People v. Martinez CA5

INTRODUCTION

In 2004, appellant Wenselado Martinez was convicted of two counts of first degree murder, with the burglary/felony murder and multiple-murder special circumstances found true. He was sentenced to two consecutive terms of life in prison without possibility of parole. In 2019, Martinez filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus, later deemed a petition pursuant to Penal Code1 section 1170.95, and alleged he was entitled to relief because he was not the actual killer, and his murder convictions were based on the felony-murder rule. The superior court denied the petition. On appeal, Martinez’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.) We affirm.

FACTS2

Martinez and Peter Major were burglarizing a home in Madera County when they were interrupted by the returning homeowners. Martinez and Major fled in a car driven by Martinez. They were pursued by a patrol car driven by Deputy Valerie Breedlove. The pursuit ended when Martinez’s car collided with a car driven by Mabel Jacks. Jacks’s passenger, 66-year-old…