People v. Vaca CA6

I. INTRODUCTION

In 1998, defendant Bryan Christopher Vaca was convicted by jury of second degree murder (Pen. Code, § 187)1 and attempted murder (§§ 664, subd. (a), 187). The jury also found true allegations that he personally used a deadly and dangerous weapon in the commission of each offense (§ 12022, subd. (b)(1)). In a second phase of the trial, the jury found that defendant was legally sane when he committed the offenses. Defendant was sentenced to 24 years to life in prison. This court affirmed the judgment on direct appeal. (People v. Vaca (August 9, 2000, H019100) [nonpub. opn.].) In 2019, defendant filed a petition for resentencing under former section 1170.95, now section 1172.6, which allows a defendant convicted of felony murder or murder under the natural and probable consequences doctrine to petition the trial court to vacate the

1 All further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated. conviction based on changes in the law. In this case, after appointing counsel for defendant, receiving briefing from the parties, and holding a hearing, the trial court denied the petition. Defendant filed a notice of appeal from the trial court’s…