People v. Dixon CA3

I. BACKGROUND

In 1981, a jury found defendant guilty of first degree murder. (§ 187.) The jury found true a special circumstance that defendant personally committed willful, deliberate, and premeditated murder during a robbery. The jury thereafter found true a second special circumstance that defendant had committed multiple murders. The jury also found defendant guilty of robbery (§ 211), illegal possession of a firearm, and receiving stolen property (§ 496). Lastly, the jury further found that defendant had personally used a firearm in committing the robbery. (§ 12022.5.) The trial court sentenced defendant to life without the possibility of parole. This court affirmed the judgment. (People v. Dixon (Oct. 18, 1982, 3 Crim. 11616) [nonpub. opn.].) In May 2021, defendant filed a section 1172.6 petition for resentencing on a 1969 felony murder conviction. The trial court appointed counsel to represent defendant. The People filed a response that did not address defendant’s 1969 murder conviction, but rather argued that defendant was ineligible for section 1172.6 relief because the jury found that defendant was the actual killer in the 1981 murder and that he committed the murder…