People v. Jasso CA5

Filed 11/25/24 P. v. Jasso CA5

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

THE PEOPLE, F087607 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. BF169286C) v.

GIOVANNI THOMAS JASSO, OPINION Defendant and Appellant.

THE COURT* APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Kern County. Elizabet Rodriguez, Judge.

Heather E. Shallenberger, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Office of the State Attorney General, Sacramento, California, for Plaintiff and Respondent. -ooOoo-

*Before Hill, P. J., Peña, J. and Smith, J.

Giovanni Thomas Jasso (defendant) appeals from an order denying a petition for resentencing under Penal Code section 1172.6. (All undesignated statutory references are to this code.) His appellate counsel found no arguable issues and filed an opening brief pursuant to People v. Delgadillo (2022) 14 Cal.5th 216. Defendant filed a supplemental brief. Defendant is ineligible for section 1172.6 relief as a matter of law based on the date of his conviction. Although the trial court arguably erred by denying his petition without allowing briefing by the parties, such error was plainly harmless. The order will be affirmed. PROCEDURAL HISTORY A summary of the underlying facts is provided in People v. Montano (2022) 80 Cal.App.5th 82. We incorporate the summary by reference but it is not relevant to the issues in this appeal. A “traditional statement of facts” is therefore unnecessary. (People v. White (1997) 55 Cal.App.4th 914, 916, fn. 2.) In December 2017, defendant and two codefendants were jointly charged with first degree murder (§§ 187, 189; count 1) and unlawful participation in a criminal street gang (§ 186.22, subd. (a); count 2). Count 1 included special-circumstance allegations of lying in wait (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(15)) and murder committed to further the activities of a criminal street gang (id., subd. (a)(22)). Firearm and gang enhancement allegations were also included. (§§ 186.22, subd. (b), 12022.53, subds. (d), (e)(1).) Variations in the firearm allegations implied that codefendant Juan Montano was the actual killer. The case went to trial in early 2019. On March 29, 2019, a jury found defendant guilty on both counts and made true findings on all factual allegations except for the gang special circumstance. On May 1, 2019, defendant was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. His murder conviction and life sentence were affirmed by this court in People v. Montano, supra, 80 Cal.App.5th 82. The California Supreme Court denied review, and this court’s remittitur issued on October 20, 2022.