People v. Hunter CA5
Opinion
Opinion
INTRODUCTION
In 1996, appellant Lionel Anthony Hunter was convicted after a jury trial of first degree murder (Pen. Code, §187, subd. (a))1 with a gang enhancement (§ 186.22, subd. (b)(1)). He was sentenced to 25 years to life, plus three years for the enhancement. In 1998, this court affirmed the judgment on direct appeal, and his petition for review was denied. In 2019, appellant filed a petition for resentencing pursuant to section 1170.95, and asserted he was not the actual killer, he was convicted under the felony-murder rule and/or the natural and probable consequences doctrine, and he could not be now convicted of first or second degree murder because of the amendments to sections 188 and 189. In 2020, the superior court summarily denied the petition. On appeal, appellant argues the matter must be remanded because the court failed to conduct a hearing and state reasons to explain why it denied his section 1170.95 petition, and the errors were prejudicial because he was tried under the natural and probable consequences doctrine. We find the court’s statutory errors were not prejudicial and affirm because he was ineligible for relief as a matter of law