People v. Elias CA4/1

Filed 1/21/25 P. v. Elias CA4/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

THE PEOPLE, D083867

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v. (Super. Ct. No. SWF011785)

KEIRON M. ELIAS,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Riverside County, John M. Monterosso, Judge. Affirmed.

Keiron M. Elias, in pro. per.; and Richard Schwartzberg, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. No appearance for Plaintiff and Respondent. In 2010, a jury convicted Keiron M. Elias and two others of first-degree

murder. (Pen. Code,1 § 187, subd. (a).) In a special verdict, it found the murder was willful, deliberate, and premeditated. Elias was sentenced to an indeterminate term of 25 years to life.

1 All statutory references are to the Penal Code.

In 2019, Elias filed a petition for resentencing under section 1170.95 (now renumbered as section 1172.6). He requested and received permission to represent himself in the resentencing proceedings. The trial court received briefing, reviewed the record of conviction, and issued an order to show cause. The court thereafter held an evidentiary hearing as required by section 1172.6. The court found Elias acted with premeditation, intent to kill and deliberation, and denied the petition. Elias filed a timely appeal. Appellate counsel has filed a brief pursuant to People v. Delgadillo (2022) 14 Cal.5th 216. Counsel asks the court to exercise its discretion and independently review the record for error as we would do in an appeal under People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436. We notified Elias he could file his own brief on appeal. He has responded with a lengthy submission including several exhibits. DISCUSSION In his submission, Elias relies primarily on cases which involved denials of resentencing petitions at the prima facie phase of review of petitions filed under section 1172.6. Here the court issued an order to show cause and held an evidentiary hearing. Judicial review in such cases is different than prima facie review. Elias has not identified any presumably meritorious issues for our consideration. Our independent review of the record has not discovered any potentially meritorious issues for reversal on appeal. Competent counsel has represented Elias on this appeal.