People v. Johnson CA5

INTRODUCTION

Petitioner Glenn Maurice Johnson petitioned the trial court for resentencing on his conviction for second degree murder. (Pen. Code,1 § 1170.95.) The court denied the petition at the prima facie stage without providing a statement of reasons. We conclude the record does not establish petitioner is ineligible for resentencing as a matter of law, and the court therefore erred in denying the petition at the prima facie stage. Accordingly, we reverse.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

We previously summarized the facts underlying petitioner’s offenses as follows 2 :

“After an evening together at a dance club, Lamar [R. 3 ] and his cousin Curtis [R.] drove to a convenience store and parked their cars nearby. Lamar stayed outside while Curtis went inside to buy some water. After Curtis saw people outside ‘scurrying around as if they were leaving hastily,’ he and Lamar started back to their cars. In an alley along the way, Curtis saw [petitioner] and [co-defendant Arthur] Lenix walking toward them. He knew [petitioner], with whom he had played basketball a few times and with whom Lamar had attended school. [Petitioner] looked as if ‘he had had a couple of drinks,’ so…