People v. Bergman CA2/2

BACKGROUND

In 2009, a jury convicted defendant of first degree murder and found true the special circumstances that the murder was committed during the commission of a robbery within the meaning of section 190.2, subdivision (a)(17)(A) and a burglary, within the meaning of section 190.2, subdivision (a)(17)(G). Defendant was sentenced to prison for life without parole. We affirmed the judgment in People v. Bergman (Feb. 23, 2011, B219309) (nonpub opn.).

Effective June 30, 2022, Penal Code section 1170.95 was renumbered section 1172.6, with no significant change in text. (Stats. 2022, ch. 58, § 10.) For the sake of simplicity, we will refer to the section by its new numbering only. All further statutory references are to the Penal Code, unless otherwise indicated. The parties both responded to our invitation to address the consequence of People v. Strong, supra, 13 Cal.5th 698 on this case, which we considered.

2 The underlying crime In May 2008, defendant was angry with victim Dean Modica because he believed Modica owed him money. After defendant learned that Modica sold drugs and where he kept them, defendant and three friends including Trevor Cooper and Sean…