People v. Carroll CA4/3

INTRODUCTION

Appellant Tad Allen Carroll collaborated with two others to rob Chi Bui after he left a casino early one morning in 2010. Because Bui was killed during the robbery, appellant and his cohorts were charged with special circumstances felony murder. After the preliminary hearing, appellant pleaded guilty to first degree murder and was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. The factual basis for his plea consisted of a single sentence in which he admitted participating in a robbery during which Bui was accidentally killed. In 2018, appellant filed a petition for resentencing pursuant to Penal Code 1 section 1170.95. Following an evidentiary hearing, the trial court denied relief based on the preliminary hearing evidence. Although that evidence did not prove appellant was the person who actually killed Bui, the trial court determined appellant was ineligible for resentencing because he was a major participant in the underlying robbery and acted with reckless indifference to Bui’s life. On appeal, appellant faults the trial court for relying on the preliminary hearing evidence because it contained a considerable amount of hearsay. In his view, the court’s consideration of…