People v. Gonzalez CA5

INTRODUCTION

In 1996, a jury convicted petitioner Jose Gonzalez of first degree murder (Pen. Code,1 § 187, subd. (a), count 1).2 As to count 1, the jury found true the special circumstance that petitioner committed the murder while engaged in the commission or attempted commission of a robbery (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(17)). The trial court sentenced petitioner on count 1 to a term of life without the possibility of parole. In 2019, petitioner filed a petition for resentencing pursuant to section 1172.6 (former § 1170.95).3 The trial court summarily denied the petition. On appeal, petitioner contended the special circumstance finding should not preclude him from resentencing relief because his conviction predates our Supreme Court’s decision in Banks/Clark,4 which clarified the meaning of “major participant” and “reckless indifference to human life.”5 We affirmed the trial court’s denial of resentencing. (People v. Gonzalez (June 20, 2022, F082567 [nonpub. opn.].)

All further statutory references are to the Penal Code, unless otherwise specified. Petitioner was convicted of additional offenses and enhancements, as described below. Effective June 30, 2022,…