People v. Ruiz CA2/4

Filed 8/1/24 P. v. Ruiz CA2/4 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(a). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115(a).

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION FOUR

THE PEOPLE, B332947

Plaintiff and Respondent, Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BA232116 v.

ANTHONY RUIZ,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, H. Clay Jacke II, Judge. Affirmed. Brad J. Poore, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. No appearance for Plaintiff and Respondent.

INTRODUCTION AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In 2003, a jury convicted defendant and appellant Anthony Ruiz of three counts of willful, deliberate and premeditated attempted murder (Pen. Code,1 §§ 664, 187, subd. (a)) and one count of first degree murder (§ 187, subd. (a)). On the murder count, the jury found true the special circumstance allegation that the murder was intentional and perpetrated by means of discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle, intentionally at another person or persons outside of the vehicle with the intent to inflict death. (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(21).)2 The trial court sentenced Ruiz to life without the possibility of parole on the murder count, as well as three consecutive sentences of life with the possibility of parole on the attempted murder counts. In 2022, Ruiz filed a petition for resentencing under former section 1170.95.3 The trial court appointed counsel on Ruiz’s behalf. The prosecution filed an opposition, arguing Ruiz was

1 All undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code. 2 The jury also found true various allegations that a principal was armed with a firearm during the commission of the offenses, and found gang allegations not true on all counts, though none of those findings has any direct bearing on this appeal. 3 Effective June 30, 2022, the Legislature renumbered section 1170.95 to section 1172.6. (Stats. 2022, ch. 58, § 10.) There were no substantive changes to the statute. For the sake of simplicity, we will refer to the statute by its new code section. That section provides relief for certain individuals convicted of attempted murder under the natural and probable consequence doctrine, as well as certain individuals convicted of murder under an imputed-malice theory of liability. (See § 1172.6.)