People v. Savary CA2/8

BACKGROUND

In 2012, a jury convicted appellant Keffier Savary of first degree murder with enhancements for personal use of and discharge of a firearm causing great bodily injury and death during commission of the offense. (§§ 187, subd. (a), 12022.53, subds. (b), (c) & (d).) Under a different case number, KA094210, a second jury convicted appellant of witness intimidation and conspiracy to commit murder. (§§ 182, subd. (a)(1), 136.1, subd. (a)(1).) On February 28, 2013, the court sentenced appellant to an aggregate term of 77 years to life on all counts of conviction. In 2023, Savary filed a petition for resentencing on the murder conviction pursuant to section 1172.6. The trial court appointed counsel to represent Savary. The People opposed the petition, arguing that the jury was not instructed on any theory of culpability that imputed malice to appellant based solely on his participation in a crime. Nor was the jury instructed on aiding and abetting. He was prosecuted as the actual killer who acted with actual malice. Attached to the People’s opposition are the instructions given to the jury in the murder case. On August 17, 2023, the trial court denied the petition, ruling…