and/or the natural and probable consequences doctrine. The superior court denied the petition. On appeal, Perkins’s appellate counsel has filed a brief which summarizes the facts with citations to the record, raises no issues, and asks this court to independently review the record. (People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436.) Perkins has filed a letter brief raising sentencing issues. We affirm.

FACTS2

The Shooting Around 9:15 p.m. on February 13, 2007, gunshots were heard by residents of a house on Snapdragon Lane in Bakersfield. The residents described hearing two sets of gunshots, comprised of one or two gunshots…